US will contribute additional US$8 million to anti-drugs fight in Peru

LIMA, Jan 5 (NNN-ANDINA) — United States Ambassador to Peru Lisa Kenna announced that the US Government will provide an additional US$8 million for the Special Project for the Control and Reduction of Coca Cultivation in Upper Huallaga (CORAH) to support its 2023 eradication activities. This additional support complements the annual…

Missouri carries out first US execution of a transgender person

Amber McLaughlin was executed by lethal injection JEFFERSON CITY (Missouri, US), Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Missouri inmate was put to death for a 2003 killing in what is believed to be the first execution of a transgender person in the United States.Amber McLaughlin, 49, was convicted of stalking and…

DR Congo: Grenade kills two children who mistook it for a toy; 6 injured

Two children have died and six people been wounded in eastern DR Congo KINSHASA, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two children have died and six people have been wounded in eastern DR Congo after a grenade they discovered during a bird hunt exploded, local officials said.A group of youngsters had been…

Burkina Faso requests French ambassador withdrawal, Paris says

Burkina Faso leader Captain Ibrahim Traore PARIS, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The French foreign ministry says it received a letter from the Burkinabe authorities in December requesting the departure of France’s ambassador from Burkina Faso.The French ministry’s spokeswoman confirmed that it had received such a letter, but declined to give…

Ugandan army captures rebel ADF leader

KAMPALA, Jan 5 (NNN-GNA) — The Ugandan military has captured the leader of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terrorist group that crossed from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and attacked villages in Ntoroko District last month, army spokesperson said.The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) spokesperson, Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye,…

President Samia Hassan sacks Tanzanian envoy to UN over corruption

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan DAR ES SALAAM, Jan 5 (NNN-GNA) — Tanzania’s permanent representative to the United Nations and ambassador to the United States, Prof Kennedy Gastorn, was on Tuesday fired over a corruption scandal whose details were not disclosed.The abrupt decision came several months after President Samia Suluhu…

China stats ‘under-represent’ true impact of Covid outbreak: WHO

 GENEVA, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization criticised China’s “very narrow” definition of Covid deaths, warning that official statistics were not showing the true impact of the outbreak.  “We still do not have complete data,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters.  “We believe that the current numbers…

Death toll from Mexican prison attack rises to 19

 MEXICO CITY, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An attack by gunmen on a Mexican prison left 19 people dead and allowed 25 inmates to escape, including a gang leader, the government said in an update. Ten guards, seven prisoners and two attackers died in the assault on Sunday in Ciudad Juarez near…

Migrants in peril rescued by Italy coastguard: charity

ROME, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A charity monitoring migrant boats in the Central Mediterranean said the Italian coastguard had pulled around 50 people to safety after repeated appeals for help. Alarm Phone, a hotline used by migrants in distress, tweeted that it was “relieved to confirm that the Italian coastguard…

US says Venezuela’s Maduro still illegitimate after opposition ‘government’ disbanded

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States said it still did not consider Nicolas Maduro to be the legitimate president of Venezuela and would maintain sanctions after the fledgling opposition dissolved its “interim government.” President Joe Biden’s administration said that Venezuelan government assets in the United States, notably of the…