Spain heatwave: PM tells workers to stop wearing ties to save energy

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez  MADRID, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on workers in the public and private sector to stop wearing ties, as an energy saving measure in the heat. Sanchez said his government will adopt “urgent” energy-saving measures on Monday as European countries…

Russia expresses solidarity with China over Taiwan

MOSCOW, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia expressed “solidarity” with China’s stance on Taiwan after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned US leader Joe Biden not to “play with fire” over the self-ruled island. “Certainly we are in solidarity,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity…

Malawi claims $300 bn in mining taxes from US company

LILONGWE, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Malawi is claiming over $300 billion from United States company Columbia Gem House for unpaid taxes on minerals extracted from the country and exported to the United States, the attorney general said. A July 26 letter from Malawi’s attorney general Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda to Columbia…

US House passes assault rifle ban, likely doomed in Senate

A worker hangs a custom made AR-15 style rifle on a wall at Davidson Defense in Orem, Utah WASHINGTON, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US House of Representatives, spurred by a series of horrific mass shootings, passed a bill on Friday that would ban assault weapons for the first time…

Brazil: Woman, children freed after 17-year kidnap ordeal

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Brazilian woman and her two adult children, all suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, were freed by police following 17 years of captivity by her husband, authorities said on Friday. Police had been alerted to the case in a poor neighborhood in the…

Deaths reported after fresh protests in Guinea; journalists attacked by protesters

CONAKRY, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fresh clashes between Guinea’s security forces and protesters unhappy with plans for transitioning back to democracy left one person dead in the capital, authorities said, though the demonstrations’ organisers put the death toll at four. In a statement read on public television, the prosecutor’s office…

Tunisia summons US envoy over criticism of constitutional vote

TUNIS, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tunisia’s foreign ministry summoned the US charge d’affaires on Friday to denounce “unacceptable” statements by American officials criticising this week’s constitutional referendum and the country’s political development. The ministry said in a statement that it had called Natasha Franceschi, currently the top official at the…

Cabinet reshuffle response to economic challenges: Argentine president

BUENOS AIRES, July 30 (NNN-Xinhua) — Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said that the reorganization of his cabinet is a response to the economic challenges facing the South American country. “I have summoned Sergio Massa to join the government team. His vision, capacity and experience will allow us to continue working…

Attacks on UN bases in DRC halted or prevented: UN

Congolese in Goma protest against the country’s UN peacekeeping mission UNITED NATIONS, July 30 (NNN-Xinhua) — Security forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Friday thwarted the breaching of a UN base, and the army stopped weapon-wielding demonstrators targeting a second, a UN spokesman said. “Threats…

Major US areas sound alarm on monkeypox as nearly 5,000 cases reported nationwide

WASHINGTON, July 30 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United States has confirmed nearly 5,000 monkeypox cases as San Francisco and New York state began taking steps to address the emergency of the outbreak. A total of 4,907 monkeypox cases had been reported across the country as of Thursday, according to the latest…