New Law Allowing Assisted Suicide Takes Effect In Austria

VIENNA, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A law allowing assisted suicide has taken effect in Austria. From Saturday, adults who are terminally ill or have a permanent, debilitating condition, can opt to make provisions for an assisted death. Parliament approved the new law in December, following a constitutional court ruling on…

US air travel still messy, with another 2,600 flights scrapped

   WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Americans returning home from holiday travel had to battle another day of airport chaos Sunday, with more than 2,600 flights cancelled due to bad weather or airline staffing woes sparkedby a surge in Covid cases.    Further disruptions are predicted for Monday, as a…

Pres Biden tells Ukraine leader US will ‘respond decisively’ if Russia invades

  WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Joe Biden reassured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington “will respond decisively” if Russia moves to invade its pro-Western neighbor, theWhite House said in a statement.   With a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, Biden “made clear” to Zelensky during…

US wildfire: One found, two feared dead as towns smolder from Colorado wildfire

 LOS ANGELES, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One person has been found and two are still feared dead following a devastating Colorado wildfire that wiped out swaths of several towns and forced thousands of people to flee with littlenotice, officials said.    Of three reported missing “one of those persons has…

Sudan’s PM resigns as deadly crackdown on protesters goes on

  KHARTOUM, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan’s civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned Sunday, more than two months after a coup and following another deadly crackdown on protesters, with the military now firmly incontrol.   Sudan had been undergoing a fragile journey toward civilian rule since the 2019 ouster of…

Presidents Putin and Erdogan vow to improve ties after tensions

  KREMLIN/ISTANBUL, Jan 3(NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pledged to improve ties during a call, both sides said, after tensions mounted over drones and NATO in recent weeks.    Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, has angered Moscow by supplying combat drones…

South African national assembly entirely destroyed by fire

  CAPE TOWN, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A massive fire in South Africa’s houses of parliament in Cape Town has “burned down” the entire National Assembly where elected parliamentarians sit, a spokesperson said.   “The entire chamber where the members sit… has burned down,” Moloto Mothapo said, adding that the…

Covid-19: Dutch police disperse thousands protesting against lockdown measures

AMSTERDAM, Jan 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Riot police with batons and shields tried to break up a crowd of several thousand who had gathered in the Dutch capital on Sunday to protest against COVID-19 lockdown measures and vaccinations. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema issued an emergency ordinance, empowering police to clear the…

Update: Huge fire brings down roof at South Africa parliament

   CAPE TOWN, Jan 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A massive fire in South Africa’s houses of parliament in Cape Town caused the roof of the old National Assembly building to collapse on Sunday as the blaze continued to rage after eight hours.   No casualities have been reported in the fire, which has also…

Update: Tutu’s ashes buried in Cape Town cathedral

   CAPE TOWN, Jan 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa’s spiritual father Archbishop Desmond Tutu, hero of the anti-apartheid struggle, was laid to  rest at dawn on Sunday in the Cape Town cathedral where he once preached against the brutal white-minority regime.   Nobel Peace Prize winner Tutu died a week ago, aged…