US resumes full immigrant visa service in Havana

HAVANA, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five years after it was closed due to mysterious “sonic attacks” on diplomatic staff, the US consulate in Havana resumes full immigrant visa services for Cubans on Wednesday. The reopening comes amid a record exodus from the communist island to the United States, mainly by undocumented…

Ecuador, China set to sign free trade agreement: Pres Guillermo Lasso

QUITO, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China and Ecuador will sign a free trade agreement after almost a year of negotiations, Ecuador’s president said, with the deal expected to boost growth in the South American country. “Good news to start 2023. The FTA negotiation between China and Ecuador has been successfully…

Violence in Ecuador killed nearly 200 minors in 2022

QUITO, Jan 4 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Violence and fights between criminal gangs associated with drug trafficking killed 192 minors in Ecuador in 2022, according to official data released on Tuesday.     That figure is more than twice the number in 2021, when 92 children and teenagers died, and exceeds the 57…

Venezuela exported 250,000 barrels of oil to the US

CARACAS, Jan 4 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Venezuela exported 250,000 barrels of oil to the United States over the weekend, after the agreement reached between the US consortium Chevron and the state-owned oil company PDVSA, it was announced on Tuesday.     The state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and the US company…

IGAD to hold summit on South Sudan security crisis

NAIROBI, Jan 4 (NNN-KBC) — The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) is expected to hold a special summit aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict in South Sudan. Kenyan President William Ruto announced that the summit will seek to assess the implementation of the Revilatised Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict…

European weather: Winter heat records smashed all over continent

PARIS, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Temperatures for January have reached an all-time high in a number of nations across Europe. National records have fallen in eight countries – and regional records in another three. Warsaw, Poland, saw 18.9C (66F) on Sunday while Bilbao, Spain, was 25.1C – more than 10C above…

Nine killed in central Somalia car bombings: security sources, witnesses

MOGADISHU, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) – At least nine people were killed and several others wounded in simultaneous car bomb attacks in a town in central Somalia on Wednesday, security officials and witnesses said. “The terrorists attacked Mahas town using vehicles loaded with explosives. They have targeted a civilian area and…

Chaos as US House adjourns without choosing speaker

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The new US Congress was plunged into disarray Tuesday as renegade right-wing Republicans blocked favorite Kevin McCarthy from becoming speaker of the House of Representatives in a series of humiliating votes seen as a rebuke to the party establishment. The California congressman needed a simple majority…

Fuel prices surge in Italy as tax discount expires

Gasoline and diesel prices are displayed near a gas station in Rome, Italy ROME, Jan 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — Gasoline and diesel prices in Italy have surged dramatically after a discount on fuel-related excise duties expired. According to data from the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, national average prices…

Libyan PM vows to preserve unity, avoid war

TRIPOLI, Jan 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah vowed that his government will strive to preserve the country’s unity and avoid war or armed conflict. Dbeibah made his remarks during a graduation ceremony for 306 police officers from the police academy in the western town of Aziziya, which…