U.S. to waive sanctions on company building Nord Stream 2 pipeline: reports

WASHINGTON, May 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Biden administration plans to waive sanctions against a company and its head overseeing the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany, US media reported on Wednesday. The State Department will report to Congress that “Nord Stream 2 AG and its…

US House passes legislation creating independent commission to probe Jan 6 Capitol riot

Capitol riot WASHINGTON, May 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — The U.S. House on Wednesday voted to pass the legislation creating an independent commission to probe the Jan 6 Capitol riot. The bill passed mostly along party lines, with 35 defecting Republicans joining 217 Democrats in supporting the creation of the investigative panel…

COVID-19: 1.5 billion anti-virus shots injected worldwide

PARIS, May 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 1.5 billion doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been injected into people’s arms around the world, six months after the vaccination drive started. By Tuesday at 1530 GMT at least 1,500,017,337 doses had been injected in 210 countries or territories, according to a tally…

Europe ‘won’t be intimidated’ after Ceuta migrant surge: commissioner

MADRID, May 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said that Europe “won’t be intimidated by anyone” after a record number of migrants poured into the Spain’s enclave of Ceuta this week. In a veiled reference to Rabat, Schinas said that Europe would “not be a victim of…

Twin attacks in Burkina Faso kill 16

OUAGADOUGOU, May 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Attacks on a village andtroops in the north and east of Burkina Faso left 15 civilians and onesoldier dead, a regional governor said. A brutal resurgence of insurgent violence in the West Africancountry has forced more than 16,000 people from their homes in justthe last…

Spain says 8,000 migrants entered Ceuta, half sent back

Migrants climb the fence in the northern town of Fnideq in an attempt to cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, in North Africa MADRID, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain stepped up diplomatic pressure on Rabat as its prime minister flew into Ceuta, vowing to “restore…

Covid-19: After six months, French cafes, museums and cinemas reopen

PARIS, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The French are expected to flock to restaurants, museums and cinemas when they reopen on Wednesday, but bad weather and social distancing may cast a pall over scenes of people toasting a return to semi-normality after months of Covid-19 curbs. Cafes and restaurants with terraces…

Iceland: First US-Russia meeting ahead of Biden-Putin summit

REYKJAVIK, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US and Russian foreign ministers are meeting in Iceland on Wednesday to gauge the enormous gulf between the rival powers and confirm a summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. Statements preceding the face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the Arctic Council meeting…

Covid-19: Mexico aims to give population at least one vaccine dose by October

MEXICO CITY, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexico aims to ensure its population has had at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot by October before the onset of colder weather, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. Mexico has so far distributed nearly 24 million vaccine doses to its population of 126 million,…

US pullout from Afghanistan at least 13% complete: Pentagon

A US airman walks past a row of Chinook helicopters at Kandahar airbase in southern Afghanistan WASHINGTON, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US withdrawal from Afghanistan is between 13 per cent and 20 per cent complete, the Pentagon’s Central Command said, as it pushes to beat a September deadline for…