Update: Four dead, five missing in Sicily apartment collapse; 2 women rescued alive

  ROME, Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four people were killed and five were missing after an explosion caused a four-storey apartment building to collapse on the Italian island of Sicily, authorities said Sunday.    Two women were recovered alive from the building in the town of Ravanusa after the collapse…

Serbia: Thousands block roads to protest lithium mine project

Environmental activists block the E-75 highway to protest against Rio Tinto’s plans to open a lithium mine, in Belgrade BELGRADE, Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Environmental protesters have blocked roads in Serbia for a third consecutive weekend to oppose plans for lithium mining, despite a bid by the country’s populist government…

‘Headed for disaster’: Argentinians protest against IMF debt deal

Protesters hold a banner that says ‘The debt is with the people, not the IMF’ as they rally in Buenos Aires, Argentina BUENOS AIRES, Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people have rallied in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, urging their government not to sign any kind of debt restructuring deal…

Kidnapped Red Cross workers freed in eastern DRC

KINSHASA, Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) abducted last month in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been freed, the humanitarian organisation has said. The ICRC said in late November that one Congolese citizen and an international staff member had…

Twelve missing in Sicily as building collapses: Report

 Rescuers are trying to find people missing in collapsed buildings after a gas blast RAVANUSA (Sicily, Italy), Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A four-storey building collapsed in the Sicilian town of Ravanusa following a gas explosion and rescuers were searching for 12 missing residents, including three children, ANSA news agency reported.…

Update: Six people killed in Illinois Amazon warehouse collapse after tornado

  EDWARDSVILLE (Illinois, US), Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least six people were killed when a tornado hit an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, firefighters said, bringing the death toll from storms that devastated parts of theUnited States overnight to more than 80.   “We identified 45 personnel who made it…

Armed man shot dead by police in London

 LONDON, Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Police said that armed officers shot dead a man in the British capital but the incident was not being treated as terrorism.    A specialist unit was called out after reports of a man seen with a firearm at a bank and a bookmakers in…

Two dead after migrant boat sinks off Cuba

  HAVANA, Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two people have died after a speedboat carrying 23 migrants sank off the coast of Cuba, the country’s interior ministry said.   Coastguards on Friday evening reached “the castaways of a half-sunk speedboat, registered… in the United States, overloaded with people” and in bad…

Covid-19: Lockdown in Slovakia ends for vaccinated and recovered

A man wearing a face mask carries a takeaway lunch from a restaurant in the Old town of Bratislava Slovakia BRATISLAVA, Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — All shops and services such as hairdressers and fitness studios, will be allowed to open in Slovakia for those who are recovered from or vaccinated…

Covid-19: Latest global developments

 PARIS, Dec 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Here are some of the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:    – Covid deaths hit four-month high in Peru: Peru, the country with the highest Covid-19 death rate in the world,records more than 100 deaths on Friday, a figure not seen for four months.…