Argentina makes IMF loan repayment partly with yuan

BUENOS AIRES, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Short on dollars, Argentina on Friday made a $2.7 billion loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund partly using Chinese yuan, the economy ministry said. To avoid dipping into its limited foreign currency reserves, the country also used so-called Special Drawing Rights — an…

US heatwave: At least 13 die in extreme heat in southern states

HOUSTON, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 13 people have died from the extreme heat wave that has been tormenting the southern United States for two weeks, officials said Friday, with air in other parts of the country polluted by forest fires in Canada. The highest death toll, 11 people,…

Kenya: At least 48 killed, 30 injured in horrific road crash at busy junction

NAIROBI, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 48 people were killed when a truck lost control and ploughed into other vehicles and pedestrians at a busy junction in western Kenya on Friday, police said. Television images showed scenes of devastation at the site of the crash, with the mangled wreckage…

South Africa: Government to address service delivery challenges in Ladysmith – Pres Ramaphosa

LADYSMITH (South Africa), July 1 (NNN-SANEWS) — President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured communities in the uThukela District Municipality, in Ladysmith that government Ministers will work to resolve their challenges and that their issues will not be put on the back burner. Ramaphosa was speaking on Friday during the 7th Presidential…

A Brazil court has banned ex-president Bolsonaro from running for election until 2030

Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro BRASILIA, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been barred from office until 2030 for abuse of power, after he made unfounded claims about Brazil’s voting system ahead of last year’s election. The seven judges on Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court in Brasilia…

Andean Grains are Superfoods, and Peru is world leader in quinoa

LIMA, July 1 (NNN-ANDINA) — The “National Day of Andean Grains” (including quinoa, cañihua, kiwicha or amaranth, and tarhui or chocho) is commemorated every June 30. Given their high protein and nutritional content, they are also called “Superfoods.” The cultivation of Andean grains is the economic livelihood for more than 125,000…

France: Macron seeks to quell ‘unacceptable’ riots after shooting dead of teenager by police

PARIS, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French President Emmanuel Macron announced more police to contain nightly riots over a teenager’s fatal shooting by an officer during a traffic stop, and urged parents to keep minors off the streets. There had been “unacceptable exploitation of a death of an adolescent” in some…

UK govt vows huge recruitment drive for England health service

LONDON, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The National Health Service (NHS) in England will get more than 300,000 staff under a new plan announced by the government on Friday to deal with a chronic shortage of doctors and nurses. The publicly funded NHS, which marks its 75th birthday on Wednesday, is…

Migration disagreement mars EU summit

BRUSSELS, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poland and Hungary’s refusal to go along with a widely agreed EU revision of asylum rules soured a summit of the bloc’s leaders that wrapped up Friday, detracting from unity on other issuesincluding on Ukraine. Warsaw and Budapest baulked at a summit declaration that would…

UN Security Council ends Mali peacekeeping mission

UNITED NATIONS, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Security Council on Friday ended a decade-old peacekeeping mission in Mali, whose military junta has aligned with Russia and demanded the withdrawal of the international force battling jihadists. Bowing to the principle that peacekeepers need the consent of the host government, the…