US Pres Trump, British PM Johnson talk 5G and trade ahead of G7: White House

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump and Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, have discussed trade and the growing struggle for control of emerging 5G technology, the White House said Friday. In the call made Thursday, Trump and Johnson discussed “areas of further cooperation, especially relating to trade,…

US, Russia rip up Cold War-era INF missile treaty

BANGKOK, Aug 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States and Russia ripped up a Cold War-era missile pact on Friday in a move that raised the spectre of an arms race between the global superpowers. The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty limited the use of medium-range missiles, both conventional and…

Ecuador cracks down on illegal mining to transform economy

QUITO, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — In a desolate area of Ecuador’s northern Andes, dozens of electricity generators are cordoned off by yellow crime scene tape as armed security forces keep watch. Nearby, sacks of earth and rock have been piled up next to a sign reading:“confiscated gold material.” A month…

Thailand set to deliver first batch of medical marijuana

BANGKOK, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thailand plans to distribute about 10,000 bottles of cannabis oil next week for hospital patients, a government official said, the first official use of medical marijuana since a law legalizing it came into effect this year. The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) will deliver 4,500 5ml bottles…

Indonesia forest fires spark haze warnings in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and western Sarawak have begun to experience haze due to forest fires in Indonesia, Malaysia’s Meteorological Department said. The Met agency’s director-general Jailan Simon said the haze will also have an effect on the weather in Penang, Selangor, Kuala…

Bangladesh struggles with worst outbreak of dengue fever

DHAKA, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bangladesh is grappling with its worst outbreak of dengue fever, with hospitals packed with patients as the disease spreads rapidly in the densely-populated country. At least 14 people have died and more than 17,000 have come down with the virus so far this year, according to…

Somalia bomb attack: Mogadishu’s mayor dies in Qatar while getting treatment for wounds

MOGADISHU, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The mayor of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu has died of wounds sustained in a suicide bomb attack on his office, government officials said. He died in Qatar where he had gone for treatment after the attack. Abdirahman Omar Osman was a naturalised Briton who returned to…

Six children killed by lightning in Guinea: Witness

Conakry, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Six children aged between four and 10 died after they were struck by lightning while making tea under a mango tree in north-eastern Guinea, a witness said. The storm began shortly before 7pm Wednesday in the town of Siguiri, close to the border with Mali, witness…

US Pres Trump’s son-in-law Kushner meets Egypt’s Sisi for Mideast peace plan talks

CAIRO, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump’s advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner met on Thursday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo to discuss Washington’s plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Both sides discussed “ways to consolidate peace and stability in the region in light of the instability it…

Six bombs explode in Bangkok as city hosts major security summit, 4 injured

A bomb squad deployed to the scene of an explosion near central Bangkok’s Chong Nonsi BTS station on Aug 2, 2019. BANGKOK, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Six bombs exploded at three locations in Bangkok on Friday, injuring four people and rattling the Thai capital as it hosted a Southeast Asian…