Algerians protest against proposed energy law

ALGIERS, Oct 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Algerians protested in front of parliament against a proposed energy law that they say the caretaker government has no right to pass. The draft law was agreed by the cabinet on Sunday, interim president Abdelkader Bensalah was quoted by state media as saying. It must…

Second Ebola vaccine to be used in DR Congo next month

KINSHASA, Oct 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Doctors will use a second Ebola vaccine from November in three eastern provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight the deadly virus, medical officials said. “It’s time to use the new Ad26-ZEBOV-GP vaccine, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s Belgian subsidiary,” said Dr Jean-Jacques Muyembe,…

Death toll climbs to 7 in anti-government protests in Ecuador: Ombudsman office

QUITO, Oct 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — Seven people have been killed in a wave of anti-government protests in Ecuador, especially the capital Quito, over the past two weeks, the ombudsman’s office said. The agency, which is monitoring the human rights situation during the demonstrations sparked by steep fuel hikes, issued a…

Hungarian opposition wins Budapest mayoral race and other major cities, ruling party wins smaller cities

Gergely Karacsony BUDAPEST, Oct 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hungarian opposition won the race for the post of Budapest mayor and those of some major cities while the ruling party Fidesz won the majority of mayor posts of smaller cities, according to the results of the National Election Office (NVI). The turnout…

Sec General Guterres condemns mortar attack on UN compound in Somalia

Guard at watchtower of UN Compound in Mogadishu UNITED NATIONS, Oct 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned mortar attack on Mogadishu’s international airport that hit the compounds of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The Sunday mortar attack…

Fuel truck crash burns down 10 houses in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Oct 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — A tanker truck carrying fuel crashed into a residential area and exploded, setting fire to at least 10 houses in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa on Sunday, the Fire Department said. The driver of the vehicle, Carlos Eleodoro Reyes, 54, was killed in the accident…

Update: Kais Saied announces victory in Tunisia’s presidential runoff

Kais Saied announced that he won the second round of presidential election TUNIS, Oct 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — Tunisia’s independent presidential candidate Kais Saied announced evening that he had won the second round of presidential election. “The state will continue with its international laws and obligations,” Saied addressed his supporters after…

US says up to 1,000 troops to withdraw from northern Syria

WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Pentagon said PresidentDonald Trump had ordered the withdrawal of up to 1,000 troops from northern Syria — almost the entire ground force in the war-torn country — amid an intensifying Turkish assault on Kurdish forces. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the move came after…

Update: Ecuador president, protest leaders open talks to end deadly violence

QUITO, Oct 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indigenous leaders and Ecuador’s president began face-to-face talks after nearly two weeks of violent streetprotests over austerity measures instituted to obtain a multi-billion-dollarloan from the IMF. As the talks got underway, Jaime Vargas, the head of the indigenousumbrella grouping CONAIE, called on President Lenin Moreno…

Top Spain court to rule Monday on Catalan separatist leaders’ fate

MADRID, Oct 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain’s Supreme Court is expected to issue a verdict Monday in the controversial case of 12 Catalan leaders over their role in a failed 2017 independence bid that sparked the country’s worst political crisis in decades. Tension has been mounting steadily ahead of the ruling…