European and Brazilian police bust a cocaine ring in South America involving Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazilian ports

BRASILIA, April 5 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Law enforcement in Latin America and Europe have taken down one of Brazil’s most active drug trafficking organizations inundating Europe with multi-tons shipments of cocaine. On March 30, simultaneous actions were carried out in Brazil with Europol’s support to dismantle the criminal group that reached…

Kenya and Rwanda agree on 10 areas of cooperation

President William Ruto and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame KIGALI, April 5 (NNN-KBC) — Kenya and Rwanda Tuesday signed an agreement in 10 areas of cooperation to enhance relations. The Memorandum of Understanding will establish mechanisms for effective cooperation in Education, ICT, Gender and Child Development, and Youth and Capacity…

US Pres Biden congratulates Britain’s King Charles III, First Lady Jill to attend coronation

WASHINGTON, April 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday congratulated Britain’s new King Charles III and said First Lady Jill Biden would attend the upcoming coronation, the White House said. Biden spoke with the monarch “underscoring the strength of the relationship between our countries and the friendship between our…

Journalist abducted in eastern Mexico

MEXICO CITY, April 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Gunmen have abducted a journalist in Mexico’s violent eastern state of Veracruz, prompting a search operation to locate him, authorities and his employer said. Richard Villa was snatched in the city of Poza Rica on Monday while repairing his motorcycle, according to the Presente…

440 migrants rescued from boat off Malta: MSF

ROME, April 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 400 migrants have been rescued from a boat off Malta after an 11-hour operation, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Wednesday after its ship responded to a distress alert. While heading to shelter in the Mediterranean due to bad weather, MSF’s rescue ship the…

Three inmates dead in latest Ecuador prison riot

GUAYAQUIL (Ecuador), April 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three inmates died in Ecuador on Tuesday in the latest burst of violence in its maximum security prison system, the government said. The SNAI agency said the latest rioting broke out at La Roca prison in the port city of Guayaquil, a growing nerve…

Mexico to buy power plants from Spain’s Iberdrola for $6 bn

MEXICO CITY, April 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexico announced Tuesday an agreement to buy 13 electricity generation plants from Spain’s Iberdrola for around $6 billion — its latest move to boost the state’s role in the energy sector. The plants “will form part of the public patrimony and will be operated…

Strong quakes rattles Panama’s coast and Copiapo in Chile; no reports of damage

Strong quake rattles Panama’s coast; no reports of damage PANAMA CITY, April 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday off Panama’s Pacific coast near the town of Boca Chica.     The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at 5:18 local time and its epicenter was about 71 kilometers…

Humanitarian disaster looms for millions of people in DR Congo: UN

The humanitarian appeal for DRC requires urgent funding UNITED NATIONS, April 5 (NNN-XINHUA) — UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday that violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has put millions of civilians on the brink of a major humanitarian catastrophe. Because of fighting between armed groups and…

UN appeals for urgent funding to support conflict, drought-affected people in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, April 5 (NNN-XINHUA) — The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has appealed for urgent funding to respond to growing humanitarian calamities in drought and conflict-affected parts of Ethiopia. The UN body, in its latest situation update on Ethiopia issued late Monday, said an…