Taliban kill relative of DW journalist in Afghanistan: German broadcaster

  BERLIN, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have shot and killed a relative of a Deutsche Welle journalist while hunting for him, the German public broadcaster said.   The militants were conducting a house-to-house search for the journalist, who now works in Germany, DW said.   A…

Guinea monitoring 172 contact cases of Marburg virus victim

CONAKRY, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guinean health officials are monitoring 172 contact cases of a man who died of Marburg virus, Health Minister Remy Lamah said. West Africa’s first recorded case of the virus – which belongs to the same filovirus family as Ebola but is somewhat less deadly –…

Covid-19: Mississippi quarantines 20,000 pupils at start of new school year

 JACKSON (Mississippi, US), Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Just days after the start of their academic year, over 20,000 pupils from 800 Mississippi schools have been told to quarantine due to Covid exposure. Some 4,500 children became sick with Covid during this first week of school. Across the US, states like…

Irish Government to evacuate 36 citizens from Afghanistan

DUBLIN, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Irish government is working to evacuate 36 of its citizens from Afghanistan, the country’s foreign affairs minister said. That includes a “small number” waiting at Kabul airport, RTÉ reports. Simon Coveney said three Irish citizens had already been evacuated. He said sending Irish military…

Thirty-seven migrants feared dead at sea off coast of Spain’s Canary Islands

A migrant is transferred on a stretcher after being rescued by a maritime rescue helicopter, in Telde, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain MADRID, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thirty-seven migrants are feared dead after a dinghy carrying dozens of people capsized off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands, the…

Afghan debacle set to cloud Merkel’s final Putin visit

  BERLIN, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Moscow in the twilight of her reign on Friday, with Afghanistan set to be the final twist in their long and thorny relationship.   From alleged cyberattacks to the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria,…

Radio journalist murdered in eastern Mexico

  COATZACOALCOS (Mexico), Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A radio journalist was shot dead on Thursday in a violence-ridden area of eastern Mexico, authorities said — the latest such murder in one of the world’s deadliest countries forreporters.    Jacinto Romero Flores, 60, was killed in Ixtaczoquitlan in Veracruz state where…

US: GoFundMe campaign raises $6mn for Afghan evacuation

  WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the evacuation of 300 vulnerable Afghans fleeing the Taliban has raised over $6 million.   The creator of the fundraising page, New York-based Tommy Marcus, asked for funds to organize flights out of the country for Afghans…

Venezuelan president announces cabinet changes

CARACAS, Aug 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced several changes in his cabinet on Thursday, including the appointment of Mervin Maldonado as the new vice president for social and territorial socialism. The announcement follows the selection of several cabinet ministers as candidates of the ruling United Socialist Party…

Suspect in US Capitol bomb threat surrenders, taken into police custody

Multiple buildings on Capitol Hill, including the US Supreme Court, were evacuated following “an active bomb threat” nearby WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — The suspect who drove near the US Capitol building Thursday threatening that the bomb in his vehicle would detonate ultimately surrendered and was taken into custody, US…