France to scale down West Africa military operations

France has 5,100 troops in the Sahel region PARIS,  June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France is to scale down counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel region of West Africa after eight years, President Emmanuel Macron has said. The existing 5,100-strong task force will be incorporated into a broader international mission, he announced. French forces…

Macron slap: Four months for man who attacked French President

President Macron met members of the French national football team on Thursday ahead of Euro 2020  PARIS, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) —A medieval combat enthusiast has been given four months in jail after he admitted slapping French President Emmanuel Macron. Damien Tarel told the court it was an act of impulse, but the…

Puerto Rico electricity firm says hit by cyber-attack and fire

SAN JUAN, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A fire at an electrical substation left hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans in the dark, shortly after the power company reported a cyberattack that it did not immediately link to the blaze. Luma Energy confirmed the Thursday fire at a facility in the…

Over 30,000 children risk death in famine-hit Tigray: UN

At least 90 percent of the more than five million people in the Tigray region need emergency food aid, according to the UN GENEVA, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tens of thousands of malnourished children risk dying in hard-to-reach areas of Ethiopia’s troubled Tigray region, now hit by famine, the United…

Covid-19: Global toll at 1000 GMT Friday

PARIS, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The novel coronavirus has killed at least 3,775,362 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources as at 1000 GMT on Friday. At least 174,762,040 cases of coronavirus have been registered. The vast majority have recovered,…

Covid-19: Germany to lift travel warning for most countries from July

BERLIN, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Germany will lift its pandemic travel warning for most countries from July 1, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, bringing back more normalcy as citizens are increasingly vaccinated against Covid-19. Countries recording infection rates of 50-200 cases per 100,000 people in seven days would no longer…

Covid-19: G7 leaders at UK summit target plan for 1bn jabs

FALMOUTH (UK), June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — G7 leaders on Friday open a three-day summit aimed at helping to end the Covid-19 pandemic and forge a climate-centric economic recovery, after pledging to donate one billion vaccine doses for the world’s poorest countries. US President Joe Biden and his colleagues from Britain,…

PM Johnson hails Britain’s ‘indestructible’ relationship with US

LONDON, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the UK-US relationship as “indestructible” after his first meeting with President Joe Biden ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit which opens on Friday. “It’s a relationship, you can call it the ‘deep and meaningful relationship’, whatever you want, the…

Central African Republic charges Frenchman with espionage, Paris fights back

Accused Frenchman Juan Remy Quignolot BANGUI/PARIS, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France is fighting back over reports from the Central African Republic that its national has been engaged in terrorist activities.Prosecutors in the country have formally accused Juan Remy Quignolot espionage, conspiracy and harming state security.He was arrested on May 10,…

Thousands of Colombians in fresh protests against President Duque

BOGOTA, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people took to the streets in several cities across Colombia in fresh protests against President Ivan Duque. Dozens of people have been killed in protests that erupted around the country on April 28, initially against a tax hike that would have mostly affected…