Wife of Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ arrested at US airport

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US authorities arrested the wife of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman at an airport outside of Washington on narcotics smuggling charges, the Justice Department said. Emma Coronel Aispuro, 31, faces one charge of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana for…

15 UN peacekeepers from Tigray refuse to return to Ethiopia, seeks asylum in South Sudan

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fifteen members of a contingent of Ethiopian peacekeepers in South Sudan, originally from the Tigray region, refused to return to Ethiopia Monday, the UN said, citing their right to seek asylum if they fear for their lives. Tigray has been the theater of fighting…

US winter storm: Texas temporarily blocks providers from sending electricity bills

A worker repairs a power line in Austin, Texas on Saturday HOUSTON (Texas, US), Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Authorities in US state of Texas have signed orders to temporarily stop power companies from sending bills to customers, after the severe weather and massive blackouts.During a press briefing, Texas Governor Greg…

53 abducted hostages released in Nigeria

Criminal gangs in northwestern and central Nigeria have scaled up attacks in recent years MINNA (Niger State, Nigeria), Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Governor of Nigeria’s central-north Niger State Abubakar Sani Bello said that the state government has managed to secure the release of all the 53 bus passengers abducted by…

Explosion kills 6 South Sudanese children in a refugee camp in Uganda

Six South Sudanese children killed in an explosion KAMPALA, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) –Six South Sudanese children were killed and 11 others injured while playing with an explosive device in Maji II Refugee Settlement in Uganda’s Adjumani district.According to Wilson Manyok, the chairperson of South Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda, the…

Ebola: 11,500 doses of vaccines donated by WHO arrive in Guinea

A baby looks at his mother at an Ebola treatment centre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. CONAKRY, Feb 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — A total of 11,500 doses of Ebola vaccines donated by the World Health Organization arrived in Guinea on Monday evening, according to a statement released by Guinea’s…

1,315 illegal migrants rescued off Libyan coast in past week: IOM

About 100 migrants are crowded together on deck of the rescue ship “Eleonore” TRIPOLI, Feb 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that 1,315 illegal migrants, including women and children, have been rescued off Libyan coast over the past week. “In the period of 16-22 February, 1,315…

Covid-19: Brazil to start producing vaccine in first half of 2021

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazil will begin to produce a COVID-19 vaccine in the first half of 2021, a state-run biological sciences institution said. With a technology transfer agreement with British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation based in Rio de Janeiro will be able to start…

US reaffirms willingness to engage Iran over nuclear issue

State Dept. Spokesman Ned Price WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — The US Department of State reaffirmed the willingness to engage with Tehran over the nuclear issue, downplaying new threats by the Iranian leadership to boost uranium enrichment. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a daily press briefing that the…

Covid-19: French Riviera to go into weekend lockdown as cases spreading fast

NICE (France), Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The French Riviera will go intolockdown for the next two weekends to contain Covid-19 which has beenspreading faster in the tourist hotspot than elsewhere in France, theregion’s top official said. Controls at airports and at the land border the southern Alpes-Maritimesregion shares with Italy…