Montenegrin PM ousted after losing no-confidence vote

Montenegrin PM Dritan Abazovic PODGORICA, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Montenegrin government led by Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic lost a no-confidence motion at the parliament on Saturday. The no-confidence motion submitted by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) led by the country’s current President Milo Djukanovic was backed by 50…

Paraguay’s VP has a change of mind: will not resign

ASUNCION, Aug 20 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — After announcing last week that he would resign, Paraguayan Vice President Hugo Velazquez conveyed to reporters his decision to remain in office until proof against him is submitted. Velázquez was included last week in the United States list of “significantly corrupt” individuals alongside former President…

Monkeypox spreading fast, reaches 37 cases in Bolivia

LA PAZ, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Monkeypox infections have soared in Bolivia at an average of two daily infections for a total of 37 cases by Thursday, it was reported in La Paz. The spread has also reached 3 of the country’s 9 departments after 100% of the infections were…

Chilean lawmakers to be tested for drug consumption

SANTIAGO, Aug 20 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chile’s Lower House passed an internal regulation whereby Deputies will have to submit a hair sample for a toxicology test and drew lots for the first 78 of the 150 of them who will have to abide by the new indication. The measure stems from…

Argentine President calls for an end to Venezuela, Cuba blockades

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 20 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentine Pres Alberto Fernández called for an “end” to blockades against Cuba and Venezuela during an event at the Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK) in Buenos Aires hosted by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), of which he currently holds the pro-tempore…

Peruvian forces hit Shining Path rebels, many killed

LIMA, Aug 20 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Peruvian regular forces gunned down between 10 and 15 members of the Shining Path rebel group during an “Operation Patriot” deployment in which the rebels’ leader Víctor Quispe Palomino, also known as “Comrade José”, managed to escape despite being wounded. A Peruvian Army task force…

Armed men storm Haiti hospital, execute patient: MSF

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Armed men broke into a hospital in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince and seized a patient before shooting him dead outside, the non-governmental group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said. The incident took place last Sunday at the Raoul Pierre Louis hospital in Carrefour, in the southern…

South Africa sees average of 70 murders a day in ‘worrisome’ trend

PRETORIA, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa recorded almost 70 murders a day in the first half of 2022, police said, up 16 percent from last year and which authorities called “high and worrisome”.  “Arguments and misunderstandings” as well as “retaliations and revenge” were the leading motives for the murders,…

Finnish PM takes drugs test after party video causes stir

Prime minister of Finland Sanna Marin HELSINKI, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she had taken a drugs test following the publication of video footage this week that showed her partying with friends, and vowed she had never used illegal drugs. Marin, 36, also said her…

Tobacco, alcohol are main causes of cancer worldwide: Study

Smoking continues to be the leading risk factor for cancer globally PARIS, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nearly half of cancers worldwide can be traced back to a known risk factor, primarily tobacco or alcohol, a huge global study found on Friday, which said that behavioural changes can help reduce the…