Powerful quakes hit central Croatia, no casualties: official

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic (R, Front) and local officials inspect buildings damaged by earthquakes in Sisak ZAGREB, Dec. 29 (NNN-Xinhua) — No casualties have been reported hours after a series of earthquakes hit central Croatia near the capital Zagreb on Monday, local officials said. According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre…

Colombia: 249 peace signatories killed since 2016

BOGOTA, Dec 29 (NNN-TELESUR) — The number of former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) combatants who have been killed in Colombia climbed to 249, following the assassination of two of its members over the weekend. The Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Common (FARC) party on Sunday denounced the deaths of Manuel Alonso, who was…

Over 200 Venezuelans have returned home from Chile

CARACAS, Dec 29 (NNN-TELESUR) — Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry reported on Monday that over 200 citizens returned to the country on a flight from Chile as part of the Return to the Homeland Plan. According to Venezuelan authorities, 216 Venezuelans arrived Monday to the Maiquetía International Airport in the Northern state of La…

Covid-19: Argentina will begin inoculation with the Russian vaccine on Tuesday

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 29 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina begins vaccinating its citizens against coronavirus on Tuesday using the recently delivered Russian Sputnik V vaccine, the government said, following its approval by health authorities for emergency use. Argentine president Alberto Fernández and provincial governors said health personnel would receive their vaccines in…

Burkina Faso president says security priority after swearing-in

Kabore, first elected in 2015, won 57.7 percent of the vote on Nov 22 OUAGADOUGOU, Dec 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore has promised to make security his priority after he took the helm of the troubled Sahel country for a second term.“I intend to win…

Covid-19: Britain reports record daily number of new cases, topping 40,000

Vehicles drive past a roadside public health information sign, amid the spread of Covid-19, near Oxford, Britain LONDON, Dec 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain reported 41,385 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, a daily record, as a rapidly spreading variant of the coronavirus increases infection rates and the holiday weekend impacted the…

Covid-19: Cuba to allow fewer flights from United States and some other countries

HAVANA, Dec 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) —  Cuba announced it would allow fewer flights from the United States and several other countries beginning Jan 1, due to a surge in coronavirus cases since opening its airports in November. Cubans living abroad and returning to visit, or returning from shopping trips, have spread the…

Covid-19: EU’s marathon vaccination drive off to uneven start

BRUSSELS, Dec 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union’s campaign to vaccinate Europeans against COVID-19 has got off to an uneven start in what will be a marathon effort to administer shots to enough of the bloc’s 450 million people to defeat the viral pandemic. In one mishap, eight workers at…

Covid-19: Rio de Janeiro to block beach access on New Year’s Eve

( RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Rio de Janeiro authorities announced they will block beach access the night of Dec 31 to prevent crowds in one of Brazil’s worst-hit cities by the coronavirus pandemic. The measures will include a ban on vehicles along some 30 kilometers of Rio’s…

US shooting: Police officer fired after killing unarmed Black man

Karissa Hill (left), Andre Hill’s daughter, is comforted by friends and loved ones at a candlelight vigil to honour her father’s memory outside the Brentnell Community Recreation Center in Columbus, Ohio COLUMBUS (Ohio, US), Dec 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A white police officer who shot dead a Black man in Columbus,…