Fighter to minister: Philippine Muslim rebel’s new ‘struggle’

MANILA, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Murad Ebrahim’s life as the Philippines’ top Muslim rebel led him into fierce jungle combat and to meet with Osama bin Laden, but a very different challenge now awaits him: Governing. Murad has been tapped to lead the majority-Catholic nation’s brand new territory in the…

Spain: Hundreds protest against King Felipe VI in Barcelona

BARCELONA, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Sunday to protest against a visit by Spain’s King Felipe VI to the Catalonia region that made a failed bid to secede in 2017. The king has become a polarising figure in Catalonia since making…

Polish opposition forms coalition for European elections

WARSAW, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five Polish opposition parties unveiled a coalition to fight the European elections in May, accusing the ruling conservatives of seeking an exit from the European Union. “We will make it impossible for anyone to take Poland out of the European Union,” said a statement by the…

Top UN judges set to rule Monday on Britain-Mauritius dispute over Chagos islands

THE HAGUE, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN’s top court could help resolve a decades-long dispute over Britain’s eviction of the Chagos islanders to make way for a secretive military base on Diego Garcia, in an opinion to be delivered on Monday (Feb 25). Judges at the International Court of…

Arab League, EU seek synchrony on regional crises in first summit

SHARM EL-SHEIKH (Egypt), Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Arab and European states sought common ground on security threats and regional crises including Yemen, Syria and Libya at their first joint summit held in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Officials said the summit was neither about Brexit – which British…

Europe facing ‘winds of xenophobia’, Spain’s PM Sanchez warns

PARIS, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged Europeans to resist the “winds of xenophobia” threatening the continent, as he marked 80 years since the flight of 475,000 Spaniards to France after Francisco Franco seized power after a brutal civil war. “Across Europe, the winds of xenophobia are…

Malaysian jailed for smuggling more than 6 million cigarettes into Australia

MELBOURNE, Feb 25 (NNN-CNA) — A Malaysian man has been sentenced to five years in jail for smuggling more than 6 million cigarettes into Australia. The Australia Border Force (ABF) said in a news release that the cigarettes, concealed within “sophisticated cover loads”, originated from Malaysia and the total duty evaded…

North Korea could become ‘great economic power’ without nukes: US Pres Trump

BEIJING, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Pres Donald Trump said that Kim Jong Un could soon put North Korea on the fast-track to becoming a major power as his former rival chugged across China in an armoured train, heading to their highly-anticipated summit in Vietnam. After North Korea’s leader began his…

Singapore: Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on extended medical leave after fracturing arm

SINGAPORE, Feb 25 (NNN-CNA) — Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan is on extended medical leave after fracturing his arm, the Prime Minister Office’s said in a statement. Khaw injured his left arm in a fall last week and is currently warded at a…

DR Congo: Acid truck spill kills 20 near Glencore Congo mine

KINSHASA, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — About 20 people died when a truck carrying acid to Glencore’s Mutanda Mine in Democratic Republic of Congo collided with two other vehicles, Glencore said in a statement. The accident occurred on Wednesday evening about 50 kilometres from the copper and cobalt mine in the…