Brics Summit: Leaders agree to expand membership

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — BRICS leaders have agreed to expand the club of major emerging economies and adopted conditions for entry, South Africa said, as the bloc pursues greater clout to shape the world order. Calls to enlarge the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has dominated…

Greece wildfires: Firefighters battle major blazes on multiple fronts

    ATHENS, Aug 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greek firefighters struggled to contain uncontrolled fires throughout the country for a fifth day, several of them bordering an acrid, smoke-filled Athens.      In the last two days, 19 people believed to be migrants — including two children — have been killed…

Poland: Three dead, 71 hospitalised in legionellosis disease outbreak

WARSAW, Aug 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three people have died and 71 others were admitted to hospitals in Rzeszow in south-east Poland following a Legionnaire’s disease outbreak, local health authorities said.      The local authorities in Rzeszow have called in an emergency meeting to determine the cause of the contamination…

South Africa: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina held bilateral meeting with Chinese Pres Xi Jinping on the sidelines of Brics Summit

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 24 (NNN-BSS) — Chinese President Xi Jinping and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina held a bilateral meeting here Wednesday. The meeting was held at the Hotel Hilton Sandton here this evening on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit. Bangladesh premier arrived in Johannesburg on Aug 22 to…

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on list of passengers on plane that crashed: Russian agencies

MOSCOW, Aug  24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian state-run news agencies on Wednesday said that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group that led a mutiny against Russia’s army in June, was on the list of passengers of a planethat crashed. “The plane that crashed in the Tver Region listed Yevgeny…

Zimbabwe: Voting underway despite delays, slow internet

Voters wait in line outside polling stations in Mbare, Harare HARARE, Aug 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Voting is underway in Zimbabwe’s second general elections since a 2017 coup deposed the late ruler Robert Mugabe.Zimbabweans will elect a new president, 210 national lawmakers and 1,970 local government and municipal leaders.Voting officially began…

Panama Canal limits transit of vessels because of severe drought

PANAMA CITY, Aug 23 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — On both sides of the Panama Canal, fleets of ships find themselves immobilized, delayed by weeks as waterway authorities have slowed traffic to conserve water amid a severe drought. Data tracking vessel movements reveals a current backlog of over 200 ships awaiting transit, a…

Ecuador voted to ban mining and oil drilling in Amazon national park

QUITO, Aug 23 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Ecuadorian electorate voted on Sunday against oil drilling, according to results of an election-day referendum published early Monday. Voters were asked whether to ban mining in the highlands and further oil drilling in Yasuni National Park in the Amazon. With over 90% of the…

Brazil: Congress passes Pres Lula’s new govt spending rules – freeing money for social and infrastructure spendings

BRASILIA, Aug 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil’s Congress passed new fiscal rules Tuesday ending the government’s spending cap, a win for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in his bid to free up money for social and infrastructure spending. Lula, who returned to office in January after leading Brazil through a…

Sudan crisis: 60 civilians killed, 250 injured in clashes in South Darfur – UN

Internally displaced Sudanese children    KHARTOUM, Aug 23 (NNN-XINHUA) — The United Nations said at least 60 people were killed, and 250 others injured during the ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala, the capital city of South Darfur State in…