Covid-19: US CDC urges avoiding travel to France, Iceland, Israel, Thailand

WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned against travel to Israel, France, Thailand, Iceland and several other countries because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in those nations. The CDC has been adding to its highest “Level 4: Very High” COVID-19…

US, China trade barbs at UN over South China Sea

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called out bullying in the South China Sea and warned the UN Security Council that a conflict “would have serious global consequences for security and for commerce”, sparking a strong rebuke from China. The South China Sea has become…

Tanzania President Samia: We’re here to show that women can lead

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in five months ago  DAR ES SALAAM, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tanzania’s president has said there were people who doubted she was qualified to lead when she first became head of state because she was a woman. Some “don’t believe that women can be…

Greece fires: PM apologises as blazes rage on Evia Island

Hundreds of firefighters are struggling to control the blaze on Evia ATHENS, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greece’s prime minister has apologised for failures in tackling the wildfires tearing across the country. Hundreds of firefighters have been battling huge blazes that have forced thousands of people to flee their homes and destroyed…

US: Pentagon to mandate Covid shots for military

 WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Pentagon said it will make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for all members of the US military by mid-September, amid an alarming surge in infections by the Delta variant. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo he would ask President Joe Biden to approve the…

Trial over Iran 1988 mass murder begins in Sweden

 STOCKHOLM, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An Iranian official accused of involvement in the 1988 execution of thousands of political dissidents goes on trial in Sweden on Tuesday in a landmark case likely to stoke tensions in the Islamic republic. Hamid Noury, 60, is accused by Swedish prosecutors of “intentionally taking…

US to review classified 9/11 documents for possible publication

 WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US officials vowed to review classified documents related to the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks to see which could be made public — a recurring demand of some victims’ relatives. The FBI said in a letter to the US attorney for the southern district of…

First West African case of deadly Marburg virus detected: WHO

 GENEVA, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guinea confirmed a case of Marburg disease, the World Health Organization said on Monday, the first recorded in West Africa of the lethal virus that’s related to Ebola and, like Covid-19, passed from animal hosts to humans. The virus, which is carried by bats and…

100 children among 200 people killed at site for displaced in Ethiopia: UN

Children wait next to sacks of wheat during food distribution near the village of Baker in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief said she was extremely alarmed by the reported killing of more than 200 displaced people, including 100…

US to continue to support Afghan forces as Taliban advance

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Pentagon said on Monday that the U.S. military will continue to support Afghan troops as Taliban militants seized several cities over the weekend. The security situation in Afghanistan is “clearly not going in the right direction,” Pentagon Press Secretary John…