US eyes possible trade deal with Taiwan: Sec of State Blinken

WASHINGTON, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States will soon start discussing a trade deal with Taiwan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, risking Beijing’s wrath. “I know we are engaged in conversations with Taiwan, or soon will be, on some kind of framework agreement,” Blinken said at a…

Haiti postpones June 27 referendum, citing Covid

PORT-AU-PRINCE, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Haiti postponed a constitutional referendum scheduled for June 27 citing the coronavirus pandemic, but did not give a new date for the vote in the latest twist in its political crisis. President Jovenel Moise has been ruling Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by…

Covid-19: Brazil braces for third wave

BRASÍLIA, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Already reeling from one of the highest death tolls in the pandemic, Brazil is bracing for the threat of a third wave of Covid-19, fueled by vaccination delays and a lack of containment measures. So far, each pandemic wave has been successively worse in Brazil,…

Covid-19: Brazil unveils protocols for Copa America

BRASILIA, June 8 (NNN-XINHUA) — It is fitting that the underused Estadio Mane Garrincha football stadium in Brasilia sits almost within sight of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s office. In a little more than a week, the cavernous arena is scheduled to host the opening match of arguably the most contentious…

Sudan renews rejection to unilateral filling of Ethiopia’s Nile Dam without binding deal

KHARTOUM, June 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Sudan renewed its rejection to unilateral filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) without reaching a legal and binding agreement, official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported. Charing a Monday meeting of the Higher Committee for the GERD, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok noted the…

Nigerian FM says Twitter suspension in national interest

FILE – In this April 26, 2017, file photo is a Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. Millions of Nigerians were unable to access Twitter after… (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) More  ABUJA, June 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama said the country’s suspension of…

Covid-19: Over 1,000 infected despite full vaccination in Denmark – SSI

COPENHAGEN, June 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — A total of 1,334 Danes were infected with COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated between the beginning of Denmark’s vaccine rollout on Dec 27, 2020, and June 1, 2021, said a report released by the Statens Serum Institut (SSI). In total, 1,369,059 Danes, or 23.4 percent…

US Justice Department recovers 2.3 mln USD paid to hackers who shut down Colonial Pipeline

WASHINGTON, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Justice Department recovered some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline Co, cracking down on hackers who launched the most disruptive US cyberattack on record. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said investigators had seized 63.7 bitcoins, now valued at about $2.3 million,…

US Pres Biden invites Ukraine’s president to White House

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) has accepted an invitation to the White House by US President Joe Biden  WASHINGTON/KIEV, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Joe Biden reaffirmed US support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that…

Mali: Military junta named opposition leader as new prime minister

BAMAKO, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The leader of Mali’s military junta named Choguel Maiga as the West African nation’s new prime minister on Monday, ignoring calls from the international community to return power to the country’s deposed civilian government. Colonel Assimi Goita, who headed his second coup d’etat inside nine months,…