Mexican president names former head of UN agency to be new FM

MEXICO CITY, June 13 (Xinhua) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday announced his appointment of Alicia Barcena as his new foreign minister, replacing Marcelo Ebrard, who resigned Monday to run for president. “She has a very extensive career in the diplomatic field,” the president said during his…

Mali: 15 killed, 32 others injured in 2 buses-truck collision

BAMAKO, June 14 (NNN-XINHUA) — Fifteen people were killed and 32 others injured in a collision of vehicles on the national road linking Mali’s capital Bamako to the town of Segou located 230 km north of the capital, the Malian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said. The accident occurred around…

Brazil to launch “great” infrastructure construction program for national development

BRASILIA, June 14 (NNN-XINHUA) — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva unveiled a large-scale infrastructure construction program to spur development starting in July. “We decided … to launch a great public works program for national development starting July 2, with infrastructure projects in all areas,” he announced on “Conversation…

Nigeria reports 1,629 suspected cholera cases, 48 deaths

ABUJA, June 14 (NNN-XINHUA) — A total of 1,629 suspected cases cholera, including 48 deaths, had been reported by the end of April this year, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) announced on Tuesday. Thirteen states were affected, said Ifedayo Adetifa, director general of the NCDC, at a…

Heavy rains kill six people in eastern Cuba

HAVANA, June 14 (NNN-ACN) — Six people died in Cuba as a result of heavy rainfall in recent days in the eastern region, it was reported in the recovery check-up, President Miguel Diaz-Canel.According to the Cuban Presidency, in the meeting, held by videoconference with the main political and governmental authorities…

Cuban PM holds meeting with his Russian counterpart

SOCHI (Russia), June 14 (NNN-ACN) — Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz held a meeting Tuesday with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin, to continue the talks initiated in the city of Sochi, in the context of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.His first official visit to Russia as head of government is…

China approves use of Cuban medicine to treat pancreatic cancer

 HAVANA, June 14 (NNN-ACN) — Nimotuzumab, a medicine developed by Cuba’s Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM), was approved in China for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, after a phase III clinical study.As reported in the journal Juventud Tecnica (JT), the trial, known as NOTABLE, evaluated the combination of nimotuzumab with…

Kenya self-starvation cult: 19 new bodies recovered, pushing death toll past 300

NAIROBI, June 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll in an investigation linked to a Kenyan cult that practiced starvation to “meet Jesus Christ” has surpassed 300 after 19 new bodies were found Tuesday, a senior official said. Police believe most of the bodies found in a forest near the Indian Ocean town…

Peru: Protesters in Peruvian Amazon free captured oil barges

LIMA, June 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indigenous protesters in Peru’s Amazon have released two seized vessels belonging to the Canadian oil company PetroTal, and freed the 14 crew members, the company said. “The barges have been released” and the crew members — Brazilians and Peruvians — are in good condition, an…

South African MPs adopt controversial free universal health insurance bill

PRETORIA, June 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South African lawmakers voted in favour of a controversial new law which aims to provide free universal health care, but which critics fear may not be sustainable. A fund to be established under the law, which still has to be passed by the upper house…