US Pres Trump congratulates UK’s Boris Johnson on ‘great’ election win

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) —  US President Donald Trump congratulated UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his election victory, saying their two countries were now free to strike a “massive” new trade deal. Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks set to win a comfortable majority in parliament after…

Update: Election results 2019 – Boris Johnson returns to power with big majority

LONDON, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Boris Johnson returned to Downing Street with a big majority after the Conservatives swept aside Labour in its traditional heartlands. With just a handful of seats left to declare in the general election, the forecasts are a Tory majority of 78. The prime minister said…

France to take 400 asylum-seekers from Greece

Migrants rescued in the Mediterranean as they attempted to make the precarious sea crossing to Europe ATHENS, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France will help Greece tackle an ongoing migration challenge that has put overwhelming pressure on its infrastructure by accepting 400 asylum-seekers, the French ambassador to Athens said. “Over the coming…

Chilean Air Force recovers human remains, says no survivors from crashed plane

PUNTA ARENAS (Chile), Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chile confirmed that human remains and debris found by search ships are from a military plane reported missing with 38 people aboard, and the chances of finding survivors is “practically impossible.” “The condition of the plane wreckage that was found makes it practically impossible…

US vaping-related deaths rise to 52, hospitalizations to 2,409

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US health officials said four more deaths occurred since last week from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping, taking the total toll to 52. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reported 118 more hospitalized cases from 50 states, the District of…

Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi warns genocide case could reignite Rohingya crisis

Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi HAGUE, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi urged UN judges to throw out a genocide case against Myanmar, warning it risked reigniting the crisis that forced nearly three-quarters of a million Rohingya Muslims from their homes. In her closing arguments…

Update: New Zealand troops retrieve six bodies from volcano in daring mission

WHAKATANE (New Zealand), Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A team of elite New Zealand soldiers airlifted six bodies from the volatile White Island volcano on Friday, police said, in a mission carried out under the ever-present threat of another eruption. Two military helicopters set off from Whakatane airport at first light…

US Senate passes resolution recognizing Armenian genocide

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Senate unanimously passed a resolution that formally recognizes the Ottoman Empire’s mass killings against the Armenian people as “genocide,” a move might further strain relations between Washington and Ankara. By passing Armenian Genocide resolution, “the Senate finally stood up to confirm history: What happened…

Sudanese envoy asks UN Security Council to review Darfur sanctions

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 13 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday asked the Security Council to review its sanctions regime on the Darfur region. The situation that prevailed in 2005, when the sanctions regime was expanded to include Sudanese government forces in Darfur, has changed completely,…

11 Hashd Shaabi members killed in suicide attack in central Iraq

SAMARRA (Iraq), Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eleven Iraqi fighters were killed north of Baghdad on Thursday when two suicide bombers attacked a base of Saraya al-Salam, an armed group led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Iraqi army said. The attack, which also wounded three fighters, was carried out by…