France’s Pres Macron looks to ‘future’ on Algeria trip to mend ties

ALGIERS, Aug 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Emmanuel Macron starts a three-day visit Thursday to Algeria to help mend ties with the former French colony, which this year marks its 60th anniversary of independence. The first French president to be born after Algerian independence, Macron is hoping “to lay a foundation…

Colombia dangles olive branch to drug lords

  BOGOTA, Aug 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombian drug traffickers facing charges in the United States will avoid extradition if they turn themselves in, president Gustavo Petro said. Petro said members of the powerful and heavily armed Gulf drug cartel will enjoy “legal benefits” if they quit the narcotics trade and…

Mexico ex-attorney general to face trial over missing students

MEXICO CITY, Aug 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Mexican judge on Wednesday ordered a former attorney general to stand trial in the case of 43 students whose murky disappearance in 2014 traumatized the nation. Jesus Murillo Karam will be tried on charges of forced disappearance, torture and obstruction of justice, the…

Sierra Leone to start voter registration for 2023 elections

FREETOWN, Aug 25 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) said voter registration for the 2023 general elections will run from Sept 3 to Oct 4. Chief Electoral Commissioner of ECSL Mohamed Kenewui Konneh said that they had mapped out 3,630 centers across the country and procured 2,000…

US shooting: Uvalde school police chief sacked months after 21 killed in school shooting in Texas

Pete Arredondo, center, the Uvalde school district police chief HOUSTON, Aug 25 (NNN-Xinhua) — Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo was fired on Wednesday evening in a unanimous vote by the Uvalde school board, three months after 19 children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in…

Ethiopia-Tigray crisis: Tigray forces loot 570,000 liters of fuel destined for aid distribution – UN

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 25 (NNN-Xinhua) — In renewed Ethiopia fighting, Tigray forces on Wednesday looted 570,000 liters of fuel from the United Nations for aid distribution trucks, further undermining humanitarian work, a UN spokesman said. The World Food Programme warehouse in Mekelle, capital of the Tigray region, was forcibly entered…

Water level of Drava river in Croatia drops to historic low

ZAGREB, Aug 25 (NNN-Xinhua) — The water level of the river Drava in eastern Croatia has dropped to a historic low of minus 170 centimeters due to the severe drought, the Croatian state news agency Hina said. This is the lowest level since measurements began in 1827, the report said.…

Head of Libya’s parliament-approved gov’t calls for peaceful handover of power

TRIPOLI, Aug 25 (NNN-Xinhua) — Fathi Bashagha, prime minister-designate of Libya’s parliament-approved government, called on the Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah to peacefully hand over power. Bashagha called on Dbeibah to “resort to peace and avoid war.” In a letter addressed to Dbeibah on Wednesday, Bashagha said: “This is a…

17-year-old becomes youngest pilot to fly solo around world

Mack Rutherford, 17, broke the current world record for the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world SOFIA, Aug 25 (NNN-Xinhua) — Mack Rutherford, 17, landed here on Wednesday after he broke the current world record for the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world. His achievement was…

US shooting: Two dead, three injured in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two people were killed and three others were injured in a shooting in northwest Washington, D.C. Wednesday afternoon. Police were called to North Capitol and O Street, Northwest, around 12:50 p.m. for reports of fired gunshots. Officers found two people with gunshot wounds who were…