US storm: Hurricane Idalia strengthens to Category 4 storm as it nears Florida

MIAMI (Florida, US), Aug 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it barreled towards Florida, threatening “catastrophic” impacts, with officials forecasting it will slam into the coast within hours. Authorities in the southern US state described Idalia and its potentially deadly storm surge as a…

Russia: Possible Prigozhin crash was ‘premediated’ – Kremlin

MOSCOW, Aug 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Kremlin said that investigators were probing all possible scenarios surrounding the death last week of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash, including premeditated murder. Prigozhin, 62, was buried on Tuesday in a private ceremony in his native Saint Petersburg, more than two months after he staged…

Military coup in Gabon, president under house arrest

 LIBREVILLE, Aug 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Rebel officers in Gabon announced they had seized power following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has ruled the oil-rich state for more than 55 years, had been declared winner. The claimed takeover sparked condemnation from the African Union (AU) and alarm from Nigeria over…

Argentina: Three more sea lions confirmed to have died of bird flu

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 29 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina’s National Agrifood Health and Quality Service (Senasa) Monday confirmed three more cases of avian influenza had been detected in sea lions along the country’s Atlantic Ocean coast.  The new findings were recorded in Claromecó and San Blas, in the province of Buenos Aires,…

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to visit China on Wednesday: Beijing

BEIJING, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will visit China this week, Beijing’s foreign ministry said. During the Wednesday visit, “the two sides will have in-depth communication on China-UK relations and on international and regional issues of shared concern”, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular…

Russian Pres Putin to miss G20 summit, India says

   NEW DELHI, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the G20 summit in India next month and will send his foreign minister instead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office said.   Modi’s office said he spoke to Putin by telephone, “expressing an understanding” for his decision not to…

US gun violence: University of North Carolina faculty member killed in campus shooting; a suspect in custody

RALEIGH (North Carolina, US), Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A suspect is in custody after a shooting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday afternoon left a faculty member dead and prompted students and others to shelter in place for hours as police looked for the gunman,…

Guatemala electoral body suspends party of president-elect

GUATEMALA CITY, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) suspended the political party of president-elect Bernardo Arevalo on Monday while also affirming his victory in the Aug 20 vote, a resolution from the body said. The move is unlikely to impact Arevalo’s swearing in as president on Jan…

Brazilian Pres Lula highlights the importance of Portuguese-speaking countries

SAO TOME, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIA BRASIL) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted before the 14th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) in São Tomé, capital of São Tomé and Príncipe, an island country off the west coast of…

Paraguay and Brazil agree on data exchange to expedite border crossings

ASUNCION, Aug 29 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Mercosur partners Paraguay and Brazil have agreed to exchange migratory information to strengthen bilateral security across mutual border crossings, it was reported in Asunción. The understanding was reached during a meeting between the heads of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (Mitic) and the…