Clashes in Libya capital kill 27, wound more than 100: medics

TRIPOLI, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Gun battles between two leading armed groups in the Libyan capital Tripoli have killed 27 people and wounded 106, a toll update from the Emergency Medicine Centre said Wednesday. The centre, which provides emergency services in the west of Tripoli, published the “provisional” on its…

Tanzania, Uganda in internet sharing deal

Tanzania’s Minister of Information, Communications and Information Technology, Nape Nnauye DAR ES SALAAM, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Tanzanian government said that it was finalising the process for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to sell National ICT Backbone Infrastructure to Uganda.Minister of Information, Communications and Information Technology…

South Sudan raises spending plan amid jitters on economy

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir JUBA, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Sudan is raising its spending plan for the fiscal year by a third, even as Juba’s economic reforms received a bleak assessment from Washington on Monday.President Salva Kiir on Monday signed into law this year’s national budget worth SSP2.1…

African countries to reap from global coffee value chain

Officials from 25 coffee-producing countries in Africa gathered in Uganda for a four-day meeting KAMPALA, Aug 16 (NNN-GNA) — Officials from 25 coffee-producing countries in Africa gathered in Uganda for a four-day meeting that wrapped up Thursday, vowing to protect the continent’s fair share in the global value chain.The meeting,…

Kenya reinstates fuel subsidy after months of violent protests

Kenyan President William Ruto NAIROBI, Aug 16 (NNN-GNA) — Kenya has reinstated a small subsidy to stabilise retail fuel prices for the next 30 days, the energy regulator says, in a reversal of government policy after public anger over the high cost of living.After taking office in September, President William…

UN denounces dramatic jump in Colombia violence

BOGOTA, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Over 50 massacres took place in Colombia in the first half of this year, an increase of 11 percent, despite truces between the government and armed groups, the United Nations said. Juliette De Rivero, the in-country representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human…

Georgia landslide death toll climbs to at least 26

 TBILISI, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from a landslide at a resort town in northwestern Georgia has risen to 26, the internal affairs ministry said. Search operations are ongoing for seven people still missing from the Aug 3 landslide around Shovi, a small resort in the Caucasus nation’s…

Around 40 migrants rescued, others found dead off Cape Verde

PRAIA (Cape Verde), Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several migrants have been found dead and around 40 rescued from a boat off Cape Verde, authorities said, with fears dozens more may have died. Cape Verdean media reported that the “pirogue” style boat common in the region left Senegal a month ago,…

US calls on Rwanda, DR Congo to de-escalate

WASHINGTON, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Rwanda’s leader on Tuesday and pressed for a de-escalation after a new flare-up in tensions with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kinshasa’s military late last month accused Rwandan forces of entering its troubled border area, a claim denied…

US gun violence: ‘Drunk’ California judge shot dead wife with one of his 47 guns – prosecutors

LOS ANGELES, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A California judge charged with drunkenly killing his wife with a gun he kept in an ankle holster allegedly texted a colleague after the shooting to say “I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody,” a court heard Tuesday. Judge Jeffrey Ferguson…