Covid-19: Protest against measures is Latvia’s biggest in a decade

RIGA, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 5,000 people gathered in the Latvian capital Riga to demonstrate against coronavirus restrictions and government plans to make vaccines obligatory for many workers.    “For freedom!” people chanted at the largest demonstration in the Baltic country since 2009, also calling on Prime Minister…

Burkina Faso: Three days of national mourning after 47, including 30 civilians, killed by suspected jihadists

OUAGADOUGOU, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Burkina Faso’s president declared three days of national mourning after suspected jihadists killed 47 people, including 30 civilians, in an attack in the north of the country. The attack was the latest bloodshed in an area plagued by Islamist violence. The assault Wednesday near the…

Mali: Army convoy ambushed 15 soldiers killed, 34 wounded

BAMAKO, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Suspected jihadists mounted an ambush Thursday on an army convoy in central Mali that left 15 soldiers dead and 34 wounded, 10 of them seriously, the army said. “A bomb-laden vehicle exploded, followed by intense gunfire” in the late-morning attack, the army said in a…

Cameroon president, wife return from month-long private visit to Europe

President Biya and wife Chantal YAOUNDE, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cameroon President Paul Biya and his wife returned to the Central African country earlier this week after over a month stay in Europe. Biya and wife Chantal arrived at the Yaounde International Airport with the presidential delegation. The couple were…

US sending more air support to help disaster relief mission in Haiti

Groups of people observe the effects of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Los Cayos, Haiti WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US military’s Southern Command is sending eight helicopters to assist in the disaster relief effort in Haiti after an earthquake devastated a remote region of the country, making access…

Covid-19: Cuba struggles to get oxygen to the sick, vaccines to the healthy

HAVANA, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cuba has turned to the military to provide oxygen amid a surge of the coronavirus even as doctors rush to administer locally developed vaccines to the population. The government announced that the Caribbean island’s main oxygen plant had broken down in the midst of a Delta…

Strengthening storm Grace pummels Jamaica with heavy rain, wind

A woman walks next to a tarp in a makeshift camp after tropical depression Grace passed through the area KINGSTON, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tropical Storm Grace pounded Jamaica with heavy rain and wind after causing flooding in parts of Haiti, which is scrambling to deal with a major earthquake…

Covid-19: Argentine relatives of covid victims stage “March of the Stones”

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentine relatives of people who have died of COVID-19 staged the so-called “March of the Stones” as a tribute to their loved ones and to voice their criticism for the way the administration of President Alberto Fernández has handled the pandemic. Demonstrators marched in…

Covid-19: US reports more than 1,000 deaths in a single day

WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, equating to around 42 fatalities an hour as the Delta variant continues to ravage parts of the country with low vaccination rates. Coronavirus-related deaths have spiked in the United States over the past month…

EU recognizes Taliban victory in Afghanistan; UK to accept 20,000 afghans

BRUSSELS, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union is ready to begin dialogue with the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) but their recognition will depend on what they do, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel said. “The Taliban have won the war. So we will have to talk with them, in…