Update: Pro-Russian politician wins Slovakia’s parliamentary election

Robert Fico BRATISLAVA, Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A party headed by a pro-Kremlin figure came out top after securing more votes than expected in an election in Slovakia, preliminary results show, in what will likely pose a challenge to NATO and EU unity on Ukraine. According to preliminary results released by…

25 kidnapped by gunmen in southern Nigeria

ABUJA, Oct 1 (NNN-XINHUA) — At least 25 members of a local church’s choir were kidnapped by armed gunmen en route to a funeral in the Ose local government area of Nigeria’s southwestern state of Ondo, local police said. Olufunmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, spokeswoman for the police in Ondo, confirmed the incident…

Russian Pres Putin congratulates counterpart Xi on 74th anniversary of China’s founding: Kremlin

MOSCOW, Oct 1 (NNN-TASS) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, according to a corresponding telegram published on the Kremlin’s website. “Under your leadership China is confidently moving forward along the path…

Update: At least nine killed in Zimbabwe gold mine collapse

CHEGUTU (Zimbabwe), Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least nine miners were killed after a shaft in a Zimbabwean gold mine collapsed, an engineer at the site and the miners federation said. “Four bodies have been recovered so far” and five others are still stuck under rubble, Henrietta Rushwaya, president of…

Former president Gbagbo’s party rejects results of Ivory Coast vote

ABIDJAN, Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo’s party has rejected the results of last month’s local and senatorial elections won by the ruling party. The African People’s Party – Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) “rejects the results of the local and senatorial elections that were obtained mainly through fraudulent…

Drought drains Brazilian Amazon residents reliant on waterways

MANAUS (Brazil), Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Not far from the emblematic site where the black waters of the Rio Negro join the brown currents of the Solimoes, two chief tributaries of the Amazon, what once was a lake has given way to a vast stretch of cracked mud. Now, the…

Sudan crisis: US sanctions ex-Sudan minister for ‘obstructing peace’

Ali Karti served in the government of ousted President Omar al-Bashir WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US has imposed sanctions on former Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti and two companies – one based in Russia – it accused of undermining the peace in Sudan.Karti, who served in the government…

Gabon first lady charged with money laundering

LIBREVILLE, Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sylvia Bongo, the wife of Gabon’s ousted President Ali Bongo, has been charged with money laundering, receiving stolen property, forgery, and the use of forgery.Public prosecutor Andre Patrick Roponat announced that Sylvia Bongo’s case had been brought before an investigating judge the day before. He…

Serbia pulls some troops back from Kosovo border after warning from US

BELGRADE, Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Serbia has pulled some of its troops back from the Kosovo border after US warnings that it could face punitive measures for what the White House called an “unprecedented” buildup of Serbian troops and armour. The Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, announced he had ordered troops to be…

Guatemala prosecutors seize vote tallies from magistrates after scuffle

GUATEMALA CITY, OCT 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Police from the Guatemala prosecutor’s office scuffled Saturday with magistrates in the electoral court while seizing boxes containing tally sheets from this year’s presidential election, in a move denounced in foreign capitals. “We are no longer the guarantors of any records. They took all…