Former Central Africa militia head handed over to ICC

THE HAGUE, March 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chadian authorities on Monday handed over to the International Criminal Court a former Central African Republic militia leader accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Hague-based court said. Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka is suspected of crimes committed in 2013 and 2014…

Mozambique needs sovereign insurance to be financially resilient to natural disasters: PM

MAPUTO, March 15 (Xinhua) — Mozambican Prime Minister Adriano Maleine said the government is working to establish a sovereign insurance that will allow the country to be more resilient and better mitigate the impact of natural disasters, the state radio station Radio Mozambique reported on Tuesday. Maleine was speaking to…

Cameroon bans shisha smoking

YOUNDE, March 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Shisha smoking has been banned across Cameroon for health reasons.Authorities say the ban is as a result of the danger that the tobacco-based substance poses to the mostly young people who use it in bars and at home.Health Ministry records show that some 46% of…

Sudanese protest against hike in price of bread, fuel

Nationwide protests against the rising cost of living have intensified in the past week  KHARTOUM, March 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The security forces in Sudan have fired tear gas at people protesting against sharp rises in the cost of bread and fuel. Marches have been held across the country. Demonstrators said…

US violence: Police hunting a masked gunman targeting homeless people while they sleep; 2 dead, 3 injured

 WASHINGTON, March 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A masked gunman has struck five times in nine days – shooting homeless people as they slept on the streets of New York and Washington DC. Police say the “modus operandi” is the same in each case and the mayors of the two cities fear…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Russia readies to repay foreign debts in local currency, roubles

 A board showing currency exchange rates of the Euro and the U.S. dollar against the Russian roubles MOSCOW, March 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia’s Finance Ministry said it has approved a temporary plan to service its external debt obligations, but warned that biting international sanctions mean the payments could be made…

Covid-19: Moscow cancels masks and requirements for businesses starting March 15

MOSCOW, March 15 (NNN-TASS) — Masks and mandatory anti-COVID measures for enterprises and organizations, based on the Moscow mayor’s earlier decree, are set to be abolished in the Russian capital starting from March 15, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on his blog on Tuesday.    “The stable improvement of the…

Cruise ship with thousands on board runs aground off Dominican coast

SANTO DOMINGO, March 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Officials in the Dominican Republic confirmed that a large cruise ship had run aground off the Caribbean island nation’s north coast after leaving the port of Puerto Plata.    According to local media, the ship is the Norwegian Escape, which carries 3,000 tourists and…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: US Department of State announces sanctions against 11 Russian defense officials

WASHINGTON, March 15 (NNN-TASS) — US Department of State announced sanctions again 11 high-ranking representatives of the Russian forces and military-industrial complex Monday, including Russian National Guard head Viktor Zolotov, head of Russian Federal Service on military-technical cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev and eight Russian Deputy Defense Ministers.…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: NASA insists space station unaffected by Russian war

The International Space Station (ISS) crew members Mark Vande Hei of NASA, cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos WASHINGTON, March 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — NASA insisted tensions linked to the war in Ukraine had no impact on International Space Station operations or the planned return of an American astronaut aboard a…