Estonia, Poland deny entry to Russian ship over Crimea cadets

TALLINN, April 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — EU states Estonia and Poland said they had blocked a Russian training ship from entering their waters because some on board are cadets from Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. Estonia’s foreign ministry had denied the STS Sedov sailing vessel permission on Wednesday after learning…

Sec of State Pompeo says US won’t quit fight in Venezuela, defends sanctions

SANTIAGO, April 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended sanctions on Venezuela and said the United States would not “quit the fight” in the socialist-run Latin American nation which is spiralling into deepening economic and political crisis. Pompeo is on a three-day trip to Chile, Paraguay and Peru,…

EU ‘ready to respond’ to US in Airbus-Boeing row

WASHINGTON, April 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French finance minister Bruno Le Maire warned that Europe was ready to hit back at any US tariffs against Airbus as he pleaded for an “amicable solution” to the long-running dispute. “If we were to be hit again by unjustified and unjustifiable US sanctions, Europe would…

Assange held in London jail ahead of long legal fight

LONDON, April 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange woke up in a British jail Friday at the start of a likely lengthy extradition battle after a dramatic end to his seven-year stay in Ecuador’s London embassy. Within hours of police hauling him out of the embassy, the 47-year-old Australia appeared in…

Trump’s controversial transgender troop ban takes effect

WASHINGTON, April 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump’s controversial ban on transgender Americans in the military comes into force on Friday following a protracted legal battle. Trump’s administration has insisted that there is “too great a risk to military effectiveness and lethality” to allow transgender people to serve — reversing a…

Palestine became a full member of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

RAMALLAH, April 12 (NNN-WAFA) — Palestine has gained full membership in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which sits under the Vienna Convention, the Environmental Quality Authority said.. It said the approval of the agreement…

Foreign Ministry: All Palestinians in Sudan are safe

RAMALLAH, April 12 (NNN-WAFA) — The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said on Friday that all Palestinians in Sudan are safe despite the chaotic situation in the country. The ministry said in a press release that it was following up with keen interest the current developments in Sudan and maintaining intensive…

6 terrorists killed in police raid northern Egypt: ministry

CAIRO, April 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Egyptian police killed six terrorists on Thursday during a security raid in Qalioubiya province north of the capital Cairo, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement. “Members of Hasm terrorist group took a building in a farm in Qalioubiya as a hideout to use…

Sudan defense minister sworn in as head of transitional council

KHARTOUM, April 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — Sudan’s Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf was sworn in as head of the transitional council in Sudan, official Sudan TV reported. “Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf took the constitutional oath as chairman of the Transitional Military Council and Kamal Abdul-Marouf Al-Mahi as his…

Al-Shabaab suspects abduct 2 Cuban doctors in Kenyan border town

MANDERA (Kenya), April 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — Suspected al-Shabaab militants on Friday morning abducted two Cuban doctors in Mandera town near Kenyan borders with Somalia and Ethiopia, the police said. Security officers and local government officials confirmed the incident, saying the militants also shot dead a police officer during an ambush…