Ukraine rebel leader announces ‘general mobilisation’

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The leader of the east Ukraine breakaway region of Donetsk on Saturday said he had introduced general mobilisation, with fears mounting of war in the ex-Soviet country.   The announcement came after observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported a significant…

Sharp decline in violence against civilians in South Sudan – UN

JUBA, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Reported incidents of violence against civilians fell by around 42 per cent in 2021 compared with the previous year, according to a new report released by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The UNMISS Human Rights Division’s annual brief on violence affecting civilians, documented 3,414 civilian victims subjected…

Russia-Ukraine tension: Pres Putin says sees ‘deterioration of situation’ in east Ukraine as Pres Biden says Russia to attack within the week

 MOSCOW, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday the situation in conflict-hit eastern Ukraine was worsening, as the West accuses him of planning an imminent attack on the country.    “Right now we are seeing a deterioration of the situation” in eastern Ukraine, Putin said at a press…

Update: Nine dead as Storm Eunice batters Europe

 LONDON, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Storm Eunice killed at least nine people in Europe on Friday, pummelling Britain with record-breaking winds and forcing millions to take shelter as it disrupted flights, trains and ferries across Western Europe.   London was eerily empty after the British capital was placed under its…

US gun violence: Two years in prison for ex-US cop who shot dead Black man at traffic stop

Kimberly Potter, a former police officer MINNEAPOLIS (Minnesota, US), Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A former US police officer who shot dead a young African-American man after mistaking her gun for her Taser was given two years in prison on Friday, a sentence the victim’s father denounced as a “slap on…

Covid-19: US Pres Biden to extend national emergency due to covid health risk

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Joe Biden said the US national emergency declared in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be extended beyond March 1 due to the ongoing risk to public health posed by the coronavirus. Biden said the deaths of more than 900,000 Americans from COVID-19…

US gun violence: Gunmaker unveils semi-automatic rifle marketed to kids

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US gun manufacturer has unveiled a semi-automatic rifle for kids modeled on the AR-15, which has been used in a number of deadly mass shootings, sparking condemnation from gun safety groups.    The gun dubbed the JR-15 is being marketed by maker WEE1 Tactical…

Canada: Police move to clear last anti-vaccine mandate demonstrators in trucker-led protests

OTTAWA, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Police in Canada moved to dislodge the final truckers and protesters from downtown Ottawa, in a mostly peaceful operation aimed at bringing an end to three weeks of demonstrations overCovid-19 health rules.    Deployed by the hundreds, the police said they made more than 100…

Tunisia, China sign 4-year implementation plan for cultural cooperation

Tunisian Culture Minister Hayet Guermazi and Chinese Ambassador to Tunisia Zhang Jianguo TUNIS, Feb 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — Tunisia on Friday signed a four-year implementation plan with China to promote cultural cooperation in areas such as cinema and cultural digitalization. “Tunisia will work in cooperation with China to organize the first…

UN releases emergency fund for cyclone response in Madagascar as another cyclone expected to make landfall next week

Thousands are currently being cared for at shelter sites in the cyclone-affected areas of Madagascar UNITED NATIONS, Feb 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths allocated 2.5 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to ramp up the humanitarian response to Tropical Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar,…