Tens of thousands evacuated as California wildfires rage

LOS ANGELES, Oct 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Wind-driven wildfires forced theevacuation of about 100,000 people in southern California Friday anddestroyed dozens of structures and homes as authorities warned it could take days to extinguish the flames. By Friday evening, the strongest blaze, dubbed the Saddleridge Fire, hadconsumed 3,052 hectares in areas…

UN takes strict measures to cut costs to cope with financial crisis

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres UNITED NATIONS, Oct 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United Nations is taking strict and concrete measures to cut costs, hoping to tide over the worst financial crisis facing the organization in a decade, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Effective immediately, official travel will be limited to…

Frustrated US acting secretary of homeland security steps down

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — US Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan stepped down Friday, according to U.S. President Donald Trump. “Kevin now, after many years in Government, wants to spend more time with his family and go to the private sector,” Trump said in a pair of tweets, signaling…

Ecuador’s Amazon tribes join anti-austerity protests

QUITO, Oct 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — Thousands of indigenous representatives from the Amazon region joined anti-austerity protests here on Friday, amid bleak prospects of hopes for talks between protest leaders and the government. Demonstrators from the Shuar tribe bearing national flags marched towards the National Assembly to protest against President Lenin…

Russia: Pres Putin warns of threats from US military buildup

Pres Vladimir Putin  MOSCOW, Oct 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on Friday of the threats posed by the U.S. military buildup to global security. At a CIS summit in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, Putin recalled the United…

US federal court rules against Trump administration’s rule on vulnerable immigrants

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — A federal court in the United States on Friday issued a temporary injunction against the Trump administration’s rule that would deny permanent residency in the country for immigrants deemed likely to depend on public welfare. U.S. District Judge George Daniels of the U.S. District Court…

China, US achieve substantial progress in new round of trade talks in Washington

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — China and the United States achieved substantial progress in multiple areas after holding a new round of high-level economic and trade consultations on Thursday and Friday in Washington. Under the guidance of the important consensus reached between the heads of state of the two countries,…

US troops in Syria came under fire from Turkish incursion: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US troops near the northern Syrian border came under artillery fire from Turkish positions on Friday, a Pentagon spokesman said, warning that the US was prepared to meet aggression with “immediate defensive action.” The US military confirmed an explosion around 9pm within a few hundred…

Nile dam dispute: Egypt needs water, Ethiopia seeks electricity, Sudan wants both

ADDIS ABABA/CAIRO, Oct 12 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — While Egypt wants to guarantee a steady supply of water for its 100 millions citizens , Ethiopia is determined to power the homes of the over 100 million citizens. Sudan completes the triangle of nations that are currently deadlocked over the construction of a…

Ecuador protests: Police officers released after being taken hostage

The captive police officers were paraded in front of a crowd of thousands in Quito QUITO, Oct 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Protesters in Ecuador have released 10 police officers who were taken hostage amid violent demonstrations triggered by austerity measures. Indigenous demonstrators paraded the officers, including one woman, on a stage…