Kazakhstan’s Parliament Approves Spaceport Cooperation With Russia

NUR-SULTAN, Dec 19 (NNN-KAZINFORM) – The lower house of Kazakh parliament, approved amendments to a Kazakh-Russian agreement, on building the Baiterek space rocket complex, at Baikonur Cosmodrome. Kazakh Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, Askar Zhumagaliev said, Kazakhstan plans to allocate 233 million U.S. dollars, to modernise the…

France To Provide Jordan With 250 Million Euros In Soft Loans

AMMAN, Dec 19 (NNN-PETRA) – France signed some agreements with Jordan, agreeing to provide the latter with a total of 250 million euros (277 million U.S. dollars) in soft loans. The soft loans will be used to develop the judiciary and water sectors, and reconstruct the sewage system in Balqa…

Iraqi Parliament Adjourns Session Due To Disputes Over Draft Election Law

BAGHDAD, Dec 19 (NNN-NINA) – Iraq’s parliament decided to adjourn its session until next Monday, after it passed part of the draft election law. In a televised press conference, Parliament Speaker, Mohammed al-Halbousi, announced the adjournment after the majority of 207 lawmakers at the session passed the first 14 articles…

Landslide In Metro Construction Site Kills Four In Uzbekistan

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Four workers were killed by a landslide, in the open section of a construction site of Yunusabad metro line in Tashkent, Uzbek Emergency ministry said. Earlier in the day, the ministry said, continued rainfall has caused a collapse of 250 cubic metres of soil…

Yemeni warring sides meet on UN ship to discuss Hodeidah ceasefire

ADEN, Dec 19 (NNN-SABA) – Representatives from Yemen’s government and the Houthis, tasked with monitoring a ceasefire, brokered by the United Nations met on a ship, on the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. An official of the military in Hodeidah said that, “representatives of the two-warring sides boarded a…

India’s West Bengal Chief Minister Hits Streets For Third Day Against New Citizenship Law

NEW DELHI, Dec 19 (NNN-PTI) – Chief Minister of India’s eastern state of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, hit the streets for the third straight day, against the controversial new citizenship law, demanding its revocation, officials said. Banerjee, along with her party colleagues, began a protest march from Howrah Maidan, which…

Brunei, China Sign Muskmelon Export Protocol

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Dec 18 (NNN-BBNEWS) – China and Brunei signed a protocol on the phyto-sanitary requirement, to allow export of muskmelon from Brunei to China, Brunei’s Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, said. The signing was made in Beijing on Monday, between the General Administration of Customs of China…

Over 80 Militants Killed In 24 Hours As Afghan Forces Step Up Operations

KABUL, Dec 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) – More than 80 militants have been killed in the western, eastern and southern region of the conflict-battered Afghanistan, over the past 24 hours, as the government forces have stepped up operations, amid peace efforts, to gain more grounds ahead of winter, officials said today. In…

Russian, Syrian Air Strikes Kill 17 In Rebel-Held Northwest -Rescuers

IDLIB, Dec 18 (NNN-SANA) – Syrian government and Russian air strikes killed at least 17 people in rebel-held northwestern Syria, witnesses and rescuers said. The northwest corner of the country, including the Idlib region, is the last significant swathe of Syrian territory, still in insurgent hands after eight and a…

Iran To Host Regional Security Meeting Today

TEHRAN, Dec 18 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iran is hosting an international meeting, on regional security, today (Wednesday), Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced. Shamkhani said in a statement that, the 2nd meeting of the Regional Security Dialogue, will be held in Tehran with the attendance of top…