More than 100 released from COVID-19 quarantine in Germany

More than 100 evacuees were given the all-clear to leave the military barracks in Germersheim on Sunday. BERLIN, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than a hundred German nationals were on Sunday released from quarantine at a military base near Frankfurt airport, two weeks after flying in from the Chinese city of…

US Sec of State Pompeo wraps up visit to Senegal; next Angola

DAKAR, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrapped up a visit to Senegal on Sunday, where he discussed the US role in security issues in Africa. This visit came as the U.S. Defense Department is conducting a global force review and has indicated there likely will…

Algerian government meets with local governors to build “new Algeria”

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ALGIERS, Feb 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Algerian government started on Sunday a two-day meeting themed “For a new Algeria” with local governors, Algerian official APS news agency reported. The meeting in the capital Algiers was attended by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad, other ministers…

French ski resort uses helicopters to deliver snow for bare slopes

Helicopters moved snow from higher mountains to slopes at the Luchon-Superbagnères resort PARIS, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) —A French ski resort has used helicopters to deliver snow after mild weather dried out its slopes, threatening it with closure. The Luchon-Superbagnères resort in the Pyrenees arranged for around 50 tonnes of snow to…

Covid-19: Americans from quarantined cruise ship flown home from Japan

WASHINGTON/TOKYO, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two planes carrying Americans from the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess have left Japan. The aircraft chartered by the US government departed Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the early hours of Monday. There were some 400 Americans on board the ship, which has been held since Feb 3…

US Pres Trump calls for Russia to stop backing Syrian ‘atrocities’

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump has called for Russia to end its support for the Syrian regime’s “atrocities” as he expressed US concern over violence in the Idlib region, the White House said. In a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump “expressed concern over…

14 children among up to 22 dead in Cameroon massacre: UN

LIBREVILLE, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A massacre in an anglophone region of Cameroon left up to 22 villagers dead including 14 children, the UN said, with an opposition party blaming the killings on the army. Armed men carried out the bloodshed on Friday in the village of Ntumbo inthe Northwest…

US: Snake orgy prompts partial closure of Florida city park

MIAMI, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A city in Florida closed off part of a park after residents spotted dozens of snakes which had apparently gathered for their annual coupling.“It appears they have congregated for mating,” the City of Lakeland Parks and Recreation Department said on Facebook with a photo of…

Second wave of locust invasion to hit East Africa in two months: Kenya’s Agri Ministry

NAIROBI, Feb 17 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) — East African countries should brace themselves for a second round of invasion by the desert locusts in the next one to two months, Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture has warned. The swarms of locusts, which have spread to seven East African countries, have been laying eggs…

Somalia dismisses Amnesty report, denies gagging media

MOGADISHU, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Federal Government of Somalia has dismissed an Amnesty International report highlighting increased cases of journalists getting harassed and killed while on duty in the country. The report, “We live in perpetual fear: Violations and abuses of freedom of expression in Somalia”, was released in…