Taliban delegation visiting China for talks with officials: spokesman

  Taliban delegation visits China for talks with officials KABUL, July 28, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Taliban officials have told China they will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base by groups plotting against another country, an insurgent spokesman said Wednesday.    A top-level Taliban delegation is in China…

Colombia expels German who took part in anti-govt protests

 BOGOTA, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombian immigration authorities said they had expelled a German woman who took part in demonstrations against the government of President Ivan Duque. Rebecca Sproesser “was carrying out activities that had nothing to do with her status as a tourist, and which could affect the civil…

After weeks-long wait, Peru’s president to be sworn in

 LIMA, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Leftist Pedro Castillo is to be sworn in as Peru’s president Wednesday with a full inbox: tame the coronavirus epidemic, reactivate a flagging economy, and put paid to years of political turmoil. The rural school teacher becomes Peru’s fifth president in three years, and has…

18 workers killed in India as truck rams into bus

      LUCKNOW (India), July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eighteen migrant labourers sleeping on a highway in northern India after their bus broke down died when a truck rammed into the vehicle, police said Wednesday. At least 19 others were injured in the accident in Uttar Pradesh state, a senior police officer…

Covid-19: US tells vaccinated people in high risk areas to mask again

 WASHINGTON, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — People vaccinated against Covid-19 in high-risk parts of the United States should resume wearing masks indoors, a major reversal in guidance that underscored the country’s struggle to suppress the Delta variant. President Joe Biden said the announcement showed that America needs to “do better” on…

Firefighters battle forest blaze near Athens suburbs

 ATHENS, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A fire scorched forests at the base of Mount Penteli north of Athens on Tuesday, threatening suburbs but without causing casualties, firefighters and local authorities said. Four people were arrested as part of an investigation to determine the cause of the fire, Deputy Civil Protection…

Covid-19: Sydney lockdown extended by four weeks as virus outbreak grows

 SYDNEY, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Millions of Sydney residents will spend another month in lockdown, authorities announced Wednesday, citing a still-growing coronavirus outbreak and low vaccination rates. Australia’s biggest city had been due to exit lockdown on July 30 after five weeks but the restrictions will remain in place until…

Guatemala cancels second order for Russian vaccines, after delivery delay of first order

 GUATEMALA CITY, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Alejandro Giammattei announced Tuesday that Guatemala has canceled its order of a second batch of eight million Russian-made Covid-19 vaccines due to a delivery delay of a previous order. The president told reporters that his administration had renegotiated its contract with Moscow and…

Tropical storm makes landfall in northern Japan

 TOKYO, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A tropical storm hit northern Japan on Wednesday but there were no immediate reports of damage and Olympic football matches in the region were due to go ahead. Local authorities issued non-mandatory evacuation orders and set up emergency shelters as Tropical Storm Nepartak made landfall…

Children in once-Daesh-capital Raqqa still living in ruins four years after battle

A girl wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic sells slippers in an open air market RAQQA (Syria), July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four years after the battle for the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, children and families are still living in damaged homes with severely limited access to clean…