8 pupils die on their way to school as boat capsizes on Volta Lake

ACCRA, Jan 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eight school children in Ghana’s Bono East Region were killed Tuesday after the boat taking them to school capsized on the Volta Lake, officials confirmed. National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) told the media that the eight — five boys and three girls aged five to…

Italian fuel station operators stage strike amid rising prices

ROME, Jan 25 (NNN-XINHUA) — Last-ditch efforts to avoid a national strike of gasoline and diesel distributors fell short Tuesday, as nearly three-quarters of Italy’s 21,000 fuel stations stopped operating at 7 pm. The strike, which was called to protest against new price display rules put in place amid rising…

Haiti faces protracted crisis: UN envoy

Helen La Lime, the UN secretary-general’s special representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti UNITED NATIONS, Jan 25 (NNN-Xinhua) — The top UN envoy for Haiti said the Caribbean nation is facing protracted security and humanitarian crisis, while describing the signing of a national consensus agreement and…

Grief grips Asian Americans after California mass shootings

 MONTEREY PARK (California, US), Jan 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Asian Americans were reeling after two mass shootings in California targeting members of their community left 18 people dead — with the alleged gunmen in both cases being older men of Asian descent. The killings came in a span of just 48…

WHO urges ‘immediate action’ after cough syrup deaths

A member of the Gambia Red Cross looks through sacks of collected cough syrups in Banjul GENEVA, Jan 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for “immediate and concerted action” to protect children from contaminated medicines after a spate of child deaths linked to cough syrups last…

DR Congo prepares to welcome Pope Francis in capital Kinshasa

KINSHASA, Jan 25 (NNN-GNA) — The Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing to receive Pope Francis who will be visiting East African Community’s troubled spots including South Sudan.The Catholic pontiff will arrive in Kinshasa on Jan 31 and will stay until Feb 3 before travelling to Juba.This will be the…

Tanzania’s government-funded university with no students for 13 years

Tanzania’s Mwalimu Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology DAR ES SALAAM, Jan 25 (NNN-GNA) — Tanzania’s Mwalimu Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology in Butiama District, Mara Region has been receiving millions of shillings in government funds for over a decade yet it has not enrolled any student since it…

Power crisis: International Relations Minister Pandor hopes South Africa will learn from Greece’s renewables-based energy system

PRETORIA, Jan 25 (NNN-SANEWS) — International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, believes that the experience Greece has acquired over time in green power resources would be of immense value to South Africa as the country diversifies its own energy.  This comes as government announced a series of interventions…

Rhino poaching: South Africa National Parks welcomes sentencing of poachers

PRETORIA, Jan 25 (NNN-SANEWS) — Management at the South African National Parks (SANParks) has welcomed the sentences handed down by the Skukuza Regional Court to two Mozambican nationals convicted of rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park (KNP). Lucky Shihlangu, 33, and Sergio Mathebula, 32, we found guilty and sentenced…

South Africa violence: Police Minister Cele calls for harsh sentences for cop killers

PRETORIA, Jan 25 (NNN-SANEWS) — South Africa’s Police Minister, Bheki Cele, has called on the courts to mete out the harshest possible sentence to criminals who murder police officers. This comes in the wake of the killing of yet another policeman in Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal, at the weekend. Police spokesperson,…