40 killed in attacks in restive central Mali

BAMAKO, Feb 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Forty people, including nine soldiers, have been killed in a spate of attacks in central Mali, authorities said Friday, with most of the deaths caused by inter-ethnic violence in the deeply troubled region. Thirty-one people were killed in an attack overnight in Ogossagou, a village…

Tanzanian PM warns politicians against misleading statement on Covid-19

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa warned politicians to stop making misleading statements on the outbreak of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 in China. “Politicians should stop making misleading statements on the virus that confuse members,” said Majaliwa shortly after attending Friday prayers in the…

Russian military denies losses of Syrian troops in Turkish shelling

Maarat al-Numan city, Idlib Province, Syria MOSCOW, Feb 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Russian military refuted Ankara’s claim that Turkish forces killed dozens of Syrian government troops in the northwestern province of Idlib. “The statement about the shelling of the Syrian government troops by units of the Turkish Armed Forces and…

Zelensky, Putin discuss Donbass ceasefire by telephone

KIEV, Feb 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and discussed implementing agreements reached during a summit in Paris, the Ukrainian president’s press service said. At the last meeting of the Normandy Four leaders in Paris earlier this month after…

EIB pledges billions of euros to Greece in 2020

Greece’s Minister of Rural Development and Food Makis Voridis ATHENS, Feb 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — The European Investment Bank (EIB) will channel billions of euros this year to Greece to assist the recovery of its economy, the lender’s president Werner Hoyer said. Last year the EIB committed funds of 2 billion…

US trade coalition calls for removal of tariffs as phase-one deal with China takes effect

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — Americans for Free Trade, a coalition of more than 150 industry associations, has urged the Trump administration to remove all additional tariffs, as the China-US phase-one economic and trade agreement takes effect on Friday. “It’s encouraging to see some of the Phase One Deal come…

South Africa: Pres Ramaphosa pledges to fix energy shortage

CAPE TOWN, Feb 15 (NNN-XINHUA) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed to fix a worsening power crisis that has gripped South Africa for long. The government will implement measures that will fundamentally change the trajectory of energy generation in the country, Ramaphosa said, while delivering his State of the…

Uganda: 15 killed when commuter van hits parked truck

Residents inspecting the wreckage KAMPALA, Feb 15 (NNN-XINHUA) — Fifteen people died on Friday when a speeding commuter van ran into a parked truck in eastern Uganda, police said. Police spokesperson James Mubi said preliminary investigations show that the driver of the commuter vehicle was speeding when the collision occurred…

Mexico’s giant pandas are Chinese in name only

MEXICO CITY, Feb 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Xin Xin and Shuan Shuan are the main attractions at the Chapultepec zoo in Mexico City but what makes them truly unique, zoo officials say, is that they’re the only giant pandas in the world not owned by China. They were born in captivity…

Russian woman in court for fleeing Covid-19 quarantine

MOSCOW, Feb 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Russian hospital filed a lawsuit against a woman for escaping her Covid-19 quarantine, complaining of being forcibly held and given inedible meals.The head doctor of the Botkin hospital in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg took the highly unusual action against Alla Ilyina to…