Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in prison

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died Friday at the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year-term, Russia’s federal penitentiary service said. Navalny lost consciousness after going for a walk and could not be revived by medics, the prison service said. “Navalny felt bad…

UK voters deliver double blow to PM Rishi Sunak, electing Labour lawmakers in 2 special elections

LONDON, Feb 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Voters in two districts in England delivered new blows to beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, electing opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years. Labour Party candidate Damien Egan won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England, and Labour’s Gen…

Nearly 100 mln children, youth out of school in Africa: AU

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 16 (NNN-XINHUA) — Nearly 100 million children and youth aged 5 to 19 across Africa are not socially integrated simply because they are out of school, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Mohammed Belhocine said. These children and youth are vulnerable to all…

4 dead, 7 missing after boat carrying migrants overturns off Panama coast

PANAMA CITY, Feb 16 (NNN-XINHUA) — Four migrants died and seven others were missing after their boat overturned off Panama’s northeast coast due to bad weather, Panamanian authorities said. The other 14 are safe, according to a local media report reposted by the Central American country’s national border service called…

Canada: 2 women killed, 1 injured in stabbing attack in Montreal; attacker detained

MONTREAL (Canada), Feb 16 (NNN-XINHUA) — Two women were killed and a third was seriously injured in a stabbing attack at an apartment building in Canada Thursday morning, local media reported. The suspect, a 44-year-old man, was arrested at the scene by police, CTV News reported, adding that one of…

Unicef condemns bomb explosion in DR Congo’s refugee camp

A refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, North Kivu Province, DRC KINSHASA, Feb 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) is alarmed by a bomb explosion in a camp for displaced people in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it has said in a statement.“It…

Nurses strike as Nigeria toughens rules on working abroad

The government wants to curb the exodus of health workers ABUJA, Feb 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nurses and midwives in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, have gone on strike against new rules for verifying their qualifications to foreign nursing boards.The regulations are meant to curb the exodus of health workers from Nigeria.Nurses…

99 journalists killed in 2023, 77 in Gaza war: report

NEW YORK, Feb 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seventy-seven of the 99 journalists killed in 2023 were killed in the Israel-Hamas war, making the last 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year had it…

Venezuela suspends UN rights office, expels staff

CARACAS, Feb 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela’s foreign minister said he had decided to “suspend the activities” of the UN rights office in the country and ordered its staff to leave within 72 hours. The move comes two days after the United Nations agency expressed “deep concern” on X over the…

Liberia defence minister resigns amid protests in barracks

Liberia’s Defence Minister Prince Charles Johnson III MONROVIA, Feb 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Liberia’s Defence Minister Prince Charles Johnson III has resigned following protests by wives of the country’s soldiers, who blame him for low wages and poor living conditions in the military barracks.The women set up roadblocks near the capital,…