Nigeria: 19 arrested for suspected oil-stealing

022 PORT HARCOURT (River State, Nigeria), Feb 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) said that it had arrested 19 people on suspicion of stealing oil in southern Nigeria’s River State in recent operations against vandalism. The suspects were found on Friday and Saturday with three…

Madagascar: Cyclone Batsirai death toll rises to 20

A man pulling a cart wades through a flooded road in Antananarivo, Madagascar ANTANANARIVO, Feb 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — A total of 20 deaths were recorded in Madagascar by the Office of Risk and Disaster Management, following the passage of intense tropical cyclone Batsirai Saturday and Sunday. The multi-sectoral aerial assessment…

Gunmen target Guinea-Bissau radio station, week after failed coup

Residents of Bissau carrying the national flag during election campaigns BISSAU, Feb 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Barely a week after a failed coup, Guinea-Bissau has experienced another gun incident rekindling tensions in the West African country.It was reported that unknown gunmen fired shots at a private radio station, Capital Radio, damaging…

French Pres Macron hopes for ‘start towards de-escalation’ in Putin talks on Ukraine

  MOSCOW, Feb 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped to make a start towards a de-escalation of tensions over Ukraine, as he began talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.    Macron flew into Moscow at the start of a week of intense Western diplomacy…

New gas well found in Bolivia, expected to generate millions of dollars

LA PAZ, Feb 7 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora has confirmed the discovery of large gas reserves which -he hoped- would yield substantial profits to the country. The new finding was, named the Margarita-10 well, is located at the Margarita-Huacaya field in the departments of Chuquisaca and Tarija,…

Ex-president leads in Costa Rica presidential elections

Presidential candidate Jose Maria Figueres of the National Liberation Party (PLN) SAN JOSE, Feb 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — Former Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres leads in the current presidential elections, while a runoff is looming as no clear winner emerged, according to the latest data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal…

Sudan: Deadly clashes erupt in Darfur region

There has been a surge in violence and displacement in Darfur since 2020 KHARTOUM, Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Clashes between military forces and armed groups at the UNAMID facilities in Sudan’s Darfur region have left an unknown number of people dead and injured, according to a military statement. Witnesses said…

At least 10 killed as cyclone sweeps through Madagascar

ANTANANARIVO, Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 10 people have been killed and nearly 48,000 forced from their homes after Cyclone Batsirai struck Madagascar overnight, according to the island country’s office of disaster and risk management. The agency reported the deaths in a bulletin late on Sunday while state radio…

Mali: German Defense Minister ‘skeptical’ about continuing military mission under EU/UN

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht BERLIN, Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Germany’s defense minister on Sunday expressed doubt as to whether Germany’s military mission in Mali can continue. Christine Lambrecht told German broadcaster ZDF: “I am currently very skeptical about whether we can actually continue to be involved on the ground. I don’t…

Somali army kills 7 al-Shabaab terrorists

MOGADISHU, Feb 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Somali National Army (SNA) killed seven al-Shabaab terrorists in a security operation in the country’s southern state of Jubbaland on Sunday, local media reported. The special forces also destroyed the militant group’s hideouts in four villages in the state, SNA commanders who led the…