Netherlands: Amsterdam Mayor apologises for City’s role in slave trade

The mayor delivered the speech during Keti Koti, the annual commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands AMSTERDAM, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The mayor of Amsterdam in the Netherlands has formally apologised for the city’s role in slavery, as the country reckons with its colonial past. Femke Halsema…

15 killed in suspected revenge attacks in Haiti: police

PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 15 people, including a journalist and an opposition activist, were killed in Haiti in violence suspected to be revenge attacks after the death of a police officer, officials said. Photographs of reporter Diego Charles lying dead on the ground and of political activist…

Europe court refuses to hear case on Arafat death

STRASBOURG (France), July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday dismissed a case brought by the widow and daughter of Yasser Arafat, who have claimed the iconic Palestinian leader’s death was the result of poisoning.   Suha El Kodwa Arafat and Zahwa El Kodwa Arafat, who…

Sudan: Fears after ex-peacekeeper bases in Darfur looted

NYALA (Sudan), July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A peacekeeping force this week completed its withdrawal from Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region, but security fears have been stoked after looters vandalised or destroyed many of its outposts. The vast, arid and impoverished western region awash with guns is still reeling from a bitter…

Covid-19: WHO sounds alarm on Euro 2020 as Asian cases soar

        COPENHAGEN, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization (WHO) called for better monitoring of Euro 2020 football matches as Covid cases rise again in Europe, fuelled by the deadly Delta variant that is racing around the globe. Hundreds of cases have been detected among spectators attending Euro…

Covid-19: WHO recommends Covid tests in schools

   COPENHAGEN, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization said that Covid-19 tests should be carried out in schools — even when no cases have been detected — to avoid the “harmful” effects of remote learning.    Screenings in schools had previously only been recommended if a cluster of coronavirus…

All US and NATO troops leave Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan: US defence official

 WASHINGTON, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — All US and NATO troops have left Bagram Air Base, a US defence official said, signalling the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan was imminent. “All coalition forces are off Bagram,” the official — who asked not to be identified — said without specifying…

US issues moratorium on federal executions

 WASHINGTON, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a moratorium on federal executions while a review of policy and procedures is pending to address “serious concerns” about the practice. The move is a sharp break from the policies of former president Donald Trump’s administration, which carried out…

Hundreds evacuated as fires add to deadly Canada heat wave

  VANCOUVER, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of people wereevacuated in western Canada as fires added to the unprecedented heatwave in the region, which for days has been baking in record-breakingtemperatures.    The village of Lytton, 250 kilometers northeast ofVancouver, was evacuated on Wednesday night because of a fire thatspread…

Hurricane Elsa threatens Caribbean

 MIAMI, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tropical Storm Elsa strengthened into a hurricane threatening the Caribbean region, US forecasters said. Rainfall, storm surge and strong winds from Elsa could affect the Florida Keys and parts of the Florida peninsula early next week but this depends on how the storm behaves this…