11 students drown, 10 rescued during school outing for river cleanup in Indonesia

Rescuers search for victims of drowning in a river in Ciamis, West Java JAKARTA, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eleven students drowned and 10 others were rescued during a school outing for a river cleanup in Indonesia’s West Java Province, officials said. Local officials said 150 students from an Islamic junior…

Guinea-Bissau’s coup attempt : French president promises support for country

PARIS, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, at the Elysee Palace, as Guinea-Bissau’s armed forces announce they had identified soldiers who were preparing a coup, to overthrow the constitutional order of the small West African country. “France will be at…

Nigeria: US cautious over claims key Daesh African leader is dead

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Claims from Nigeria that the leader of one of the fastest-growing Daesh terror group affiliates is dead are being met with extreme caution in the United States. Officials at the White House, Pentagon and State Department said they were aware of accounts that Islamic State…

2 Turkish soldiers killed by roadside bomb in Syria’s Idlib: monitor

DAMASCUS, Oct 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — Two Turkish soldiers were killed and four others wounded by a roadside bomb in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, a war monitor reported. The Friday bombing targeted Turkish military vehicles near the Maarrat Misrin area in the northern countryside of Idlib, said the Syrian Observatory…

Indonesia needs US$200 billion annual investment in 2021-2030 to decarbonise: Government

JAKARTA, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indonesia will need to invest US$150 billion to US$200 billion per year in low carbon programmes over the next nine years to meet its goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060 or sooner, a new government study showed. Indonesia, the world’s eighth-biggest greenhouse…

Chinese astronauts arrive at space station for longest mission

BEIJING, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three astronauts successfully docked with China’s new space station on Saturday, state media said, on what is set to be Beijing’s longest crewed mission to date and the latest landmark in its drive to become a major space power. The three blasted off shortly after midnight…

Covid-19: WTO again fails to agree on vaccine patent waiver

  GENEVA, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Trade Organization said its member nations had again failed to agree to suspend intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, with some countries doubting a deal could be reached unless certain delegations make “real compromises”.   South Africa and India have called for…

Update: Myanmar junta chief excluded from summit – ASEAN

Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Myanmar’s junta chief will be excluded from an upcoming ASEAN summit, the group said Saturday, a rare rebuke as concerns rise over the military government’s commitment to plans on defusing a bloody crisis.…

Update: Daesh claims deadly suicide attack on Shiite mosque in Afghanistan’s Kandahar

  KANDAHAR (Afghanistan), Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Daesh group on Saturday claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a Shiite mosquein the southern Afghan city of Kandahar that killed at least 41 people andinjured scores more.   The Friday assault came just a week after another Daesh-claimed attack…

3 killed, 7 injured as quake hits Indonesia’s Bali

  JAKARTA, Oct 16 (NNN-XINHUA) — Three people were killed and seven others suffered broken bones with another one still buried under rubbles of a building after a 4.8-magnitude quake damaged houses in Indonesia’s resortisland of Bali early Saturday.   The epicenter of the quake, which occurred at 3:18 a.m.…