Tunisians protest in southern town after man sets himself alight

TUNIS, Dec 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tunisian police used tear gas to disperse dozens of protesters who blocked roads in the southern town of Jelma following the death of a young man who burned himself to death, witnesses said. Abdelwahed Hablani, 25, set himself on fire and died in hospital on…

Terror checks intensified as London attack enters election fray

LONDON, Dec 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the security services were stepping up monitoring of convicted terrorists released early from prison, as the London Bridge attack became embroiled in the election campaign. The prime minister revealed around 74 people with terrorist convictions had been released early…

US says will ‘protect its interests’ at climate conference

House speaker Nancy Pelosi WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States will send a diplomatic team but no senior members of Donald Trump’s administration to a global climate-change conference starting in Spain on Monday, according to a statement. However, in an effort to raise the US profile in Madrid,…

Russia: 19 killed as bus plunges onto frozen river in Siberia

MOSCOW, Dec 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A passenger bus plunged off a bridge onto a frozen river in Siberia on Sunday, killing 19 of the more than 40 people on board, authorities said. A tyre on the bus burst as it was crossing the bridge over the Kuenga river in eastern…

US: 11 wounded in New Orleans shooting

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eleven people were wounded in a shooting early Sunday in New Orleans’ French Quarter, a popular tourist hub, US police said, adding that two of the victims were in critical condition. The shooting took place at about 3 am on a crowded commercial street near…

US: 2 children dead, 1 missing after floods in Arizona

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — Two of three missing children were found dead Saturday in the U.S. state of Arizona after floodwater swept away a vehicle they were in, and a search is ongoing, U.S. media reported. The vehicle carrying seven children and two adults was swept into a flooded…

Uruguayan president-elect calls for “national unity”

MONTEVIDEO, Dec 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — Uruguay’s President-elect Luis Lacalle Pou on Saturday called for “national unity,” saying that during his presidency beginning March 1, he will not seek “to change one half of the country for another.” In the first speech after his confirmed narrow win in the presidential runoff…

At least 14 dead in Mexico gunfight

MEXICO CITY, Dec 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — Four police officers and 10 suspected gunmen of the Cartel of the Northeast were killed in an hour-long gunbattle in Mexico’s northern state of Coahuila, authorities said Saturday. Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis, governor of Coahuila state, said six more policemen were injured in the…

Suriname president gets 20 years in jail for murder

Suriname’s President Desi Bouterse PARAMARIBO, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Suriname’s President Desi Bouterse has been sentenced to 20 years in prison over the execution of 15 political opponents in 1982.Bouterse, 74, is currently on an official visit in China and will have two weeks to appeal against the conviction.He was…

Third occupant of Spain ‘narco-sub’ arrested: Police

MADRID, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The third occupant of a submarine seized off the Spanish coast carrying three tonnes of cocaine worth 100 million euros (US$110 million) was arrested on Nov 29, police said. Police intercepted the 20-metre submarine – thought to be the first of its kind captured in…