Two dead, tens of thousands of homes without power as storms hit France

PARIS, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two pensioners have beenkilled and tens of thousand of homes left without electricity as gale forcewinds and flooding hit southwestern France over the weekend. Eleven departments remained on orange alert weather warnings. A 70-year-old man died in the Pyrenees-Atlantique in the Basque Country on Friday…

French transport strikes enter third week with slight improvement in Monday services

Eight Metro lines remain closed PARIS, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French transport strikes enter their third week, Paris residents and train passengers will see some improvement after a badly disrupted weekend. The mass transport strikes over pension reform show no sign of being speedily resolved, and instead discussions have moved…

Sudan: Ousted Pres Bashir gets two years’ detention for corruption

KHARTOUM, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir was sentenced to two years’ detention in a correctional centre forcorruption in the first of several cases against the ousted autocrat. The charges stemmed from millions of dollars received by the toppledstrongman from Saudi Arabia. In a statement, the prosector…

Mexico: 50 bodies unearthed from mass grave

GUADALAJARA (Mexico), Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The bodies of at least 50 people have been unearthed from a mass grave at a farm outside Mexico’s western city of Guadalajara, local authorities said. The grim site was discovered just over three weeks ago in Jalisco — astate hard-hit by violence linked…

UK: Opposition chief Corbyn say ‘sorry’ for election defeat

LONDON, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain’s main opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn apologised to supporters for overseeing his Labour party’s worst election defeat since before World War II. But the veteran socialist defended his far-left campaign platform and gave no clear indication of when he might step down. “I will make…

Spain pledges funds for asylum seekers as Latin American arrivals spike

MADRID, Dec 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Spanish government authorised nearly 150 million euros in subsidies to ease the strain on its migrant-processing system after a recent spike in arrivals from Latin America overwhelmed its social services. Government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa, who announced the measure at a weekly briefing, said the…

Cuba to ratify commitment to peace at ALBA-TCP Summit

HAVANA, Dec 14 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — Cuba will ratify its commitment to cooperation, solidarity and peace, on the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP), Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said. The head of Cuban diplomacy wrote on his Twitter…

More than 50 migrants expelled from Chile

SANTIAGO, Dec 14 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — A total of 56 Peruvian, Venezuelan, and Colombian citizens were expelled from Chile for having committed offenses or broken immigration laws, the authorities said. The migrants, who left the country by plane, include ten Peruvians, five Colombians, and 41 Venezuelans, who will be taken…

UN agencies return home 5,087 Somali refugees from Yemen in 2 years

IOM and UNHCR have helped over 5,000 Somali refugees return home from Yemen via Aden port since 2017 MOGADISHU, Dec 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — Two UN agencies said Friday some 5,087 Somali refugees have so far returned home from Yemen since it started an Assisted Spontaneous Return (ASR) program in 2017.…

Nigeria: 28 burned to death in bus-truck collision

The accident involved a bus taking a family to a ceremony and a truck transporting cows to market KANO (Nigeria), Dec 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Twenty-eight people were killed in northern Nigeria when two vehicles collided and caught fire, the country’s Road Safety Commission said. The accident involved a bus taking…