Ukraine conflict: Moscow could ‘defend’ Russia-backed rebels

Ukraine’s President Zelensky has been visiting troops in the region  MOSCOW, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A top Russian official has warned that Moscow could intervene to help Russian-speaking residents in eastern Ukraine if Ukraine launches an all-out assault on separatists there. Russian-backed separatist rebels and Ukrainian troops have been clashing…

Covid-19: EU agency reviewing blood clots with Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 1 fatality

THE HAGUE, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU’s drug regulator said it had launched a review of possible links between the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine and blood clots after reports of four cases, one of them fatal. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said its safety committee “has started a…

Shock as Greek journalist is shot dead outside his home

ATHENS, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A veteran Greek crime reporter wasgunned down outside his Athens home on Friday, police said, sendingshockwaves in a country unaccustomed to media killings. “The murder has shocked us all,” government spokeswoman AristoteliaPeloni said in a statement. “The authorities are already investigating the case,” she added.…

Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip dead age 99

LONDON, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain’s Prince Philip, a constant presence at Queen Elizabeth II’s side for decades, died Friday at age 99, Buckingham Palace announced. The death of the Duke of Edinburgh is a profound loss for the 94-year-old monarch, who once described him as her “strength and stay…

Indonesia president visits cyclone-hit islands

LEMBATA (Indonesia), April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indonesian president Joko Widodo arrived Friday in a cyclone-hit cluster of islands after the disaster killed more than 200 people, including victims in neighbouring East Timor, with dozens still missing. Torrential rains from Tropical Cyclone Seroja, one of the most destructive storms to hit…

Russia calls on Slovakia to return Sputnik V COVID-19 doses after dispute

Slovakia imported 200,000 doses last month, despite a lack of EU regulatory approval PRAGUE/MOSCOW, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia called on Slovakia to return hundreds of thousands of doses of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, citing contract violations, in an escalating row between the two countries after a Slovak watchdog…

Salvage crews tow drifting Dutch freighter to port in Norway

The Dutch cargo ship Eemslift Hendrika is guided to land at Alesund, Norway HELSINKI, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Despite heavy seas, a joint Norwegian-Dutch salvage operation managed to safely tow to land an abandoned Dutch cargo ship that had been adrift off the coast of Norway. The Eemslift Hendrika, a…

UK offers shelter to ousted Myanmar ambassador

Myanmar’s ousted Ambassador to London Kyaw Zwar Minn LONDON, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain said it is willing to offer shelter to Myanmar’s ambassador to London after he was ousted from his embassy by pro-junta diplomats. Kyaw Zwar Minn met with Nigel Adams, Britain’s Foreign Office minister for Asia, after his hosts…

9 border force members killed in western Afghanistan, a dozen others taken hostage: report

KABUL, April 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nine Afghan border force members were killed in separate attacks by Taliban militants in Afghanistan’s western Herat province, a local TV channel reported on Friday. Taliban militants launched attacks on two Afghan border force outposts near the border with Iran in the Kohsan and Ghoryan…

Bulgaria’s GERB party wins elections but its government loses majority in parliament

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov SOFIA, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov lost around a quarter of his seats in parliament, leaving him with no clear path to hold on to power after voters angry at corruption in the EU’s poorest member state flocked to protest parties.Borissov’s…