Hundreds of captives, many boys in chains, freed in Nigeria

KADUNA (Nigeria), Sept 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 300 captives, most of them children and many in chains, have been rescued from a building in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, a police spokesman said. All the children were boys aged from around five to their late teens. Some had…

Rwanda receives first group of refugees from Libya, including baby born in detention

Refugees arrive in Kigali after a UNHCR evacuation flight from Libya KIGALI, Sept 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Rwanda has received 66 asylum-seekers that were being held in a Libyan detention centre, the first of a group of 500 to be sent there under a new agreement with the United Nations to…

40,000 people flee Nigeria violence in 10 months: UN

GENEVA, Sept 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Escalating violence in northwest Nigeriablamed on armed bandits has forced more than 40,000 people to flee across the border into Niger over the last 10 months, the UN said. However, the surge in kidnappings, killings, sexual violence and otherunrest in this area is not…

At least 52 dead in Chad gold mine collapse: official

N’DJAMENA, Sept 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 52 people died when an illegal gold mine collapsed in northern Chad this week, a government source said, with authorities still searching for more bodies. The mine caved in on Tuesday in Tibesti province near the Libyan border where authorities initially said they…

Update: Outrage as second Indonesian student dies in protest violence

JAKARTA, Sept 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A second Indonesian student protester has died in demonstrations against a raft of divisive legal reforms, including banning pre-marital sex and weakening the anti-graft agency. The 19-year-old engineering student died in hospital of blunt-force injuries to his head sustained in riots that erupted in Kendari…

Brazil has confirmed 4,500 cases of measles since June

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 27 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazil has registered 4,507 confirmed cases of measles in 19 states since late June, the country’s Health Ministry said. In addition, there are also 21,711 suspected cases of the disease. So far, there were six deaths from measles in the country this year,…

Libya’s UN-backed gov’t forces launch airstrikes on eastern-based army in southern Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Sept 27 (NNN-Xinhua) — Forces of Libya’s UN-backed government on Thursday launched 14 airstrikes on the rival eastern-based army in southern Tripoli. “The air force carried out 14 airstrikes on position of Haftar’s militias (army) in southern Tripoli, destroying ammunition stores and military vehicles,” the spokesman of the UN-backed…

Hong Kong braces for weekend protests ahead of China national day

Anti-government protesters destroy a fence outside the venue of first community dialogue held by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam . Photo courtesy of Straits Times. HONG KONG, Sept 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hong Kong was bracing for a weekend of unrest with protests likely to mount in the China-ruled territory…

US to send 200 troops, Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States announced the deployment of 200 troops as well as Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia to help the country’s defense in the wake of last month’s attacks on oil installations blamed on Iran. The Defense Department said the deployment would involve one battery…

Five years on, 43 missing students still haunt Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Sept 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Exactly five years after 43 students disappeared without a trace in Mexico, the government said it willre-investigate the case as a crime by “agents of the state,” offering a rewardfor new information. The night of Sept 26, 2014, a group of students in Guerrero…