Sweden gangs: PM summons Army Chief after 3, including a woman, killed in gang violence

A 25-year-old woman, reportedly a neighbour of a person with gang links, was killed in a blast on Thursday  STOCKHOLM, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sweden’s prime minister has summoned the head of the armed forces to help curb a surge in gang killings. The two men and the country’s police…

US gun violence: Defense chief approves measures to curb military suicides

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved more than 100 recommendations aimed at curbing suicides in the US military, including through improving gun safety on bases, the Pentagon said. The recommendations follow reviews of 11 US military sites by the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review…

Niger: 7 soldiers killed in jihadist attack, 5 more in ensuing road accident – defence minister

 NIAMEY, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seven soldiers were killed Thursday in southwestern Niger in an attack by suspected jihadists, and five others died in a traffic accident while trying to respond to the assault, the country’s defence minister said. A military unit was “violently attacked by several hundred terrorists” in…

US adopts plan to phase out single-use plastics at national parks

 WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US government announced plans to phase out single-use plastics on public lands, including the country’s famous national parks, by 2032. “Plastic waste is a priority environmental problem,” said a statement from the Interior Department, the agency that oversees federally managed lands. Much of the…

More than 2,500 migrants dead or missing in Mediterranean in 2023: UN

 UNITED NATIONS, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 2,500 migrants died or went missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe so far in 2023, a UN High Commissioner for Refugees official said. “By September 24, over 2,500 people were accounted as dead or missing in 2023 alone,” Ruven…

Panama: Number of migrants crossing Darien Gap soars past 400,000

PANAMA CITY, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of US-bound migrants who have crossed through the notorious jungle stretch between Panama and Colombia has soared this year to more than 400,000, the Panamanian government said. That figure is 62 percent more than the number of migrants who crossed the Darien…

Brazil sends emergency aid to drought-hit Amazon state

 BRASILIA, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil announced it will send emergency aid to an Amazon state that is enduring severe drought, with low water levels killing many fish, a key source of food for the Indigenous people who live there. The state of Amazonas in northwest Brazil is the country’s…

South Sudan Pres Kiir in Russia for talks with Pres Putin

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir MOSCOW, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir is in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.The visit comes at a time when Russia and Western powers are trying to woo African support in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.Kiir arrived…

Bird flu prompts Namibia to ban South Africa chicken imports

More than two million chickens have died so far in South Africa’s avian flu outbreak WINDHOEK, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Namibia has suspended imports of live poultry and poultry products from neighbouring South Africa because of a severe bird flu outbreak.The suspension was prompted by the “alarming spread” of highly…

Sudan crisis: Health situation worsens amid conflict, seasonal epidemics

Patients at a makeshift MSF hospital in Adre, Chad, on the border with Sudan KHARTOUM, Sept 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Concerns are rising over Sudan’s worsening health situation amid a surge in seasonal epidemics, coupled with the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces…