US ‘concerned’ about Mali request to withdraw peacekeepers

WASHINGTON, June 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US State Department said it “regrets” the Mali military regime’s decision to call for the United Nations to withdraw its peacekeeping force from the West African country. Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop called on Friday for the immediate withdrawal of the multinational force from…

Brazil violence: School shooting kills teen

LONDRINA (Brazil), June 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A gunman opened fire in a school he used to attend in southern Brazil, killing a 16-year-old student and badly wounding another before being arrested, authorities said. The ex-student arrived at the primary and secondary school in the municipality of Londrina saying he needed…

Ecuador: Six dead, eight wounded in gang shooting

 GUAYAQUIL (Ecuador), June 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Six people were killed and eight wounded in an apparent gang shootout in Guayaquil, a port city in Ecuador terrorized by a wave of violence blamed on a spiraling drug war, authorities said. Police Colonel Marcelo Castillo said that six people had died in…

Sierra Leoneans to vote as economic crisis bites

FREETOWN, June 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sierra Leoneans will vote in tense elections on Saturday, with President Julius Maada Bio hoping to secure a second term despite a crippling economic crisis which helped spark deadly protests last year. The West African country, which never fully recovered economically from a 1991-2002 civil…

Missing tourist sub has ‘about 40 hours’ of oxygen left: US Coast Guard

BOSTON, June  21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A deep-diving tourist submersible that went missing near the wreck of the Titanic with five people on board has “about 40 hours of breathable air” left, captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard said Tuesday.       The air and ship rescue efforts near the…

US-China relations: ‘We’re on the right trail,’ Biden says after Blinken trip to Beijing

PALO ALTO (US), June 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Joe Biden reacted positively after Secretary Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing where he met top Chinese leadership, saying “we’re on the right trail.” Speaking to reporters after a climate event in California, Biden said Blinken did “a hell of a job”…

Sudan crisis: 1.5 bn pledged to curb Sudan’s slide into ‘death and destruction’ – UN

GENEVA, June 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Donors at a UN conference pledged close to $1.5 billion to combat the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and help its neighbours host refugees fleeing the fighting. Sudan is descending into death and destruction at unprecedented speed, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned as he urged donors…

Sudan crisis: UN refugee chief says over 500,000 have fled Sudan

NAIROBI, June 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The head of the UN’s refugee agency Filippo Grandi said that the number of people who have fled the fighting in Sudan was now more than 500,000 while two million are internally displaced. “Today we pass the mark of half a million refugees from Sudan following the beginning of…

Chinese premier in Germany as Western mistrust mounts

German President Frank Walter Steinmeier receives Chinese Premier Li Qiang for talks in Berlin BERLIN, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China’s Premier Li Qiang met Germany’s president in Berlin during his first trip abroad on Monday, at a time when Beijing’s policies on Russia, trade and human rights are receiving an…

Russia rescues 68 migrants after boat capsizes in Mediterranean Sea

MOSCOW, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Russian warship and cargo ship rescued 68 people overnight from a boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday. It said in a statement that the Admiral Gorshkov warship had been the first to receive a distress call from the Avalon,…