IMF to withhold Afghanistan funds amid uncertainty: official

   WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The IMF will withhold funds to Afghanistan amid the uncertainty over the status of the leadership in Kabul, a spokesperson for the institution said. The move comes after the US government took steps to block Afghanistan’s assets held in US accounts following the swift…

Afghanistan crisis: Pres Biden says no American will be left behind

While some Afghans have made it onto evacuation flights, disturbing reports suggest others are unable even to get to the airport WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Joe Biden has said US troops may stay in Afghanistan beyond his withdrawal deadline, as armed Taliban fighters kept desperate evacuees from…

Lithuania says Belarus officers illegally pushed migrants over border

Lithuania’s border service released a video showing 12 Belarusian officers armed with shields and riot gear  VILNIUS, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Lithuania has accused 12 Belarusian officers in riot gear of illegally entering its territory to push a group of migrants over the border. Its border service said the Belarusians…

Covid-19: Protest against measures is Latvia’s biggest in a decade

RIGA, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 5,000 people gathered in the Latvian capital Riga to demonstrate against coronavirus restrictions and government plans to make vaccines obligatory for many workers.    “For freedom!” people chanted at the largest demonstration in the Baltic country since 2009, also calling on Prime Minister…

Burkina Faso: Three days of national mourning after 47, including 30 civilians, killed by suspected jihadists

OUAGADOUGOU, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Burkina Faso’s president declared three days of national mourning after suspected jihadists killed 47 people, including 30 civilians, in an attack in the north of the country. The attack was the latest bloodshed in an area plagued by Islamist violence. The assault Wednesday near the…

Mali: Army convoy ambushed 15 soldiers killed, 34 wounded

BAMAKO, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Suspected jihadists mounted an ambush Thursday on an army convoy in central Mali that left 15 soldiers dead and 34 wounded, 10 of them seriously, the army said. “A bomb-laden vehicle exploded, followed by intense gunfire” in the late-morning attack, the army said in a…

Cameroon president, wife return from month-long private visit to Europe

President Biya and wife Chantal YAOUNDE, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cameroon President Paul Biya and his wife returned to the Central African country earlier this week after over a month stay in Europe. Biya and wife Chantal arrived at the Yaounde International Airport with the presidential delegation. The couple were…

US sending more air support to help disaster relief mission in Haiti

Groups of people observe the effects of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Los Cayos, Haiti WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US military’s Southern Command is sending eight helicopters to assist in the disaster relief effort in Haiti after an earthquake devastated a remote region of the country, making access…

Covid-19: Cuba struggles to get oxygen to the sick, vaccines to the healthy

HAVANA, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cuba has turned to the military to provide oxygen amid a surge of the coronavirus even as doctors rush to administer locally developed vaccines to the population. The government announced that the Caribbean island’s main oxygen plant had broken down in the midst of a Delta…

Strengthening storm Grace pummels Jamaica with heavy rain, wind

A woman walks next to a tarp in a makeshift camp after tropical depression Grace passed through the area KINGSTON, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tropical Storm Grace pounded Jamaica with heavy rain and wind after causing flooding in parts of Haiti, which is scrambling to deal with a major earthquake…