US woman charged for running over teen ‘because she was Mexican’

Nicole Marie Poole Franklin IOWA (US), Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US woman has been charged with attempted murder after telling police in Iowa that she deliberately drove into a girl because she appeared “Mexican”. The victim, who is 14, sustained “numerous injuries” in the incident. Police say she was struck while walking…

Netherlands climate change: Court orders bigger cuts in emissions

The Dutch government has struggled to cut carbon emissions since 1990.  THE HAGUE, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The highest court in the Netherlands has upheld a ruling requiring the government to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% of 1990 levels by the end of next year. The case was brought…

France strike: Trains for children back on after outcry

 PARIS, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) —France’s national railway company has backtracked on plans to cancel a popular service that allows children to travel alone over Christmas. SNCF said it was cancelling the service, in which children aged between 4 and 14 are accompanied by a monitor, because of strike action. The move…

5.2-Magnitude Quake Hits Ushuaia, Argentina: USGS

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 jolted 248 km SSE of Ushuaia, Argentina at 20:34:50 GMT on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter, with a depth of 18.54 km, was initially determined to be at 56.9603 degrees south latitude and 67.2833…

US: After mission failure, Boeing spacecraft lands in New Mexico

WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Boeing’s new Starliner unmanned spacecraft returned to Earth on Sunday, landing in the New Mexico desert in the United States six days early after a clock problem prevented a rendezvous with the International Space Station. Images broadcast by NASA showed the spacecraft touching down safely…

Portugal/Spain: Five dead as storm strikes Iberian Peninsula

LISBON, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A storm sweeping across Spain and Portugal has killed at least five people, damaged buildings, cut power lines and forced authorities to shut roads hit by flooding and fallen trees, officials said. Storm Elsa hit the Iberian Peninsula on Wednesday and increased in intensity on…

Gang fight in Honduran prison leaves at least 18 inmates dead

TEGUCIGALPA, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 18 inmates were killed and 16 wounded during a fight between rival gangs in a Honduran penitentiary on Friday, authorities said, in one of the worst recent outbreaks of prison violence in the country. Two days earlier, the government declared a state of…

Six injured as giant cruise ships collide off Mexico

Carnival Glory cruise ship crashes into Carnival Legend at Cozumel cruise port, Mexico MEXICO CITY, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Six people were injured Friday when two enormous cruise ships operated by US-based Carnival collided off Mexico’s Caribbean coast, the company said. “Oh my God!” a man can be heard saying…

Sex work is not a crime – Nigerian judge declares

Sex workers arrested ABUJA, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Nigerian court has declared that sex work is not a crime since there is no law that forbids it. Justice Binta Nyako of the high court in the capital, Abuja, awarded damages to 16 women who were arrested for prostitution in…

China slams EU parliament over Uighur sanctions resolution

BEIJING/BRUSSELS, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Beijing on Friday accused the European Parliament of hypocrisy, after a resolution called for targeted sanctions against Chinese officials over the treatment of the Uighur minority. China has faced international condemnation for rounding up an estimated one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities…