French strike against pension reform enters day two

PARIS, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A strike that crippled public transport and closed schools across France entered a second day on Friday, with trade unions saying they planned to keep going until President Emmanuel Macron backs down from a planned reform of pensions. The strike pits Macron, a 41-year-old former…

Kenya: Death toll rises in Nairobi building collapse

The residential block was made up of 57 single rooms NAIROBI, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Latest police figures indicate that four people have died and 29 others were injured after a residential building collapsed in Kenya’s capital city on Friday morning. So far 11 people have been rescued including a…

Togo to hold elections February next year: govt decree

LOME, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Togo will hold elections in February next year, a government decree said, when incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe is expected to seek a fourth term in office.The decree published after a cabinet meeting said the presidential election will be held on Feb 22 with a second…

Nigeria: Church members burnt during cleansing ceremony in Lagos pipeline explosion

LAGOS, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Residents of the Gloryland Estate in the Isheri-Olofin, Igando area of Lagos State were thrown into panic as a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation exploded in the area. The fire, which started around 7.45am, was said to have killed one person, injured…

Rwanda opposition leader barred from leaving the country

Victoire Ingabire KIGALI, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A top Rwandan opposition leader has not been given permission to leave the country in order to pick up a human rights award.Victoire Ingabire wanted to travel to Madrid in Spain to collect the award but when she reached out to the minister…

Governor of Kenya’s capital arrested on corruption charges

NAIROBI, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenyan police arrested the Nairobi County governor, known for his chunky gold jewellery and impromptu raps, on Friday on corruption charges, a high profile move in the government’s much trumpeted anti-graft push.Chief public prosecutor Noordin Haji told a news conference the Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko…

Russia ‘preparing’ FM Lavrov visit to Washington next week

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is preparing to visit Washington next week, a spokeswoman said, whichwould be the first time since a controversial 2017 meeting with US President Donald Trump. “The meeting is being prepared” for Dec 10, Russian foreign ministryspokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, without…

Five die in gas explosion in Slovakia

BRATISLAVA, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least five people died and dozens were injured in a gas explosion that rocked a high-rise apartment building in eastern Slovakia on Friday, rescue services said. “Five people died and we estimated the number of injured at 40,” Alena Krcova, a spokeswoman for the…

14 missing in deadly Ukraine fire: President

KIEV, Dec 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fourteen people remain missing from a fire that claimed a student’s life in Ukraine’s southern port city of Odessa, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The fire broke out in a college building in central Odessa on Wednesday, killing a 16-year-old female student and injuring 27 others. The…

Australia: ‘Mega fire’ forms north of Sydney

Officials have issued fresh warnings for blazes around Sydney SYDNEY, Dec 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several Australian bushfires have combined to form a “mega fire” that is burning out of control across a swathe of land north of Sydney, authorities said Friday, warning they cannot contain the blaze. New South Wales Rural Fire…