India readying $2.6 billion US naval helicopter deal ahead of Trump trip: Sources

NEW DELHI, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — India is set to give final approval to a $2.6 billion deal for military helicopters from US defence firm Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) ahead of a proposed visit by US Pres Donald Trump this month, defence and industry sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government…

Slain commander Soleimani sought stability – Iranian president Rouhani

TEHRAN, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian military commander killed in a US drone strike on Jan 3 in Baghdad, had sought to bring stability to the Middle East, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said. “Commander Soleimani was a man who was pursuing stability and calm in the region,”…

Mozambique drops court appeals to extradite ex-minister from South Africa

Manuel Chang appears in court in Kempton Park, South Africa, on Jan 8 2019.   MAPUTO, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mozambique withdrew appeals against a South African court decision not to extradite its former finance minister, Manuel Chang, wanted in relation to a $2 billion debt scandal that plunged his country’s…

Update: China virus toll passes 1,000 as Xi visits frontline hospital

BEIJING, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The toll from China’s deadly coronavirus outbreak passed 1,000 on Tuesday after President Xi Jinping called for more “decisive” measures to tackle the outbreak in a rare visit to a frontline hospital. The Chinese president donned a face mask and had his temperature checked while…

Uganda: Four rare mountain gorillas ‘die in lightning strike’

Members of the Hirwa group were photographed in 2012.  KAMPALA, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Four rare mountain gorillas, including a pregnant female, have died in Uganda after being hit by lightning, a conservation group says. The three adult females and a male infant were found in Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park with “gross lesions”…

Russia says plane ‘almost hit’ by anti-aircraft fire in Syria

A video released by Syrian state media reportedly showed an explosion following an alleged Israeli attack.  DAMASCUS/MOSCOW, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A passenger plane in Syria was forced to re-route after it was almost hit by the country’s missile defence system, Russia’s defence ministry says. According to a statement quoted by Russian…

Syria war: Government shellfire kills 5 Turkish soldiers in Idlib

Turkey has sent hundreds of troops to Idlib to reinforce its observation posts  ANKARA, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five Turkish soldiers have been killed and five others wounded by Syrian army artillery fire in north-western Syria, Turkey’s defence ministry says. Shells reportedly struck a Turkish observation post at Taftanaz airbase in…

Mississippi Fire: Mother and six children killed in house blaze

The fire destroyed the house in the city of Clinton CLINTON (Mississippi, US), Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A mother and her six children, including a one-year-old baby, died after a fire destroyed their house in the US state of Mississippi, officials say. The father was the only survivor of the…

Sharp rise in brain injuries from Iran raid on US base

 WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The number of US troops suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) after an Iranian attack on a US base in Iraq in January has risen to 109, according to US officials. The figure is a significant increase from the 64 injured service members previously reported by the…

Nigeria: Militants burn to death motorists as they sleep in their cars

Borno State Governor’s Facebook  AUNO (Borno, Nigeria), Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Suspected militants have killed at least 30 people and abducted women and children in a raid in north-eastern Nigeria, officials say. Most of the victims were travellers who were burnt to death while sleeping in their vehicles during an overnight stop,…