Gunmen kill 2 prison officers in southern Nigeria

OWERRI (Imo, Nigeria), March 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — Two prison officers were shot dead on Wednesday in an ambush in Nigeria’s southern state of Imo, a spokesperson said. The two officers were on patrol in the state’s Okigwe area when they were ambushed by gunmen, Goodluck Uboegbulem, spokesperson for the Nigerian…

Doctors Without Borders allowed to bring boat migrants to Sicily

AUGUSTA (Sicily, Italy), March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) allowed to bring a group of 111 ill migrants in Sicily, after waiting in the Mediterranean Sea for about a week.The Geo Barents ship will now call at the port in Augusta, the organization…

Justice Department accuses China of spying on, intimidating dissidents living in US

Xiong Yan, who was a dissident in China and now a Democratic candidate, is alleged to have been one Chinese target WASHINGTON, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US federal prosecutors accused Chinese government agents of trying to spy on and intimidate dissidents living in the United States including a congressional candidate. Justice…

US: 8 staff injured after vehicle crashes into Middle School in California

LOS ANGELES, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eight staff members were injured after a vehicle crashed into a building at a middle school in western US state of California, authorities said. The crash occurred around 1:11 p.m. local time on campus at Tomas Rivera Middle School in City of Perris in…

Covid-19: US donates more than 500 million vaccines to other countries

 WASHINGTON, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States has given more than 500 million coronavirus vaccines to other countries since the jabs were developed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.    “The United States has now shared over 500 million safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine doses, free…

UN to vote on its presence in Afghanistan, barring a Russia veto

UNITED NATIONS, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Security Council votes Thursday on a resolution to secure the United Nations’ presence in war-torn Afghanistan into the future — unless Russia, which has stymied negotiations this week, vetoes the measure.      The draft text introduced by Norway reshapes the global body’s relations…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: ICJ tells Moscow to halt Ukraine invasion

The Ukrainian delegation on the first day of hearings at the Peace Palace in the Hague, Netherland THE HAGUE, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN’s top court ordered Russia to suspend its invasion of Ukraine, saying it was “profoundly concerned” by Moscow’s use of force. Kyiv hailed the verdict as a…

Covid-19: Number of cases across globe exceeds 460 million – WHO

GENEVA, March 17 (NNN-TASS) — The overall number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has exceeded 460 million and the number of fatalities has exceeded 6.05 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.   As of March 16, as many as 460,280,168 novel coronavirus cases and 6,050,018 coronavirus-associated deaths…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: UN Security Council members call for emergency Ukraine meeting

UNITED NATIONS, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States, Britain, France, Albania, Norway and Ireland have requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting Thursday because of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine, diplomatic sources said.    “Russia is committing war crimes and targeting civilians,” the British diplomatic mission to the…

Covid-19: WTO chief hails vaccines IP compromise

GENEVA, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Trade Organization chief hailed a breakthrough between the EU, the United States, India and South Africa on waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines.    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the compromise was a big step forward in a bid to end the logjam at…