Germany, Nigeria sign accord for return of looted Benin Bronzes

A Benin Bronze sculpture at the German Foreign Ministry BERLIN, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Germany and Nigeria have signed an agreement that paves the way for the return of hundreds of artefacts known as the Benin Bronzes that were looted and removed from Africa more than 120 years ago –…

Hundreds of flights axed as US kicks off long holiday weekend

WASHINGTON, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Airlines cancelled several hundred US flights Saturday at the start of a long and almost certainly messy holiday travel weekend as carriers struggled to staff their planes. As of mid-day, with Americans gearing up for July 4 Independence Day celebrations, some 600 flights within, into…

Striking Paris airport workers to stage new walkout

PARIS, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Striking Paris airport workers said they would stage another walkout at the French capital’s main international hub from July 8-10 to press their pay demands, signalling further disruption for early summer travellers. Ground staff at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport have staged a series of strikes…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Pres Lukashenko says Belarus intercepted attempted missile strikes by Ukraine

MINSK, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Ukraine had tried to strike military facilities on Belarusian territory three days ago, but all its missiles had been intercepted, the state-run Belta news agency reported. Lukashenko, who did not provide evidence for the claim, said Belarus did not want…

Pro-Russia rebels claim to ‘encircle’ key city, Ukraine denies

KYIV, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fighting raged for Ukraine’s strategic Lysychansk, as Kyiv denied a claim by Moscow-backed separatists that they had encircled the eastern city.      Clashes have been intense in Lysychansk, the last major city in the Lugansk region of the Donbas still in Ukrainian hands, located…

Sudan protesters rally against coup leaders, day after nine killed

KHARTOUM, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudanese protesters rallied again and security forces fired tear gas at them, a day after a mass demonstration drawing tens of thousands was met with the deadliest violence so far this year. Hundreds of activists massed near the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum, after at least nine…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Washington blocks more than $1 bn in Russian oligarch’s US assets

WASHINGTON, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States blocked a US-based company worth more than $1 billion linked to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, saying the ally of President Vladimir Putin used it to funnel and invest shadowy funds. The Treasury Department said that Kerimov, a billionaire active in Russian politics,…

White rhinos return to Mozambique park after 40 years

ZINAVE (Mozambique), July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Mozambican park welcomed its first white rhinos in 40 years after 19 of the threatened animals completed a 1,600-kilometre truck ride from South Africa, conservationists said. The rhinos were reintroduced to Zinave National Park in southern Mozambique under an initiative to restore wildlife…

Brazil sets new six-month Amazon deforestation record

BRASILIA, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon reached a record level during the first half of 2022, the INPE national space agency said. The world’s largest tropical rainforest lost 3,750 square kilometers of jungle since the beginning of the year, the worst numbers for that period since…

US, Taliban talk earthquake aid, foreign reserves in Doha

WASHINGTON, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Talks between the United States and the Taliban continued in Doha earlier this week to discuss earthquake aid, the State Department said, months after the two parties last meet in the Qatari capital in March. The Taliban is seeking a way to unlock some the…