Algeria forest fires: At least 26 dead, minister says

The devastation caused by separate forest fires in Tizi Ouzou, northern Algeria ALGIERS, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 26 people have been killed and dozens more injured in forest fires that have devastated northern Algeria. Kamel Beldjoud, the country’s interior minister, said 24 died in El Tarf, near the…

‘Colour of skin’ may be why Tigray crisis not getting attention: WHO chief

GENEVA, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has suggested that racism is behind a lack of international attention being paid to the plight of civilians in Ethiopia’s war-shattered Tigray region. Calling it the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world”, with 6 million people unable…

Portugal, Spain struggle to control forest fires

ORJAIS (Portugal), Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Firefighters in Spain and Portugal were battling to control multiple forest fires across the Iberian Peninsula with blazes in the Serra da Estrela park resuming just days after being brought under control. Strong winds have been hampering attempts to combat the spread of the fire,…

UK crossbow intruder of Windsor Castle wanted ‘to kill queen’, court hears

  LONDON, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A man appeared in court Wednesday after allegedly entering Windsor Castle grounds armed with a crossbow, declaring he planned to kill Queen Elizabeth II. The 20-year-old man, Jaswant Singh Chail, from Southampton in southern England, appeared at a London court, having been charged with…

Morocco bus crash leaves 15 dead, scores injured

  RABAT, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A bus crash east of Morocco’s economic capital Casablanca left 15 people dead and 37 injured Wednesday, according to an initial toll from local authorities. The bus overturned on a bend of a motorway in Khouribja province in the morning, the authorities said. It…

Zimbabwe: Measles outbreak leaves more than 150 children dead

HARARE, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An outbreak of measles in Zimbabwe has killed at least 157 children with the death toll nearly doubling in just under a week, the government said. The total number of suspected cases across the country has risen from 1,036 to 2,056 in the space of just four…

French troops fully withdraw from Mali

PARIS, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The last batch of France’s Operation Barkhane troops left Mali on Monday, marking the end of nearly a decade of bilateral military cooperation. “Today, at 13.00 (Paris time), the last military unit of the Barkhane force present on Malian territory crossed the border to Niger.…

Peacekeeping troop rotations resume in Mali: UN

NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA • AUGUST 17, 2022 UN peacekeeping troops in Mali UNITED NATIONS, Aug 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — The rotation of peacekeeping troops in and out of Mali has resumed after a month’s suspension by the Malian government, a UN spokesman said. The rotations began Monday with a contingent from…

German rampage driver who killed five in city of Trier sentenced to life

Bernd W’s last name is protected under German privacy laws  TRIER (Germany), Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A German man who drove his speeding car through a pedestrian area in the city of Trier, killing five people, has been sentenced to life in prison. The attack in December 2020 killed a…

Arrest tally in El Salvador gang crackdown reaches 50,000

SAN SALVADOR, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — El Salvador has arrested some 50,000 suspected gang members since President Nayib Bukele launched a “war” in March on criminal groups terrorizing the country, the head of the country’s police force announced. “We can inform the Salvadoran people that we have already reached 50,000…