Massachusetts identifies first 2022 US case of monkeypox infection

BOSTON, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said it had confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in a man who had recently traveled to Canada. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its labs confirmed the infection to be monkeypox on Wednesday…

US warns of possible North Korean nuclear or missile test during Pres Biden Asia trip

People watch a news report showing file footage of a North Korean missile test, in Seoul WASHINGTON, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US intelligence shows there could be a North Korean nuclear test, or missile test, or both, before, during or after President Joe Biden’s trip to South Korea and Japan…

Spain to allow girls over 16 to opt for abortions

 MADRID, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain has approved a draft bill that would remove the requirement for 16 and 17-year-old girls to have parental consent before terminating a pregnancy. The new bill is aimed at reforming a previous abortion law approved by the conservative People’s Party in 2015. Government spokeswoman…

US racism: Dallas salon shooting investigated as hate crime; Black man arrested, 3 Asian women injured

Jeremy Theron Smith  DALLAS (Texas, US), May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Police say a man accused of shooting three women at a salon in Dallas, Texas, harboured “delusions” about Asian people. The FBI has opened a hate crime probe into Jeremy Theron Smith, 36, who was arrested on Monday for the…

Morocco ‘breathing again’ as tourists back after Covid shutdown

MARRAKESH (Morocco), May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Moroccan snake-charmer Youssef watched as long-absent tourists again thronged Marrakesh’s famous Jamaa El-Fna square, ending a long pause forced by the Covid pandemic. “We’re breathing again,” he said. The ancient southern city, famous for its views of graceful red buildings set against palm trees…

US wildfires: Los Angeles observatory evacuated as firefighters battle blaze

 LOS ANGELES, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A small fire broke out at a park in the heart of Los Angeles, causing officials to evacuate the city’s historic Griffith Observatory. Los Angeles Fire Department declared the four-acre blaze a “major emergency” and were tackling the flames from the ground and by…

Belarus introduces death penalty for ‘attempted’ terrorism: reports

MINSK, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Belarus has introduced the death penalty for attempts to carry out acts of terrorism, charges that several opposition activists face in the ex-Soviet country. “Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a law on the possibility of the death penalty for an attempted terrorist act,” the RIA…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: 959 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered at Azovstal since Monday – Russia

MOSCOW, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia’s defence ministry said that 959 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered this week at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol. “Over the past 24 hours, 694 militants surrendered, including 29 wounded,” the ministry said in its daily briefing on the conflict.…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Finland, Sweden hand in applications to join NATO

BRUSSELS, May  19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Finland and Sweden have handed in their bids to join NATO, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine up-ended decades of military non-alignment. The applications were warmly received by most allies. But Turkey raised objections, and ambassadors meeting in Brussels on Wednesday failed to reach consensus on…

Ethiopia ex-peacekeepers from Tigray arrive in Sudan for asylum

Ethiopian former peacekeepers disembark off a United Nations’ Embraer E190 aircraft as they arrive in Sudan’s Kassala airport after seeking asylum KHARTOUM, May 17 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Some 40 former peacekeepers hailing from Ethiopia’s war-wracked Tigray region arrived Sunday in eastern Sudan after seeking asylum. Last month, more than 500 UN…