UN rights expert urges North Korea to reopen to aid, food

GENEVA, March 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A UN human rights investigator called on North Korea to reopen its borders to aid workers and food imports, saying that its further self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic may have left many facing “hunger and starvation”. Tomas Ojea Quintana, addressing the UN Human Rights Council,…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ukraine president Zelenskyy insists on meeting with Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Elysee Palace in Paris KYIV, March 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it would not be possible to negotiate an end to the war in his country without meeting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy told European public…

WHO sounds alarm on TB fight funds

  GENEVA, March 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The world is spending nowhere near enough to revive the fight against tuberculosis after the Covid-19 crisis wiped out years of progress, the WHO said.    Ahead of World Tuberculosis Day on Thursday, the World Health Organization said global spending on TB diagnostics, treatments and prevention in…

Tunisia train collision injures 95: emergency services

TUNIS, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A head-on collision between two passenger trains injured 95 people on Monday morning in the south of the Tunisian capital, emergency services said. “The injured were taken to hospitals and there were no deaths,” civil defence spokesman Moez Triaa said, adding that only one of…

Algeria recalls Spain envoy over Western Sahara policy change

Moroccan soldiers are seen on an earth wall that separates areas controlled by Morocco and the Polisario Front in Western Sahara ALGIERS, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Algeria has recalled its ambassador from Madrid in protest at Spain’s decision to back a Moroccan autonomy plan for the disputed former Spanish colony…

DR Congo: Fourteen killed in machete attack in Ituri province

Gold-rich Ituri province has been plunged back into a cycle of violence since late 2017 KINSHASA, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fourteen people, including seven children, have been killed with machetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Red Cross has said, as a community leader blamed a notorious armed…

Germany seals gas deal with Qatar to reduce dependence on Russia

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani shakes hands with German economy minister Robert Habeck in Doha DOHA, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) –Germany and Qatar have reached a long-term energy partnership, a German official has said, as Europe’s biggest economy seeks to become less dependent on Russian energy sources. Russia…

Thousands of Tunisians protest against Pres Saied, his poll on reforms

Tunisian protesters hold a poster calling for the release of prominent lawyer Abderrazak Kilani and chanting against President Saied, not far from the Tunisian Assembly headquarters in Tunis TUNIS, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 2,000 Tunisians rallied on Sunday, the country’s independence day, against President Kais Saied and a…

Ecowas envoy leaves Mali without deal on poll date

BAMAKO, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has ended a two-day visit to Mali without any agreement on a date for elections to return the country to civilian rule. The military government in Mali, which seized power in 2020, said it regretted the lack of compromise at…

Covid-19: France’s infections spike week-on-week following easing of restrictions

PARIS, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France reported an average of close to 90,000 new coronavirus infections over the last seven days, marking a 36 per cent rise from one week ago when most COVID-19 health protocol measures were lifted by the government just ahead of the country’s elections. New cases…