WHO urges pandemic accord in 2024 after years of Covid pain

 GENEVA, Dec 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The head of the WHO said the world needs to properly prepare for future pandemics after finally ending three years of Covid “crisis, pain and loss,” In his end-of-year message, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 2023 had marked a turning point in…

Prague shooting: Gunman dead after killing 14 at Charles University

          PRAGUE, Dec  22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A gunman shot dead 14 people and injured another 25 at a university in Prague, officials say, in the deadliest attack in modern Czech history. Police say the 24-year-old gunman was also “eliminated” following the shooting at Charles University in…

Residents return to Iceland town as volcano eruption peters out

         REYKJAVIK, Dec  22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Evacuated residents of the Icelandic town of Grindavik returned for daytime visits as a nearby volcanic eruption appeared to be petering out, though their hopes of spending Christmas at home were dashed.        The eruption, which began on Monday evening, opened a fissure…

Algeria ‘keeper, assistant coach killed in club bus crash

ALGIERS, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The goalkeeper and assistant coach of an Algerian top-flight club have been killed in a team bus crash, prompting the national federation to call off all matches this weekend. The federation said the accident killed El Bayadh reserve goalkeeper Zakaria Bouziani, 27, and assistant coach…

IMF says Brazil is the 9th biggest economy in the world

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — According to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released Tuesday, Brazil is now the ninth-largest economy in the world, thus displacing Canada from that position.  “They don’t know the work you have to do to be so lucky,” President Luiz Inácio Lula da…

Oil, gas exploration: Tanzania seeks Riyadh expertise

DAR ES SALAAM, Dec 21 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — Tanzanian VICE-PRESIDENT Dr Philip Mpango has stated that Tanzania and Saudi Arabia can collaborate in the oil and gas sector, drawing from the experience of the Middle Eastern country in that field. Dr Mpango made the remarks during a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s…

Oct 25’s Hurricane Otis kills 52 in Mexico: Governor

MEXICO CITY, Dec 21 (NNN-XINHUA) — Hurricane Otis has killed 52 and left 32 missing in Mexico, Governor of Guerrero state, Evelyn Salgado, said. The category 5 hurricane hit Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on Oct. 25, inflicting severe damage to hotels and housing infrastructure of Acapulco and Coyuca de Benitez.…

Guinea-Bissau president dismisses newly-appointed prime minister

Guinea Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo BISSAU, Dec 21 (NNN-XINHUA) — Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo on Wednesday dismissed Prime Minister Geraldo Martins, who was appointed a week ago. No reason was given for the dismissal announced in a presidential decree. Martins was reappointed as prime minister on Dec. 12.…

Arab countries, Russia agree to boost cooperation

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (R) shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov MARRAKECH (Morocco), Dec 21 (NNN-XINHUA) — Arab countries and Russia agreed on Wednesday to boost cooperation on international issues, including addressing the Gaza crisis, at the 6th Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum held in the southern Moroccan city…

2023 a difficult year for the Cuban economy: Economy Minister

HAVANA, Dec 21 (NNN-ACN) — During the Second Ordinary Session of Parliament and with Army General Raúl Castro Ruz and President Miguel Díaz-Canel present, Alejandro Gil Fernandez, Cuba’s deputy prime minister and Minister of Economy and Planning, remarked that the 3% GDP growth for 2023 proved to be an impossible…