Thousands oppose Hungarian bill banning discussion of LGBTQ+ issues

Over 5,000 people rallied outside Hungary’s parliament in Budapest to protest anti-LGBT bills BUDAPEST, June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people turned out to demonstrate in Hungary against a draft law that would target the rights of LGBTQ+ minors and prohibit discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation.The rally, organized…

Kenya to hold elephant-naming festival in August

Kenya will hold a festival to give names to elephants in August NAIROBI, June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenya will hold a festival to give names to elephants in August.The ceremony dubbed Tembo Naming Festival will be held at Amboseli National Park, which is home to more than 3,000 elephants out…

Boko Haram finally confirms death of Abubakar Shekau

The leader of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau ABUJA, June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Boko Haram leadership have confirmed the death of its long serving leader, Abubakar Shekau.Local media portals in Nigeria cited a video in which the Shekau faction spoke about the demise of the former leader.The…

Brazil to deploy special police force to protect Yanomami from miners

BRASÍLIA, June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil said it would deploy a special security force to protect the Yanomami indigenous reservation, whose residents have clashed recently with illegal miners encroaching on native lands in the Amazon rainforest. The measure comes after Brazil’s Supreme Court last month ordered President Jair Bolsonaro’s government…

Drowned migrants get ‘dignified’ burial in Tunisia cemetery

ZARZIS (Tunisia), June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A cemetery in southern Tunisia for migrants who drowned crossing the Mediterranean in the hope of a better life in Europe is already half full — even before it is formally opened. Jardin d’Afrique, French for Garden of Africa, is for those who were…

Covid-19: Pandemic crisis worsened corruption in EU – Transparency International

BERLIN, June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The pandemic has worsened corruption across the European Union, Transparency International said, with citizens at times needing personal connections to get medical care and some governments using the crisis for their own gain. The anti-graft watchdog surveyed more than 40,000 people in the EU’s 27…

Five die in plane, glider crashes in Swiss Alps

GENEVA, June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five people died when a glider and a small plane crashed in the Swiss Alps at the weekend, police said, adding that they were investigating whether the two accidents were linked. A small plane with the pilot and three other people on board, including a…

Covid-19: UNITAID signs deals to supply oxygen for poor countries

GENEVA, June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) –– WHO-hosted International Drug Purchasing Facility (Unitaid) announced it had struck deals with two of the world’s main medical oxygen producers to boost access to badly-needed supplies in poor countries fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. The international organisation, which works on innovations to prevent, diagnose and treat…

US Pres Biden ‘ready’ for Russian counterpart Putin after landing in Geneva

GENEVA, June 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Joe Biden landed Tuesday in Geneva on the eve of his first summit with Vladimir Putin, a meeting the White House hopes will set clear “red lines” preventing the combustible US-Russia relationship from further deterioration. “I’m always ready,” Biden told reporters with a…

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim drone attack on Saudi airport

SANAA, June 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they launched a bomb-laden drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s southwestern Abha airport on Monday. “The attack accurately hit a military target in the airport,” Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV. “The attack…