Nigeria: Police suspect suicide bomber behind Borno’s deadly mosque blast

MAIDUGURI (Nigeria), Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria police said that they suspected a suicide bomber was behind the blast that killed several worshippers in a mosque on Christmas eve in the country’s northeastern Borno state. A police spokesman put the death toll at five, with 35 wounded. The bomb went off inside…

Greece: Coastguard rescue 52 migrants off island of Farmakonisi, boy missing

ATHENS, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greek coastguard were searching Thursday for a missing child off the island of Farmakonisi after rescuing 52 migrants in two separate incidents in the Aegean Sea, local media reported. They found 13 migrants who had arrived on the small, uninhabited island, but one boy was…

Gang members given hundreds-years-long sentences in El Salvador

Inmates remain in their cell as Costa Rica’s Minister of Security Gerald Campos tours the Centre for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) during a visit organized by El Salvador’s Presidency in Tecoluca, El Salvador SAN SALVADOR, Dec 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — El Salvador announced prison sentences for hundreds of gang members on Sunday,…

Russian general killed by car bomb in Moscow, officials say

The explosion occurred on Monday morning outside a block of flats south of Moscow MOSCOW, Dec 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Russian general has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow, officials have said. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov died on Monday morning after an explosive device…

Colombia says 18 soldiers kidnapped during anti-guerrilla raid

BOGOTA, Dec 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eighteen Colombian troops have been kidnapped while conducting an operation against the ELN guerrilla group, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday. The soldiers were surrounded by “nearly 200 people and forcibly transferred, against their will, to an indigenous reservation” in Choco Department in the country’s…

Sudan crisis: Drone attack on Darfur market kills 10 – rescuers

PORT SUDAN (Sudan), Dec 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A drone attack on a busy market in Sudan’s North Darfur state killed 10 people over the weekend, first responders said on Sunday, without saying who was responsible. The attack comes as fighting intensified elsewhere in the country, leading aid workers to be…

Nigeria kidnappings: Government confirms release of remaining abducted schoolchildren in central state

ABUJA, Dec 22 (NNN-XINHUA) — The Nigerian government on Sunday confirmed that all remaining schoolchildren and staff held hostage by suspected terrorists following an attack on a school in the central state of Niger last month have regained their freedom. “Another 130 Abducted Niger State Pupils Released, None Left In…

Spain regional election: Ruling Socialists crushed in rural Extremadura vote

MADRID, Dec 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s scandal-hit Socialists endured a crushing defeat in a regional election in Extremadura on Sunday, which saw far-right Vox make big gains. The Socialists, who lead the minority national coalition, have been rocked by corruption and sexual misconduct allegations and the…

US in ‘pursuit’ of third oil tanker in Caribbean: official

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Coast Guard was pursuing another allegedly sanctioned tanker on Sunday, a US official said, as Washington ramps up its pressure campaign targeting Venezuela’s vital oil sector. The “active pursuit” in the Caribbean Sea was happening a day after the Coast Guard seized its…

Twelve bodies found outside Guatemala City; suspected victims of gang violence

GUATEMALA CITY, Dec 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 12 bodies have been found in three days in a wooded area on the outskirts of Guatemala City, authorities said Sunday, linking the discovery to gang violence. The bodies had been dumped in an area where criminals often dispose of corpses, according…