New clashes over anti-immigration rally in Sweden, protesting Quran burning by far-right group

STOCKHOLM, April 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Swedish police said officers wounded three people in the eastern city of Norrkoping as demonstrators protested plans by a far-right group to burn copies of the Quran. “Police fired several warning shots. Three people appear to have been hit by ricochets and are currently being treated…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: UN refugee chief’s peace hopes as 4.8 million Ukrainians flee

GENEVA, April 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The head of the UN refugee agency hoped that peace would prevail over war, with more than 4.8 million Ukrainians having fled their country since the Russian invasion. “As Christians celebrate resurrection on this sombre Easter Sunday, we must stubbornly hope that in the days,…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Zelenskyy, IMF managing director discuss Ukraine’s ‘post-war reconstruction’

KYIV/WASHINGTON, April 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about Ukraine’s financial stability and the country’s post-war reconstruction. “Discussed with IMF Managing Director Georgieva the issue of ensuring Ukraine’s financial stability & preparations for post-war reconstruction. We have…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Oil prices rise on supply concerns as Ukraine crisis deepens

PARIS, April 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Oil prices rose on Monday as concerns grew about tighter global supply, with the deepening crisis in Ukraine raising the prospect of heavier sanctions by the West on top exporter Russia. Brent futures were up $1.50, or 1.3per cent, at $113.20 a barrel at 0030…

Container ship stranded for a month off US coast refloated

 WASHINGTON, April 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A massive container ship stranded for a month in the US east coast’s Chesapeake Bay was refloated on Sunday, local media reported. The Ever Forward, owned by the Taiwan-based company Evergreen, became lodged in some six meters of mud a few hundred yards from shore…

South Africa floods death toll rises to 443, including a rescuer: govt

DURBAN (South Africa), April 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from floods that have battered South Africa’s east coast rose to 443 on Sunday, including a rescuer, a provincial premier announced, as dozens more are still missing. “The death toll now stands at 443,” Sihle Zikalala, the premier of the…

Five arrested in cocaine bust off Spain’s Canary Islands

Police officers discharge drugs from the fishing boat “AKT-1” MADRID, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five people were arrested when a fishing boat carrying a reported two tonnes of cocaine was intercepted off the Canary Islands, Spanish police said. The Akt1 was stopped by a Spanish coastguard vessel in waters south…

US: At least 2 killed in train-vehicle crash in Texas

HARRIS COUNTY (Texas), April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two people were killed in a train crash in Texas’s northeast Harris County, deputies say. An Amtrak train 1 was traveling from New Orleans to Los Angeles when a Chrysler 300 went around a vehicle at the train track with arms down and…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Russia says its forces clear most of Mariupol, strike Kyiv suburb

Ukrainian servicemen walk past damaged apartment buildings in Mariupol on Saturday KYIV, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and other cities as Moscow said that its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol, and that only a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters remained inside a steelworks…

South Africa floods: More rain in flood-ravaged Durban southeastern region

DURBAN (South Africa), April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa’s flood-ravaged east was hit by more rain Saturday after the deadliest storm to strike the country in living memory killed nearly 400 people and left tens of thousands homeless. Floodwaters engulfed parts of the southeastern coastal city of Durban this week…