Portugal battles wildfires amid third heatwave of the year

Firefighters in Portugal battling to contain wildfires engulfing thousands of hectares LISBON, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Around 800 personnel attended a fire near the southern town of Odemira overnight on Monday, with more than 1,400 people having to evacuate. At least nine firefighters have been injured tackling the fires. Temperatures…

New constitution in Central African Republic opens door for Pres Touadera’s third term

BANGUI, Aug 8 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Voters in the perennially restive Central African Republic overwhelmingly approved a draft constitution that paves the way for Faustin Archange Touadera to seek a third term as president, the national poll body said Monday. One of the poorest and most troubled countries in the world,…

Tunisia: Bakers stage sit-in following government flour subsidy cuts

TUNIS, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Around 200 Tunisian bakers have taken part in a sit-in outside the headquarters of the Ministry of Commerce in Tunis to protest the closure of more than 1,500 of their bakeries. The closure of the bakeries follows a government decision last week to cut off…

Rains destroy hundreds of homes in war-torn Sudan’s north: State media

KHARTOUM, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Torrential rains have destroyed more than 450 homes in Sudan’s north, state media reported, after aid groups raised concerns that the wet season would compound the war-torn country’s woes. Changing weather patterns saw Sudan’s Northern State buffeted with heavy rain, causing damage to at least…

South Africa: At least two killed on fifth day of taxi drivers strike in Cape Town

Firefighters extinguish a burning bus that was set alight during a protest by taxi drivers in Cape Town CAPE TOWN (South Africa), Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least two people have been killed in the South African city of Cape Town as protests sparked by a dispute between minibus taxi…

Study shows Brazil needs some US$47bn to recover forests

BRASILIA, Aug 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — According to Instituto Escolhas, a Brazilian organization promoting sustainable development, South America’s largest country will have to invest US$ 47 billion to recover a large area of forests in the country’s six biomes, which would result in employment generation, food production, and a reduction of…

Bolivia: State-run YPFB finds new gas reservoir

LA PAZ, Aug 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Bolivian authorities have reported that the state-run oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) had discovered a new gas field in the Okinawa area after recent studies in the Remanso-X1 (RMS-X1) well. The new reservoir will generate approximately US$ 5 billion in gas, it…

US strikes: Over 11,000 Los Angeles workers plan to strike, hoping to ‘shut down’ city

LOS ANGELES, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — City of Los Angeles workers are joining the hotel employees, Hollywood actors and TV and movie writers who have walked off their jobs this summer. Thousands of them plan to strike Tuesday, potentially grinding municipal operations to a halt for 24 hours and adding to the flurry of organized…

Update: Two dead, thousands without power after severe storms batter eastern US

WASHINGTON, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Much of the eastern United States was lashed with intense storms Monday, leaving at least two people dead, hundreds of thousands without power and thousands of flights canceled or delayed. Millions of people were under severe weather alerts, including tornado watches, as rain, strong winds…

Niger coup d’etat: US envoy meets coup leaders but sees no headway

NIAMEY, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The second-ranking US diplomat met Niger’s military leaders on Monday to press to reverse a coup but reported no headway a day after an ultimatum from the West African bloc ECOWAS was ignored. Victoria Nuland, a veteran envoy and acting deputy secretary of state, said…