Arab countries announce investments in Brazil worth US$ 20 bn

SAO PAULO, July 5 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced that the total investments of Arab funds in Brazil are approaching US$20 billion, half of that money stemming from the country’s recent participation at the Expo Dubai event. “The Arab world constitutes the third-largest market for Brazil abroad, only…

Abortion: Salvadorean woman sentenced to 50 years

SAN MIGUEL (EL SALVADOR), July 5 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) –A woman in El Salvador has been handed down a 50-year jail sentence for having had an abortion, it was reported Monday. It was the first time that the maximum penalty has been applied. Pro-abortion groups have pledged to appeal the ruling. Lesly…

Suspect in killing of Haitian president freed by Istanbul Court

ISTANBUL/PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) –A Court in Türkiye Monday turned down a request for the extradition of Samir Nasri Salem Handal to Haiti in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July last year. There is an Interpol red arrest warrant out on Handal, a Jordanian businessman who…

Covid-19: Peru returns to blanket mandatory wearing of facemasks

LIMA, July 5 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Peruvian health authorities reinstated the mandatory wearing of facemasks both in indoor and outdoor settings in light of the fourth wave of COVID-19 hitting the country. Health Minister Jorge López said “everyone is compelled to wear a mask, absolutely everyone” and invited the Peruvian population…

Villagers killed in ‘massacre’ in western Ethiopia, rights group says

A girl runs in a compound of abandoned buildings, where internally displaced people are sheltered, near the town of Dubti, 10 kilometers from Semera, Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA, July 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An unknown number of villagers have been killed in an ethnically-motivated massacre in western Ethiopia, the country’s rights body…

US shooting violence: 2 police officers shot during July 4th fireworks show in Philadelphia

Two Philadelphia police officers were shot during an Independence Day fireworks show PHILADELPHIA, July 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two police officers were shot during an Independence Day fireworks show and concert in Philadelphia Monday night, according to local reports. One officer was struck in the right shoulder and the other suffered…

France repatriates 35 children, 16 mothers from Syria camps

PARIS, July 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France has repatriated 35 children and 16 mothers from camps in Syria where family members of suspected Daesh jihadists have been held, the foreign ministry said. “France has today undertaken the return to the country of 35 French minors who were in camps in northeast…

Update: 34 killed in two jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, July 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Suspected jihadists killed at least 34 people in attacks on villages in northern Burkina Faso at the weekend, officials and sources said. In the northwest of the country, 22 people, reportedly including children, were killed late Sunday at Bourasso in Kossi province, said Boucle du…

Algeria marks 60 years of independence from France

ALGIERS, July 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Algeria marks 60 years of independence from France on Tuesday with a huge military parade, but memories of violence during the colonial period continue to overshadow ties between the two. The North African country won its independence following a gruelling eight-year war, which ended with…

Gas consumption set to contract due to Russia: IEA

PARIS, July 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Gas consumption will contract slightly this year due to high prices and Russian cuts to Europe, with only slow growth over coming years as consumers switch to alternatives, the IEA said Tuesday. The International Energy Agency chopped its forecast for global gas demand by more…