US announces charges against Chinese, Malaysian hackers

The five Chinese citizens and two Malaysians are accused of hacking more than 100 companies in the US WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Justice Department announced charges against five Chinese nationals and two Malaysians who ran global hacking operations for at least six years to steal identities and video…

US: Hurricane Sally swamps Gulf Coast with massive floods, ‘unreal’ rain

The coastal community of Pensacola, Florida, suffered up to 1.5m of flooding GULF SHORES (Alabama, US), Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hurricane Sally uprooted trees, flooded streets and cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses on Wednesday as it brought what the US National Hurricane Center called “historic and catastrophic”…

Barbados to remove Queen Elizabeth as head of state; wants to become a republic

Queen Elizabeth, seen here visiting Barbados in 1977, is the island nation’s head of state BRIDGETOWN, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Barbados has announced its intention to remove Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and become a republic. “The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind,” the…

ECOWAS hopes for civilian rule in Mali ‘within days’

President Akufo-Addo hosted regional leaders on Tuesday to help bring civilian rule to Mali ACCRA, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo- Addo, says West African leaders hope to see a civilian- led government installed in Mali within days. He spoke after talks between regional leaders and the military…

UN express concern Nigeria’s imprisonment of ‘blasphemous’ 13-year-old

ABUJA, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN children’s agency Unicef has “expressed deep concern” over the imprisonment and treatment of a 13-year-old boy convicted for blasphemy. In August, Omar Farouq was sentenced to 10 years in prison with menial labour by a Sharia court in the northern state of Kano.…

Covid-19: Kenya resolves coronavirus spat with Tanzania

Tanzania banned four Kenyan airlines from its market as tensions escalated NAIROBI, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Kenyan government has included neighbouring Tanzania on its list of countries whose travellers are exempted from mandatory quarantine upon arrival. The move is considered controversial as Tanzania has not published figures of Covid-19…

Sudan’s Bashir trial adjourned to September 22

Ousted Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir KHARTOUM, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The trial of Sudan’s toppled strongman Omar al-Bashir over his role in the 1989 military coup that brought him to power was adjourned to Sept 22. The trial judge said the hearing was “procedural” and that requests were being considered…

Nigerian politicians face UK visa bans over polls chaos

Nigerian politicians have previously been accused of using violence in elections ABUJA, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK has threatened to issue visa bans on Nigerian politicians linked to electoral violence ahead of governorship elections in two states later this month. It has also warned of their potential prosecution under…

Libya: East-based government resigns after Benghazi protests

The latest protests erupted on Saturday evening BENGHAZI (Libya), Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The rival government in eastern Libya has submitted its resignation after a number of protests over deteriorating living conditions and corruption. At the weekend demonstrators in the city of Benghazi set fire to strongman Gen Khalifa Haftar’s…

Covid-19: All African nations seeks Fifa’s Coronavirus Relief fund help

Fifa is making money available to its 211 member associations to help deal with the impact of COVID ZURICH (Switzerland), Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Every single country in Africa has applied to Fifa to access a grant through the world governing body’s COVID-19 Relief Plan. Formally approved in June, the Fifa fund…