Over 50 killed after gov’t forces repel Taliban attacks in southern Afghanistan

KANDAHAR (Afghanistan), July 25 (NNN-XINHUA) — More than 50 combatants with majority of them Taliban militants have been killed in the southern Kandahar and neighboring Zabul province since Thursday as Taliban’s attempts to overrun districts failed, officials said. Taliban militants were attempting to launch massive offensives in Arghandab, Shinkai and…

UK, EU rule out quick post-Brexit deal

LONDON, July 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain and the European Union broke up their latest round of post-Brexit talks on Thursday by ruling out a quick deal but voicing hope for agreement in the coming months. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised to add “a bit of oomph” to the stalled…

Covid-19: US sees jobless claims rise again as lawmakers debate aid

WASHINGTON, July 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Newly unemployed Americans filed nearly 1.42 million claims for jobless benefits last week, reversing recent months of decline as the world’s largest economy grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases. The worse-than-expected Labor Department data comes as lawmakers in Washington debate whether to extend additional…

Spain to plough 15 bn euros into digital transformation

MADRID, July 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain is to plough 15 billion euros of the funds it will receive from the historic European coronavirus rescue plan passed this week to drive through the country’s digital transformation. “This plan will be carried out in full alignment with the objectives of the European…

Airbus offers subsidy concession to end US tariffs

PARIS, July 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Europe’s Airbus said it would increase loan repayments to France and Spain in a “final” bid to reverse US tariffs and jog the United States into settling a 16-year-old dispute over billions of dollars of aircraft subsidies. The European Union, France and Spain said the…

Xenophobia: Ghanaian retail traders clash with Nigerian counterparts

Ghanaian and Nigerian retail traders at Circle ACCRA, July 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some members of the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) on Friday clashed with Nigerian traders who are operating illegally at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle despite GUTA’s directive for them to remain closed until they provide legal documents.…

South Sudan soldiers on trial for rights abuses

JUBA, July 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some 75 government soldiers arrested in Yei, a town in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria state, are being tried by military judges in the capital Juba for alleged human rights abuses. The special tribunal comes after a recent visit by the new Chief of Defence Forces,…

Israeli police arrest dozens of anti-Netanyahu protesters

Isreali police arrest a demonstrator during a protest JERUSALEM, July 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Israeli police said that they arrested 55 anti-Netanyahu protesters “who caused public disorder and disturbances.” “You are a puppet of the establishment!” a woman being arrested, yelled at police in Hebrew. Thousands of rival protesters gathered outside…

African summit ends with no deal on Mali political crisis

President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou BAMAKO, July 25 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — West African leaders ended a day-long summit in Mali without a deal to soothe the country’s escalating political crisis. Five of the region’s leaders met Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and leaders of a protest movement clamouring for his resignation,…

UN demands justice for aid workers killed in Nigeria

Antonio Guterres, United Nations (UN) Secretary General UNITED NATIONS, July 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Daesh group has claimed responsibility for the killing of four aid workers and a security guard in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on the Nigerian authorities to bring the perpetrators…