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…

UN concerned about allegations of beheadings, use of child soldiers in Mozambique

UNITED NATIONS, April 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United Nations and humanitarian partners are deeply concerned about allegations of beheadings and unverified reports of the use of child soldiers in Mozambique, a UN spokesman said. The allegations in reports of violations against civilians by non-state armed groups and clashes in Cabo…

UN envoy to make Myanmar diplomatic push

UNITED NATIONS, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN’s special envoy for Myanmar is to embark on an Asian tour to step up diplomatic efforts to tackle the crisis, as the death toll from the junta’s crackdown on dissent passed 600 on Friday. The push by Christine Schraner Burgener comes amid…

Nigeria: 11 soldiers killed in ‘unprovoked’ attack in Benue State

Samuel Ortom is governor of Nigeria’s Benue State ABUJA, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One army officer and 10 soldiers were killed in Nigeria’s Benue state in what a spokesman said was an unprovoked attack on Thursday.The army said in a statement that it would “fish out and deal decisively with…

Djibouti presidential election: Ismail Omar Guelleh, president for 22 years, set to win new 5-year mandate

DJIBOUTI, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Voting has begun in Djibouti where Ismail Omar Guelleh is seeking an all but assured fifth term as the president of the small but strategically located nation he has ruled for 22 years.Some 215,000 citizens are registered to vote in the ballot on Friday pitting…

3,000-year-old city lost in sands discovered in Egypt’s Luxor

CAIRO, April 9 (NNN-TASS) — A city that has been lost in sands and was founded more than 3,400 years ago has been unearthed in Luxor, south Egypt, Zahi Hawass, head of the Egyptian archeological mission that is responsible for the discovery, said. According to the famous Egyptologist who used…

Soyuz crew to blast off and mark 60 years of spaceflight

ALMATY (Kazakhstan), April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A three-man crew will blast off to the International Space Station on Friday in a capsule honouring the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space. Reminders of Gagarin’s achievement were everywhere at the Russia-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan…