Covid-19: North Korea issues shoot-to-kill orders to prevent virus – US

WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — North Korean authorities have issued shoot-to-kill orders to prevent the coronavirus entering the country from China, according to the commander of US forces in the South. The impoverished North — whose crumbling health system would struggle to cope with a major virus outbreak — has…

Update: Lebanon president says Beirut fire could be sabotage or accident

BEIRUT, Sept 11, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Lebanon’s president said Thursday a huge fire at the Beirut port could have been an “intentional act of sabotage” or an accident, and those responsible must be held accountable. “Today’s fire could be an intentional act of sabotage, the result of a technical error,…

Saudi intercepts Yemeni rebel missiles, drones: coalition

RIYADH, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Saudi-led coalition Thursday intercepted multiple ballistic missiles and drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards the kingdom, state media said, after the insurgents claimed they had targeted the capital Riyadh. The Iran-linked rebels have stepped up attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia, mainly targeting southern…

New York to mark 9/11 anniversary amid virus gloom

NEW YORK, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — With crime on the rise, shops and apartments increasingly vacant and homeless people on the sidewalks, New York on Friday will mark the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and a bitter fight with the…

US Pres Trump boasted of saving Saudi prince over journalist killing: report

WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump boasted that he saved Saudi Arabia’s crown prince from greater scrutiny over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an explosive new book. In one of 18 interviews with legendary investigative reporter Bob Woodward, Trump defended Mohammed bin Salman over…

UN Security Council calls for better protection of schools as 11,000 attacked since 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Security Council called on all member states to do more to protect schools from outside violence, in a unanimous statement sponsored by Niger and Belgium. The 15 members say schools should be “spaces free from all forms of violence,” lamenting an uptick…

Death toll rises to 10 in Colombia rioting over police killing

BOGOTA, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 10 people were killed andhundreds wounded after rioting broke out in the Colombian capital Bogotaduring protests over the death of a man repeatedly tasered by police,authorities said. Demonstrators took to the streets of the Colombian capital on Wednesdayafter video emerged of attorney Javier…

Covid-19: UN seeks ‘quantum leap’ in funding for virus fight

GENEVA, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN called for animmediate “quantum leap” in funding to fight the new coronavirus as the death toll crossed 900,000 six months after the pandemic broke out. Alarming figures cropped up, with France registering a record of almost10,000 new Covid-19 cases over the last 24…

UK rejects EU call to back down over Brexit bill

LONDON, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) –– Britain’s government defied threats from the European Union of legal action over contentious Brexit legislation, and pushed back against a brewing revolt within its own ranks for violating the binding divorce treaty. The UK bill has further complicated the already messy Brexit process, as Britain…

US unrest: Mayor of Portland bans the use of tear gas by police

PORTLAND (Oregon, US), Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The mayor of the protest-hit US city of Portland, Oregon ordered city police to stop using tear gas for crowd control purposes. The northwestern city has endured more than 100 days of demonstrationsagainst racism and police brutality. Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, has…