Peter Pellegrini: Russia-friendly populist elected Slovak president

Peter Pellegrini is an ally of Prime Minister Robert Fico BRATISLAVA, April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Populist Peter Pellegrini has been elected president of Slovakia, succeeding the liberal Zuzana Caputova. Pellegrini, 48, defeated the pro-Western Ivan Korcok, a former diplomat, with 53% of the vote. A former prime minister, he is…

Latin American governments rally around Mexico after embassy raid in Ecuador

QUITO, April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Latin American governments, including regional heavyweight Brazil, rallied around Mexico on Saturday after its embassy in Ecuador was raided to arrest a politician who had been granted asylum by Mexican authorities. The late Friday night seizure of Jorge Glas, Ecuador’s former vice president who was…

South Africa: Government accelerates programme to connect citizens to internet

PRETORIA, April 7 (NNN-SANEWS) — The South African Government intends to connect 1.5 million households in rural and township areas by the end of the year to the internet, enabled by Wi-Fi hotspots. Addressing a media briefing in Pretoria, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, said government…

US: Pres Biden vows to rebuild collapsed Baltimore Bridge ‘rapidly’

The body of Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandova was found on Friday BALTIMORE (Maryland, US), April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Joe Biden vowed to “move heaven and earth” to help Baltimore recover from a deadly bridge collapse that blocked the city’s port. He added the government will “help you rebuild and…

Zimbabwe Launches New Gold-Backed Currency – Zig

The new banknotes come in denominations from 1 to 200 HARARE, April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe has introduced a new gold-backed currency called ZiG – the name stands for “Zimbabwe Gold”. It is the latest attempt to stabilise an economy that has lurched from crisis to crisis for the past 25…

Moroccan protesters denounce ‘massacres’ in Gaza

CASABLANCA (Morocco), April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people protested in Morocco’s commercial capital Casablanca against “massacres” in the Gaza Strip and against the country’s normalisation of ties with Israel. The protest — the latest large-scale rally of its kind in Morocco — was called by the banned but tolerated…

Senegal’s youngest president names ‘breakaway’ government

 DAKAR, April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye named a “breakaway” government on Friday, appointing a host of fresh faces to top roles following his landslide election win last month. The 44-year-old, who has never before held elected office, swept to a first-round victory on a promise of…

US, Russian, Belarus ISS colleagues return to Earth

MOSCOW, April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A NASA astronaut, a Russian cosmonaut and Belarus’s first ever space traveller on Saturday returned to Earth safely after a fortnight aboard the International Space Station, Russia’s Roscosmos agency reported. “Today, at 10:17am Moscow time (0717 GMT), the descent vehicle of Sozuz MS-24 manned spacecraft…

Russia evacuates over 4,000 people after dam burst

MOSCOW, April 7 (NNN-AGENCES) — Russia said Saturday it had evacuated more than 4,000 people in the Orenburg region, which lies near the Kazakhstan border, due to flooding after a dam burst.  The press service of the Orenburg governor said “4,208 people, including 1,019 children” had been evacuated and more…

UN, partners supports Madagascar gov’t response to Tropical Cyclone Gamane

UNITED NATIONS, April 5 (NNN-XINUA) — The United Nations and humanitarian partners in Madagascar are supporting the government response to Tropical Cyclone Gamane, which has prompted national authorities to declare a state of emergency, said a UN spokesman on Thursday. The tropical cyclone, which made landfall on March 27 in…