Tourist plane’s first flight crashes in SE France, 5 dead

PARIS, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five people, including four members of the same family, were killed in a tourist plane crash in the French Alps on Saturday, rescue services said. The accident happened in the afternoon shortly after take-off from the Versoud airfield near Grenoble in southeast France, for what…

Monkeypox: Israel, Switzerland report first cases as virus spreads

TEL AVIV/GENEVA, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Israel and Switzerland have confirmed their first cases of monkeypox, joining several European and North American countries in detecting a disease that is endemic to parts of Africa.In recent weeks, more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox have been detected in the…

Burkina Faso: Eleven soldiers dead in attack on army base

A soldier stands guard outside the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou OUAGADOUGOU, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eleven soldiers have been killed and nearly two dozen injured in an attack on a military base in eastern Burkina Faso, authorities said.Injured soldiers were taken to hospital and aerial support killed 15 attackers trying to…

IMF extends Somalia funding to August following election

WASHINGTON, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The International Monetary Fund has agreed to extend the duration of a crucial aid package to Somalia, following a long-overdue presidential election last weekend.The three-year $400m aid package from the IMF had been set to automatically expire on May 17 if a new administration was…

UK-Rwanda deal: Asylum seekers to arrive in Kigali in a ‘few weeks

Migrants at the port of Dover after they disembarked KIGALI, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The first batch of asylum seekers sent to Rwanda from the UK under a controversial new deal will likely arrive in the East African nation “in the next few weeks”, officials in Kigali said.Since being announced…

Ethiopia-Tigray crisis: Tigray forces announce release of thousands of POWs

Pro-TPLF rebels march in Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray MEKELLE (Tigray, Ethiopia), May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Tigray rebel forces fighting Ethiopia’s federal army have said they will release 4,000 prisoners of war as part of an amnesty.The Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) announced the prisoner release on Twitter,…

WHO expects more cases of monkeypox to emerge globally; 92 confirmed cases reported in 12 countries

GENEVA, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization said it expects to identify more cases of monkeypox as it expands surveillance in countries where the disease is not typically found. As of Saturday, 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported from 12 member states…

US-Mexico border: Pres Biden plan to end migrant expulsion policy blocked by court

More than 1.7 million people have been expelled under the controversial policy widely known as Title 42  WASHINGTON, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US judge has blocked plans by Joe Biden’s administration to lift a policy allowing migrants to be swiftly expelled at the Mexico border over concerns about spreading…

World Championships: Success for African women boxers

A sliver from Mozambique’s Helena Panguane was one of five medals won by Africans at the Women’s Boxing World Championships  ISTANBUL, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five African fighters took home medals from the Women’s Boxing World Championships in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with three of them silver. On Thursday…

US military probe finds no wrongdoing in deadly Syria air strike: Pentagon

The air strike happened in the Syrian town of Baghuz, then the Daesh group’s last stronghold  WASHINGTON, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US military investigation has found that troops did not violate the laws of war or deliberately cause civilian casualties in an air strike in Syria in 2019 that…