DR Congo: Three protesters killed in attack on UN convoy in Nyiragongo territory

GOMA (DR Congo), Feb 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least three demonstrators were killed in an attack on a UN convoy in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations mission in the country said in a statement. Militias have plagued the mineral-rich eastern DRC for decades, many of them a…

Burkina Faso: Six killed in suspected militants attack

 OUAGADOUGOU, Feb 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Six people were killed when suspected jihadist gunmen attacked a town in central Burkina Faso, a local governor said, as the country grapples with a brutal seven-year insurgency. Thousands of Burkinabe civilians, troops, and police have died, and more than two million fled their homes,…

Chile wildfires: New areas under threat as fires rage and mercury rises

SANTIAGO, Feb 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Forest fires that have killed 26 people and left thousands homeless in south-central Chile in the past week threatened new regions as temperatures soared. Some 5,600 firefighters, the majority of them volunteers, are actively battling 81 priority blazes out of 301 still burning, according to…

Austria avalanches kill at least 8 people

Avalanches have killed about 20 people annually in recent years in Austria, a popular winter sports destination ZURICH, Feb 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Austrian police say five people were killed in avalanches in the west of the country after three deaths were earlier reported despite pleas for caution on the ski…

South Africa artists bag Grammy Award

PRETORIA, Feb 6 (NNN-SANEWS) — The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has congratulated eminent South African musicians Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode for winning the Best Global Music Performance at the Grammy Awards. The artists won for their collaboration of ‘Bayethe’ on Sunday at the 65th annual…

Two cholera cases confirmed in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 6 (NNN-SANEWS) — South Africa Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, has called for vigilance as the country has recorded two laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera imported from Malawi. According to the department, the cases were confirmed in two sisters, who had travelled together from Johannesburg to Malawi to attend…

Mother, seven children die in fire in France: police

 LILLE (France), Feb 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A mother and her seven children aged two to 14 died after a fire broke out while they slept in their house in northern France on Monday, police and firefighters said. The blaze broke out shortly after midnight in the family home in the town of Charly-sur-Marne,…

UK: Home Office will resume patrolling for irregular migrants in the English Channel

LONDON, Feb 6 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — UK’s Home Office is resuming operational responsibility for tackling boats carrying migrants across the English Channel, after eight months under the leadership of the Royal Navy. A change in the operational control follows last month’s announcement that a new Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC) would…

Zanzibar secures market for neglect seaweed

ZANZIBAR, Feb 6 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — NEWLY established Zanzibar Seaweed Company (ZASCO) has secured the market for the Ulva seaweed variety, which was previously disregarded as waste and environmental nuisance. ZASCO Director General Dr Masoud Rashid Mohammed said here over the weekend that the company has since September last year spent…

US looks for Chinese balloon debris

The remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US navy personnel worked to recover on Sunday the debris of a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot…