Zimbabwe seeks EU backing to sell $600M worth of ivory

HARARE, May 17 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Zimbabwe on Monday sought the support of the European Union to sell off US$600 million worth of ivory it has accumulated due to the global ban on the sale of tusks. International trade in ivory has been banned since 1989 under the Convention on International…

Indigenous group of Colombia’s Catatumbo region demands end to violence

TIBU (Colombia), May 17 (NNN-EFE) — The Bari people, one of the indigenous groups of Colombia’s lowland Catatumbo region, gathered over the weekend in this northeastern city to demand their right to live in harmony with nature and preserve their ancestral lands, or “Ishtana.” Hundreds of indigenous men, women and…

Covid-19: Argentina entering fourth wave, says Health Minister

BUENOS AIRES, May 17 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina’s Health Minister Carla Vizzotti confirmed the country was going through its fourth wave of COVID-19. “Today we are starting in Argentina a fourth wave of COVID-19 that finds us in a totally different situation,” Vizzotti said during a Federal Health Council (Cofesa) convention…

Uruguay braces for a “cyclone with unusual characteristics”, meteorologists forecast

MONTEVIDEO, May 17 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Although cyclones are rare in the area, Uruguay’s Institute of Meteorology (Inumet) has issued a yellow warning regarding the possible arrival of a subtropical cyclone to the southern part of the country sometime Tuesday. The only time one such phenomenon was ever recorded was 15…

Cuba terms US announcement of de-escalation “limited step”

HAVANA, May 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the US announcement of the de-escalation of Trump-era restrictions on the island was “one limited step in the right direction.” The measures announced by the US government are “positive, but of a very limited scope,” regarding the granting…

More than 30,500 arrested in El Salvador gang crackdown

A bus passenger is searched by a police officer at a checkpoint in San Salvador SAN SALVADOR, May 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 30,000 people have been arrested under a “state of exception” in El Salvador, police said, as President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on armed gangs continues. Salvadoran police said on Twitter that 30,506…

Ethiopia, World Bank agree $300 million grant for reconstruction

A man carries a sack of wheat at a World Food Program (WFP) warehouse, at a camp for people displaced by drought, in the town of Gode, Somali Region, Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA, May 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ethiopia and the World Bank have signed a pact for a grant of $300…

Libya: Parliament-backed PM Bashagha leaves capital after rival factions clashes

Libyan Parliament meet to discuss approving new government, in Sirte, Libya TRIPOLI, May 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Libya’s parliament-appointed prime minister Fathi Bashagha left the capital Tripoli on Tuesday, his office said, hours after his attempt to enter the city led to clashes between rival factions. Clashes erupted earlier on Tuesday…

Brazilian Pres Bolsonaro fears Argentina and Chile might end up like communist Cuba

BRASILIA, May 17 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro insisted on social media that he feared Argentina and Chile were following the paths of Venezuela and Cuba because although Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez were already dead, the “consequences of communism” remained. “Argentina and Chile are on the same path…

Chile: Shaky weekend as Santiago mourned slain lady reporter

SANTIAGO, May 17 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Riots rocked the Chilean capital city of Santiago as protesters demanded justice for slain reporter Francisca Sandoval, who died recently after being fatally shot while covering the May 1 Labor Day demonstrations. Santiago was filled with barricades on the sidelines of a peaceful photo and…