South Africa: BRICS Ministers sign declaration on agriculture

LIMPOPO (South Africa), Aug 15 (NNN-SANEWS) — Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, has welcomed the signing of the Joint Declaration of the 13th Meeting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Ministers of Agriculture. The Declaration outlines areas of collaboration, cooperation and agreement…

Update: African Union hosts Niger talks as regime sends mixed signals

ADDIS ABABA/NIAMEY, Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The African Union held talks on the Niger crisis as the country’s post-coup rulers showed defiance yet also pointed to diplomacy for a potential solution. But the Monday talks at the AU’s headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa coincided with a flare-up over…

Thirteen bodies found in freezers in violent Mexican state

COATZACOALCOS (Mexico), Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than a dozen bodies have been found in freezers in a Mexican region wracked by drug cartel-related violence, authorities said. Six suspects were detained after the grisly discovery in the city of Poza Rica in the eastern state of Veracruz, prosecutor Veronica Hernandez told…

PM: Peru to act without hesitation against aircraft suspected of drug trafficking

LIMA, Aug 15 (NNN-ANDINA) — Prime Minister Alberto Otarola stressed that Peru and the United States have unblocked the interdiction of aircraft suspected of engagement in drug-trafficking activities, and warned that law enforcement will act without hesitation against them. The high-ranking official affirmed this represents a historic consensus, since it will allow the…

Peru: President Boluarte highlights importance of healthy eating at schools

LIMA, Aug 15 (NNN-ANDINA) — Pres Dina Boluarte on Monday underscored the importance of guaranteeing a healthy diet for girls and boys at school so as to ensure their learning and future development. Within this framework, she mentioned that the Qali Warma school food program seeks to guarantee students’ concentration at classrooms. The…

Nigeria: 26 soldiers killed in ambush, rescue helicopter crashes – military sources

KANO (Nigeria), Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 26 members of the Nigerian security forces were killed and eight wounded in an ambush by gunmen in central Nigeria late Sunday, military sources said. Additionally, an air force spokesman said a helicopter rescuing the wounded crashed on Monday morning in the…

US wildfires: Hawaii fire death toll hits 99, may double, warns governor

KAHULUI (Hawaii, United States), Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll in Hawaii’s wildfires rose to 99 and could double over the next 10 days, the state’s governor said, as emergency personnel painstakingly scoured the incinerated landscape for more human remains. Last week’s inferno on the island of Maui is…

Russia: 12 killed in petrol station fire in Caucasus republic of Dagestan; dozens injured

MOSCOW, Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured Monday in an explosion and fire at a filling station in Russia’s Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the emergency situations ministry said. “More than 60 people were injured in the fire in Makhachkala, and 12 of them…

Ecuador: Another politician slain, six days ahead of vote

QUITO, Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A local politician in Ecuador was killed Monday, less than a week after a presidential front-runners was gunned down at a campaign rally for elections this weekend, party officials said. Pedro Briones, a member of the Citizen Revolution Party of former president Rafael Correa, and…

Niger can ‘overcome’ ECOWAS sanctions: military-appointed PM

NIAMEY, Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Niger will be able to thwart sanctions imposed by West African bloc ECOWAS in response to last month’s coup, new Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine said in an interview released Monday.  “We think that even though it is an unfair challenge that has been imposed on us,…