Nigerian government orders all athletes to undergo drugs tests before Birmingham 2022

Nigeria is preparing for the upcoming games in Birmingham BUJA, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Nigerian government has ordered that all of the country’s athletes be drug tested before they depart for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which are due to start in Birmingham next month, in a bid to avoid…

Spain to draw up laws to abolish prostitution

MADRID, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain voted in favour of a proposal to draw up legislation to abolish prostitution, cracking down further on pimping and introducing tougher penalties for men buying sex in a controversial initiative that has split the women’s rights movement. Until now, prostitution has been tolerated in…

Brazilian police open criminal probe amid search for missing British journalist, indigenous expert

BRASILIA, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian police have opened a criminal probe and interviewed at least four witnesses believed to be among the last to have seen a British journalist and an indigenous expert who went missing in a remote and lawless part of the Amazon jungle on Sunday. Guilherme…

Bolivia still evaluating six firms for lithium mining partnerships

Direct lithium extraction, a new method, uses almost no water LA PAZ, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bolivia has narrowed to six from eight the list of competing foreign firms vying to tap its vast lithium resources, energy minister Franklin Molina said, part of the country’s most ambitious effort yet to…

Canada issues monkeypox-related travel notice, warns of potential delays returning home

Travellers at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport OTTAWA, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canada issued a monkeypox-related travel notice advising travellers to over two dozen countries, including Australia, Britain and the United States, to take precautions and warned of potential delays returning home if they fell ill. In a level 2 notice…

Germany won’t recognise Taliban as ‘dire’ Afghan conditions persist

Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock ISLAMABAD (Pakistan), June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Germany will not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan as long as “dire” conditions persist, Germany’s foreign minister said, calling for a united international call on the Taliban for change. No foreign government has formally recognised…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Russian MPs vote to quit European Court of Human Rights

MOSCOW, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian lawmakers on Tuesday passed legislation that finalises Moscow’s exit from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. The vote came following Russia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe in March after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on Feb 24. The move deprived Russians…

Record caravan of 15,000 US-bound migrants departs southern Mexico

TAPACHULA (Mexico), June 7 (NNN-EFE) — A huge caravan of nearly 15,000 migrants, the most numerous to date, departed the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas on Monday with the goal of reaching the United States. That journey was timed to coincide with the beginning of the Summit of the Americas,…

Mali military promises return to civilian rule in March 2024

Colonel Assimi Goita, who led the military coup in Mali is now offering a return to civilian rule in March 2024 BAMAKO, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mali’s military rulers have proposed the restoration of civilian rule in two years, following an August 2020 coup and a failure to meet an…

Italian police hit Colombian drug gang, seize tonnes of cocaine valued at $257 mln

‘Clan del Golfo’ member and cousin of the top leader before being extradited to the US at an anti-narcotics base in Bogota ROME, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italian police have seized 4.3 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of 240 million euros ($257 million), dealing a heavy blow to…