5 soldiers killed, 6 wounded in ELN attack in Colombia

BOGOTA, Sept 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least five soldiers were killed and six were wounded on Saturday in an attack by guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN) in a rural area of the Colombian municipality of Arauquita in the department of Arauca. According to authorities, the wounded men were…

Tunisian Islamist party rejects attempts to suspend constitution

TUNIS, Sept 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — Tunisia’s Islamist party Ennahdha (Renaissance) expressed its categorical refusal to suspend the constitution and change the country’s political system, according to a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Saturday. Ennahdha, the first majority party in the Tunisian parliament, said in the statement that…

Former head of Peru’s Maoist rebels dies in prison: lawyer

  LIMA, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Abimael Guzman, the historic leader of Peru’s Maoist Shining Path guerrillas — blamed for one of the bloodiest insurgencies in Latin America — died Saturday in a military prison at the age of 86.   Guzman had been serving a life sentence in the…

France rescues 126 migrants attempting English Channel boat crossing to the UK

Forty migrants were earlier rescued in another operation PARIS, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French maritime officials rescued 126 migrants attempting to cross the English Channel to Britain as tensions escalated over record arrivals on England’s southern coast.At least 14,100 people have now crossed the Channel to the UK on small…

Zimbabwe magistrate rules Mugabe should be reburied at the national shrine

Robert Mugabe, Former President of Zimbabwe HARARE, Sept 12 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — A Zimbabwean court upheld a traditional court’s ruling that the body of former President Robert Mugabe should be exhumed and reburied at a national shrine in the capital.The Chinhoyi Magistrates Court rejected an appeal by Mugabe’s children that the…

Zambia’s new leader vows ‘zero tolerance’ on corruption

Newly elected Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema LUSAKA, Sept 12 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Zambia’s new President Hakainde Hichilema vowed to strengthen anti-corruption efforts and show “zero tolerance” for graft, in his first speech to parliament.Hichilema, elected last month in a landslide, said the government would devise a mechanism to recover state assets…

Covid-19: Sinovac opens global pediatric vaccine trial in South Africa

A healthcare worker administers a SINOVAC Covid-19 vaccine on a minor PRETORIA, Sept 12 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — South Africa launched the main phase of a global COVID-19 vaccine study on children and teenagers led by Chinese maker Sinovac Biotech, with the first two participants jabbed in Pretoria.The study is testing the efficacy of…

Covid-19: Anti vaccine protesters clash with police in Greece

Organisers claimed 400,000 took part in the demonstration Covid-19: Anti vaccine protesters clash with police in GreeceATHENS, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greek police fired tear gas and water canon on Saturday to break up a demonstration of thousands of people protesting against mandatory coronavirus vaccinations. Authorities said protesters hurled flares…

Spain: Thousands of Catalans rally for independence in Barcelona

Organisers claimed 400,000 took part in the demonstration BARCELONA, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of Catalans chanted, sang and waved flags as they marched through Barcelona on Saturday, calling for the region’s independence from Spain. The march, organised by the grassroots Assemblea Nacional Catalana [ANC], was the first since Spain’s…

Anger as Spanish wildfire, believed started deliberately, blazes for fourth day

Wildfire on Sierra Bermeja mountain ESTEPONA (Spain), Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A wildfire raging close to a popular Costa del Sol resort was still active on Saturday, and locals spoke of their anger about the blaze, which is believed to have been started deliberately. Andalucia’s regional forest fire agency said conditions had…