Winter Games: Beijing flame to be lit in a vacuum in Olympia

The Olympic flame will be lit in front of an audience limited to the members of the International Olympic Committee, the Greek and Chinese Olympic committees as well as the president of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and vaccinated media personnel ATHENS, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) —  The Olympic flame will once again…

Pan-African film festival opens in Burkina Faso amid COVID19 and security challenges

OUAGADOUGOU, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Africa’s premier film festival opened in Burkina Faso with a colourful ceremony showcasing choreography, and acrobatic and musical acts from some of the continent’s biggest names, including Senegalese Grammy nominee Baaba Maal. With a backdrop of Islamic militant attacks in the Sahel West African nation…

Sudan: Protesters demand military coup as crisis deepens

Support for the transitional government has slumped in recent months amid economic woe  KHARTOUM, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Opponents of Sudan’s transition to democracy took to the streets of Khartoum to call on the army to take control of the country. Several thousand demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace as…

Covid-19: Frustrated and weary over long pandemic hours, more US workers are striking

  NEW YORK, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Exhausted after working long hours during the coronavirus pandemic and resentful that their bosses are not sharing sometimes huge profits, tens of thousands of nurses, laborers andentertainment workers are going on strike across the United States.   If they fail to reach agreement…

Covid-19: Russia’s daily death toll at record high as vaccination programme stalls

MOSCOW, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia reported a record 1,002 deaths from coronavirus on Saturday, the first time the daily number has passed the 1,000-mark since the start of the pandemic. New COVID-19 cases, confirmed in the past 24 hours, were at 33,208, setting a record for the fifth consecutive…

Covid-19: US administers 407.4 million doses of vaccines – CDC

WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States has administered 407,446,961 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday morning and distributed 494,918,755 doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Thee figures are up from the 406,570,875 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Oct 15 out…

Judge indicts Franco-era Spanish minister for four charges of homicide

A statue of former Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco being loaded into a box MADRID, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An Argentine judge, who has investigated a series of cases relating to the Franco dictatorship in Spain, has indicted a former Spanish minister for four cases of alleged homicide. Judge Maria…

DR Congo protests turn violent as lawmakers select electoral commission chief

KINSHASA, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Police in Democratic Republic of Congo used tear gas to break up clashes between supporters of the president and an opposition leader on Saturday, as lawmakers selected a new head of the electoral commission. The National Assembly chose Denis Kadima, an election expert with decades…

British MP’s killer was referred to counter-terrorism scheme: Reports

LONDON, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The attacker who fatally stabbed British lawmaker David Amess was referred to an official counter-terrorist scheme for those thought to be at risk of radicalisation, according to media reports. Police said late Saturday that detectives had until the coming Friday to question the suspect after he was detained under…

Seventeen US missionaries and family kidnapped in Haiti: Report

People outside Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-prince, Haiti PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — As many as 17 American Christian missionaries and their families, including children, were kidnapped on Saturday by gang members in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, US media reported. The kidnapping happened after the missionaries left an orphanage…