UK: London’s Met police on alert after IT ‘hack’

LONDON, Aug 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — London’s Metropolitan Police force said it was taking security measures after “unauthorised access to the IT system of one of its suppliers”, following data breaches at other forces. The company in question had access to the names, ranks, photos, vetting levels and pay numbers for…

Russia: Wagner boss Prigozhin’s death confirmed by Moscow

MOSCOW, Aug 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was formally confirmed dead on Sunday following genetic analysis, investigators said, as anger and questions over what caused his plane to crash earlier in the week continued to mount. Speculation that the Kremlin may have been involved in the crash…

Sudan crisis: ‘Lost generation’ of children amid war, hunger, disease – UN humanitarians

KHARTOUM, Aug 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The spread of fighting and hunger in Sudan could destroy the country, as the future of a “lost generation” of children lies in the balance, United Nations Humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths said. Griffiths said that the conflict spelled trauma for Sudan’s youth and cited “deeply disturbing” reports…

US: Pilot killed in military jet crash in San Diego

F/A-18 jets are used by the the US Marine Corps and Navy LOS ANGELES, Aug 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A pilot was killed when a US fighter jet crashed near a military base in California, the US Marine Corps confirmed on Friday. The F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed just before midnight local…

Gabon election: President Ali Bongo aims for third term

Ali Bongo, 64, has survived a stroke and a coup attempt  LIBREVILLE, Aug 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Polls have opened in the oil-rich central African nation of Gabon where President Ali Bongo – who came to power when his father Omar died in 2009 – is hoping to win a third…

Discovery of a new species of Antarctic strawberry feather, a 20 tentacle creature

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 26 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Researchers have discovered an otherworldly, 20-tentacled creature lurking in the freezing depths of the Antarctic Ocean. Resembling an alien or a Lovecraftian horror, the Antarctic strawberry feather star (Promachocrinus fragarius) is one of four new species of crinoids that scientists found at the bottom…

Brazil’s Finance Minister proposes trade with Argentina in yuan

BRASILIA, Aug 26 (NNN-AGENCIA BRASIL) — Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said that Argentina might finance its foreign trade with Brazil by using Chinese yuan instead of US dollars. “We have already sent the Argentine government a proposal to guarantee Brazilian exports in yuan. A guarantee with Banco do Brasil…

Pro-Somalia militia takes key army base in breakaway Somaliland region

MOGADISHU, Aug 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A militia loyal to the Somali federal government said Friday that it had seized a major base belonging to the army in the southern part of the breakaway region of Somaliland. The Sool region, of which the disputed city of Las Anod is the capital,…

Canada wildfires: Entire town of Hay River in Northwest Territories ordered to leave as wildfires encroach

An aerial view shows charred remains on the side of the road beside the highway in Enterprise, Northwest Territories HAY RIVER (Northwest Territories, Canada), Aug 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Wildfires in Canada’s Northwest Territories on Friday forced the evacuation of the entire town of Hay River, a community of about 4,000…

Scotland: Loch Ness set for biggest monster hunt in decades

A photograph taken on July 6, 2023 shows Loch Ness, in the Scottish Highlands, which is experiencing lower than average water level DRUMNADROCHIT (Scotland, United Kingdom), Aug 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in five decades takes place in the Scottish Highlands Saturday, as researchers…