Veld fires in Namibia burn farms, kill animals

 Farmers try to extinguish fires on the R49 between Mahikeng and Zeerust WINDHOEK, Oct 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — Namibia has recorded 27 veld fires countrywide in the last 14 days, causing massive destruction to properties, an environment official said. Veld fires, which have burned 59 farms covering 143,000 hectares of land…

Offshore drilling urged to stop after mass oil spill off California

LOS ANGELES, Oct 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — A group of US House representatives and senators from the state of California on Monday called for the end to offshore drilling, two days after a major oil spill incident near Orange County left fish dead, birds mired in petroleum and wetlands contaminated. Nanette…

Soldiers are delivering fuel in Britain as ‘challenging’ shortages persist

The fuel shortage has persisted for more than a week LONDON, Oct 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The army started supplying service stations in the United Kingdom on Monday in an effort to end more than a week of shortages that have forced pumps to close and left motorists without fuel.Tanker drivers…

Romanian billionaire dies when his private plane crashes near Milan

ROME, Oct 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One of Romania’s richest men, billionaire business executive Dan Petrescu, was killed along with his wife, son and several others when a plane he was piloting crashed in the outskirts of Milan just minutes after takeoff. Petrescu, 68, was a flight enthusiast whose wealth exceeded…

South Sudan to commence talks with breakaway opposition faction

JUBA, Oct 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The government of South Sudan has met with Simon Gatwech Dual, leader of a breakaway faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in opposition (SPLM/A-IO) to start negotiations aimed at ending hostilities. The rebel delegation also included the group’s deputy chairman, General Johnson Olony.The meeting was…

Libya’s warring sides may be guilty of war crimes – UN probe

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — All sides in Libya’s conflict have committed violations that may include war crimes and crimes against humanity since 2016, a United Nations investigation has found.The Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya, commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council, said in a report published on Monday…

Covid-19: Lowest global coronavirus death toll for 11 months

   PARIS, Oct 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The weekly number of coronavirus deaths worldwide has fallen to levels unseen for almost a year, according to official national figures.   The 53,245 deaths recorded worldwide between September 27 and October 3, an average of 7,606 each day, showed that the global pandemic…

Abiy Ahmed sworn in as Ethiopian Prime Minister for a new 5-year-term

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ahmed Ali has been sworn in in front of Parliament as Prime Minister of Africa’s second-most populous nation, Ethiopia.The PM who had been in office since 2018 begins a new five-year mandate after his party won majority seats in the Parliament.“After a landslide victory…

Russia test fires hypersonic missile from submarine

  MOSCOW, Oct 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia said it had launched a new hypersonic cruise missile from a submarine, the latest test of emerging weapons President Vladimir Putin has dubbed “invincible”.   Moscow has in recent years touted the development of weapons that it hopes will give it the edge…

Covid-19: Nicaragua to immunize the child population with Cuban vaccines

MANAGUA, Oct 4 (NNN-TELESUR) — Nicaragua’s Vice President Rosario Murillo announced the approval of the emergency use of Cuban-developed vaccines Abdala, Soberana, and Soberana 02 on the child population. She said that the vaccination day against COVID-19 in children and adolescents from 2 to 17 years old would begin on…