US Pres Biden and China’s Pres Xi hold first call in seven months

This is only the second call between the leaders since President Biden took office WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has spoken with his US counterpart Joe Biden for the first time in seven months. A White House Statement said both leaders had “discussed the responsibility of both…

Guinea coup: Ousted President Alpha Condé in good health, Ecowas says

Alpha Condé, pictured in 2020, has been detained by coup leaders CONAKRY, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guinea’s ousted President Alpha Condé is in good health, leaders of the West African regional bloc Ecowas say. Its envoys visited Condé, who was detained in a military coup in Guinea last Sunday. They also…

US tower collapse: Three arrested over Surfside victim ID thefts

The 12-storey apartment block in Surfside partially collapsed on June 24 SURFSIDE (Florida, US), Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US police have arrested three people accused of stealing the identities of victims in the building collapse that killed 98 people in Florida in June. The suspects face charges of multiple counts of…

Italy: Two killed as tornado hits Italian island of Pantelleria

 PANTELLERIA (Italy), Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least two people have been killed after a tornado swept through an Italian island on Friday. Nine others were injured as the whirlwind overturned cars and ripped off roofs on the tourist hotspot of Pantelleria on Friday, according to Italy’s civil protection agency.…

UN Chief marks 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 11 (NNN-XINHUA) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday issued a statement to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. “Today we mark a somber day seared in the minds of millions of people around the world — a day…

Covid-19: Former Ivory Coast PM dies of coronavirus

  PARIS, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Former Ivory Coast prime minister Charles Konan Banny died in a Paris hospital on Friday after contracting Covid-19.   Banny, 78, who was in office from 2005-2007, was being treated at the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine after contracting the disease…

Army helicopter crash kills five in Ivory Coast

   ABIDJAN, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five people died when an army helicopter crashed in northern Ivory Coast, officials said.    The crash, which took place overnight Thursday to Friday, involved a Mi-24 helicopter, the army said.    The helicopter had been on a “reconnaissance mission on the northern border” with Burkina…

Four missing after hillside collapses in Mexico

  MEXICO CITY, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Rescuers searched for at least four people missing near Mexico City after a hillside collapsed on Friday, bringing huge boulders crashing down on homes, authorities said .   “It’s a tragedy,” said Raciel Perez, mayor of Tlalnepantla just outside the capital.   Two…

Update: Morocco’s king names businessman Akhannouch to head government

 RABAT, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI named businessman Aziz Akhannouch to lead a new government after his National Rally of Independents (RNI) thrashed the long-ruling Islamists in parliamentaryelections.   The king appointed Akhannouch “head of the government and tasked him with forming a new government”, following Wednesday’s…

Spain: Catalan separatists to take streets ahead of Madrid talks

  BARCELONA, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Catalan separatists are expected to jam the streets of Barcelona on Saturday in a test of their strength ahead of fresh negotiations with Spain’s government.   The protest coincides with Catalonia’s national day, or “Diada”, which commemorates the 1714 fall of Barcelona in the…