Covid-19: New variant found in US Texas university

HOUSTON, April 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — A new variant of COVID-19 was found by scientists at the US Texas A&M University, media reported Monday. The variant, BV-1, was found in just one case: an individual who had mild symptoms, media quoted the Texas A&M scientists as saying. The patient, a student…

Depot explosion not Russian “act of state terrorism”: Czech PM

PRAGUE, April 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — The alleged Russian involvement in a munitions depot explosion in the Czech Republic in 2014 was not an act of state terrorism, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said after a government meeting. It was an attack by Russian intelligence agents on goods belonging to a…

Russia moves Navalny to prison hospital under Western pressure

MOSCOW, April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ailing Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been transferred to a prison hospital as the EU warned it would hold Moscow responsible for the state of his health. The United States on Sunday threatened Russia with “consequences” if President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic opponent dies…

Swiss blow up huge snowman in mountains for first time

ANDERMATT (Switzerland), April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A giant snowman brandishing a pitchfork exploded in a blaze of fireworks atop a pyre on a snowy mountain pass named Devil’s Bridge on Monday, the first time the spring festival ceremony has been held outside the Swiss city of Zurich. That the snowman…

Mexican tycoon in graft case released after agreeing to repayment deal

MEXICO CITY, April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Mexican businessman accused of corruption over the alleged sale of a disused fertilizer plant to Pemex was released from prison Monday after agreeing to repay the state oil company $216.6 million, judicial sources said. Alonso Ancira, the former head of steel giant Altos…

Former US Vice President Walter Mondale dies at 93

WASHINGTON, April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Former US Vice President Walter Mondale, a liberal icon who famously told voters to expect a tax increase should he win the presidency, died Monday, US media reported. He was 93 years old. No cause was given for Mondale’s death, according to reports citing a…

Morocco looks to fear-free hashish farms

KETAMA (Morocco), April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — After decades without legal cover, farmer Mohamed Morabet looks forward to selling his hashish this summer on the open market now that Morocco plans to legalise cannabis for medical use. The government of the world’s top hashish- producing nation last month ratified a draft…

Namibia: Court denies entry of surrogate-born twins of gay couple

The family reunion in Namibia will have to wait WINDHOEK, April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Namibian court rejected a request by a Mexican-Namibian gay couple to return to the country with their two one-month-old daughters, born to a surrogate mother in South Africa.Since the birth of the twins in mid-March…

Chadian military halts rebel advance on Ndjamena

The rebels are believed to be from a group known by its French acronym FACT N’DJAMENA, April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chadian soldiers have halted a rebel advance in the country’s north, according to a military spokesman, after American and British embassies urged personnel to leave ahead of a possible assault…

US Pres Biden backtracks on keeping Trump cap on refugees

The decision is said to have been influence by problems at the US-Mexico border  WASHINGTON, April 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Joe Biden has reversed course hours after signing an order to keep the number of refugees admitted annually to the US at Trump-era levels. Biden drew ire as he held the cap…