US judge blocks Pres Trump sanctions targeting human rights lawyers, war crimes tribunal

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US judge blocked the Trump administration from sanctioning human rights lawyers for supporting the work of the world’s war crimes tribunal, the International Criminal Court. US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan issued a preliminary injunction against the White House from imposing criminal or…

Five new countries join polarized UN Security Council

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five new countries — India, Mexico, Norway, Ireland and Kenya — formally joined the UN Security Council on Monday at a time of growing polarization in the body charged with keeping world peace and security. They took part in a first meeting aimed at…

Covid-19: England imposes six-week lockdown after surge

LONDON, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a six-week lockdown for England’s 56 million people, including the closure of schools, after a surge in coronavirus cases brought warnings that hospitals could soon face collapse. Johnson stressed that Britain was leading the way with the introduction of two…

Niger declares national mourning, security boost after attacks

NIAMEY, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Niger declared three days of mourning and vowed to beef up security in a western border region where jihadists killed 100 villagers, according to a local toll. “We have decreed three days of national mourning, and on security, we are going to strengthen the presence”…

Covid-19: Over 265,000 in Germany receive vaccine

Nearly 265,000 people have received the first shot of the vaccine in Germany BERLIN, Jan 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — A total of 265,986 people have received COVID-19 vaccine in Germany as of Monday, the Robert Koch Institute said. Among those vaccinated were more than 114,600 residents of nursing homes and around…

Mexican president offers WikiLeaks founder political asylum

Assange pictured leaving court in January a year ago MEXICO CITY, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after a British judge ruled that Assange could not be extradited to the United States “due to concerns about his mental…

Ethiopia unrest: 2.2 mln displaced by conflict in Tigray region – official

Tigray, the northernmost region of Ethiopia, has been plunged into conflict ADDIS ABABA, Jan 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — Conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray regional state has displaced 2.2 million people, an Ethiopian official said. “There are 2.2 million Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Tigray, half of them are whose houses were…

France arrests former DRC rebel leader

Vice-president of the delegation of M23 rebels, Roger Lumbala (L) PARIS, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The former head of a rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been arrested on charges of “complicity in crimes against humanity”, French anti-terror prosecutors said.Roger Lumbala is a former opposition lawmaker who…

Covid-18: Britain gives first Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine jabs

LONDON, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain began the mass rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, a cheap and easy to distribute shot that experts hope will help crush the pandemic. Brian Pinker, 82, a retired maintenance manager on dialysis for kidney disease, got the shot at an Oxford hospital, and…

Update: Pastor dead, 2 hurt in shooting at Texas church

WINONA (Texas, US), Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A pastor was killed and two other people were injured in a shooting at an East Texas church on Sunday after the pastor confronted a man who had hidden from police in the church overnight, a local sheriff said. Authorities had been using…