Queen Elizabeth II set to be 1st British monarch to celebrate 70 years of reign

Queen Elizabeth II LONDON, Feb 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday become the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee, marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth. To celebrate the unprecedented anniversary of the 95-year-old the monarch,…

US racism: Mahatma Gandhi’s statue vandalised in New York

NEW YORK, Feb 6 (NNN-PTI) — A life-sized bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised in a New York City neighbourhood on Saturday, an act strongly condemned as ‘despicable’ by the Consulate General of India here.        The 8-foot-high statue, located in Manhattan’s Union Square, was defaced by some unknown…

Cyclone Batsirai destroys homes, knocks out power in Madagascar

A man secures his home during adverse weather in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on Saturday ANTANANARIVO, Feb 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cyclone Batsirai made landfall on Madagascar’s eastern coastline late on Saturday, with residents reporting strong winds, a power blackout and houses destroyed as the storm swept inland. There were fears that Batsirai…

10 killed by landmine in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Feb 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — A minivan was hit by a landmine on Friday in southern Somalia, killing 10 passengers, including five women and four children. Deqow Abdinur Aden, an army commander in Jubaland State in southern Somalia, said the passenger bus was heading to the southern port city of…

Morocco: Increasing urgency over fate of boy stuck days in well

 BAB BERRED (Morocco), Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Moroccan rescuers worked through the night into Saturday, the fifth day of an increasingly urgent and nerve-wracking effort to rescue Rayan, a five-year-old boy trapped underground in a well.   The complex, slow and risky earth-moving operation has gripped residents of the North…

Africa: Let’s tackle coups before things get out of hand – ECOWAS Chairman

President Akufo-Addo is current Chairman of ECOWAS ACCRA, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has said the recent trend of coup d’etats in the West African sub-region needs to be tackled before things become uncontrollable.The Ghanaian…

Covid-19: South Africa makes is own version of Moderna vaccine

Africa currently has the lowest uptake of Covid vaccines in the world  PRETORIA, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Scientists in South Africa have made a copy of the Moderna Covid vaccine, a move which they say could help boost vaccination rates across Africa. The continent currently has the lowest uptake of…

Iceland whaling: Fisheries Minister signals end from 2024

Iceland’s whaling boats rarely set sail these days  REYKJAVIK, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Commercial whaling in Iceland could be banned within two years, after a government minister said there was little justification for the practice. The northern European country, an island in the North Atlantic, is one of few places…

Coups and Covid loom large at African Union summit

 ADDIS ABABA, Feb 5 (BSS-AGENCIES) — Heads of state gathered Saturday at the African Union headquarters to kick off a two-day summit as the continent reels from a spate of military coups and the coronavirus pandemic.   The summit also comes as the 55-member bloc faces pressure to push for…

Argentina pays IMF $370 mn in debt interest

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Argentina on Friday paid $370 million to the IMF as interest on a $44 billion debt that was rescheduled late last month, officials said.    The Central Bank’s bulletin showed international reserves of $37.18 billion at the end of the day, a difference from…