Mali creates body to open talks with Islamist militants

The French first intervened in the Sahel region – a stretch of land just south of the Sahara Desert which includes Mali – in 2013 BAMAKO, Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mali’s government has created a body to open talks with Islamist militants whose insurgency has made vast portions of the country ungovernable,…

Covid-19: Argentina health minister resign over vaccine line-jumping

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Argentina’s health ministerresigned late Friday after it emerged that friends of his had been able toskip the line for a Covid-19 vaccination. Health Minister Gines Gonzalez Garci stepped down after President AlbertoFernandez called on him to quit in the wake of the scandal. “Responding…

Central America planning for wave of migrant caravans

Honduran migrants get off a police truck in El Florido, Guatemala as they voluntarily return to their home country in January 2021 GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Central American countries are preparing for a wave of migrant caravans containing people from as far away as Africa and Asia to…

US urges Myanmar junta to yield power after protester death

People in Yangon tend a memorial for Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a young protester who was shot in Naypyitaw WASHINGTON/YANGON, Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Washington has urged the leaders of Myanmar’s new military regime to refrain from violence and relinquish power, after the death of a young anti-coup protester sparked new anger against the…

Ecuador elections: Arauz and Lasso to second round on April 11, CNE says

QUITO, Feb 20 (NNN-TELESUR) — Ecuador’s National Electoral Council (CNE) confirmed on Friday that Creating Opportunities’ (CREO) candidate Guillermo Lasso would face the first-round winner Andres Arauz on the second round of the presidential elections on April 11. With 100 percent of the ballot records processed, the electoral body reported…

EU, BiH agree to work together to manage migrant crisis

SARAJEVO, Feb 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the European Union (EU) agreed to partner up to improve management of the migration crisis after their officials met to discuss the issue on Friday. “BiH unjustifiably bears a too heavy burden of the migrant crisis considering the population size…

UN envoy to Libya, eastern army commander discuss cease-fire deal

Jan Kubis, the UN’s Special Envoy for Libya TRIPOLI, Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — As part of efforts to unite rival Libyan factions as the country prepares for national elections on Dec 24, Jan Kubis, the UN’s Special Envoy for Libya, met on Friday in Benghazi with Gen Khalifa Haftar, commander…

Italy: Catania airport reopens after eruption of Mount Etna

CATANIA (Sicily, Italy), Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Catania airport has reopened after temporarily closing due to the eruption of Mount Etna on the southern Italian island of Sicily, the ANSA news agency reported.The nearby volcano had erupted for almost an hour on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning, Italian television…

Covid-19: J&J submits one-shot vaccine for WHO emergency use approval

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, still under review by the United States health regulator GENEVA, Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Johnson & Johnson said that it had submitted data to the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use listing of its COVID-19 vaccine, which would allow for wider access to the…

South Sudan’s current violence ‘lot worse’ than during civil war: UN report

The 2013-2018 civil war killed an estimated 400,000 people GENEVA/JUBA, Feb 20 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Violence raging on in vast swathes of South Sudan a year after a peace deal was signed to end the five-year civil war is “a lot worse” than during the war itself, according to a United…