Covid-19: Zimbabwe teachers request postponement of examinations

HARARE, Aug 22 (NNN-XINHUA) – Zimbabwe teachers have rejected the government’s proposal to reopen schools for examination classes, said Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ). Zimbabwe’s Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said during a post-cabinet press briefing that the government will proceed with its preparation to reopen schools for final…

Covid-19: Ugandan president to announce new measures to curb spike

KAMPALA, Aug 22 (NNN-XINHUA) –– Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is to introduce new measures to curb the spike of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the East African country. In a televised address, Museveni said some citizens and politicians are continuing to violate preventive measures and operating procedures to contain the…

Covid-19: World Bank chief warns extreme poverty could surge by 100 mn

WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The coronavirus pandemic may have driven as many as 100 million people back into extreme poverty, World Bank President David Malpass warned. The Washington-based development lender previously estimated that 60 million people would fall into extreme poverty due to COVID-19, but the new estimate puts…

Somali prison warders arrested for smuggling weapons used by jailed militants in attempted outbreak

Pistols, ammunition and hand grenades were smuggled into the prison, report says MOGADISHU, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 27 people, among them 12 prison warders, have been arrested for smuggling weapons into a Somali prison. The weapons were used in last week’s shootout between jailed militant Islamists and security…

Six bodyguards to South Sudan’s VP shot dead in ambush

Vice-President James Wani Igga is an ally of President Salva Kiir JUBA, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Six bodyguards for South Sudan’s Vice-President James Wani Igga have been been shot dead and another two wounded after their convoy was ambushed by rebels, his spokesman Kalisto Lado said. Igga was not in…

New Zealand mosque shooter to face survivors at sentencing

WELLINGTON, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers in last year’s New Zealand mosque shootings will face survivors of his rampage during a sentencing hearing next week that is likely to see him jailed for life. Far-right extremist Brenton Tarrant was convicted in March…

6.9-magnitude quake strikes off Indonesia: USGS

JAKARTA, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 6.9-magnitude quake struck eastern Indonesia on Friday, the US Geological Survey reported, but there was no tsunami warning issued and no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. The undersea tremor struck at a depth of more than 600 kilometres about 220 kilometres south…

German police arrest man wanted by Croatia for war crimes

BERLIN, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German federal police said they had arrested a 55-year old former Yugoslavian man who was sentenced 23 years ago in Croatia for crimes against humanity but who never served his prison term. In 1997, the man, now a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 10 years…

Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank, military says he was planning attack

Israeli forces clash with Palestinians during a rally against Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank JERUSALEM, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Israeli soldiers fired at Palestinians who were to believed to be preparing to attack Israeli cars in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the military said, and…

Hong Kong will suspend some legal cooperation with US, China says

China and US relations were already strained prior to the decision BEIJING, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hong Kong will suspend an agreement on mutual legal assistance with the United States, China’s foreign ministry said, in a tit-for-tat response to Washington ending some agreements with Hong Kong. The US State Department…