Nigerian parents living through student abduction nightmare

The remaining wares of students of Bethel Baptist High School are seen inside the school premises KADUNA (Nigeria), July 18 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) –The families of more than 100 Nigerian children snatched from a school nearly two weeks ago pray for their safe return.Judith is one of the more than 100 Nigerian…

South African Pres Cyril Ramaphosa says riots over Zuma jailing pre-planned as death toll rises to 212

PRETORIA, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said the violence that has rocked the country was pre-planned, describing it as an assault on democracy. Riots were sparked by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma. The death toll has risen to 212, up by almost 100 since Thursday,…

Belgium takes back mothers and children from Syria jihadist camps

 BRUSSELS, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ten children and six mothers held in prison camp for jihadists in Syria have been flown home to Belgium. It is the biggest repatriation of suspected Daesh members since the group’s fall in 2019. Hundreds of Europeans who travelled to Syria to join Daesh, including…

Belgian PM heads to scene as flood toll mounts

BRUSSELS, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander de Croo headed for the scene of what he has branded “unprecedented” flood damage, as officials warned the death toll would increase. De Croo was joined on Saturday by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in the river valleys of…

US: Pres Biden vows to appeal ruling against ‘Dreamers’ immigration program

WASHINGTON, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Joe Biden denounced as “deeply disappointing” a federal judge’s decision curbing a program that protects undocumented migrants brought to the country as children. In a statement from the White House, Biden said the Justice Department would appeal the ruling by Texas-based Judge Andrew Hanen,…

Cuba president denounces unrest as a ‘lie’, calls protest images ‘false’

    HAVANA, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced what he called a “lie” over unrest on the Caribbean island, speaking during a rally alongside Raul Castro and before thousands of supporters in Havana.    “What the world is seeing of Cuba is a lie,” Diaz-Canel said, denouncing the…

UK health secretary tests positive for COVID-19

   LONDON, July 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.   He said on Twitter that he has had two jabs of the vaccine and his symptoms are “mild”. In a video posted on Twitter on Saturday, Javid wrote: “This morning…

UN Security Council asked to authorise more troops for Mali mission

UNITED NATIONS, July 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked the Security Council to authorise additional troops for the peacekeeping mission in Mali in response to rising violence by militants. The proposed increase of 2,069 soldiers and police officers would take the authorised size of the mission,…

Update: Slain Haiti leader’s funeral set for July 23, ex-president Aristide back home

PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The funeral for Haiti’s slain president Jovenel Moise will take place on July 23, officials said Friday, as the troubled nation’s first democratically elected leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide arrived home after receiving medical care in Cuba. The state funeral services will take place in Cap-Haitien, a…

Update: German floods death toll rises to 133, 153 in Europe

BERLIN, July 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from devastating floods in Germany reached 133 on Saturday, police said, bringing the total number of those killed in Europe to 153. “According to current information, 90 people lost their lives during the disaster” in the Rhineland-Palatinate region, one of the worst…