Near record number of small boat migrants reach UK in 2025

LONDON, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The second-highest annual number of migrants arrived on UK shores in small boats since records were started in 2018, the government was to confirm Thursday. The tally comes as Brexit firebrand Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration party Reform UK surges in popularity ahead of bellwether local elections…

Bolivia lifts all fuel import restrictions

LA PAZ, Jan 1 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Bolivia’s Hydrocarbons Ministry has announced a sweeping liberalization of the national fuel market, lifting long-standing import restrictions and implementing a zero Specific Consumption Tax (ICE) for private importers. The move follows the government’s Dec 17 decision to eliminate fuel subsidies, a policy shift that…

Tanzania: President Samia urges readiness for Vision 2050

President Samia Suluhu Hassan. ZANZIBAR, Jan 1 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — President Samia Suluhu Hassan has called on Tanzanians to prepare for the full implementation of the National Development Vision 2050, which is set to begin in 2026, emphasizing unity, discipline, and long-term planning. In her New Year’s Eve address from Tunguu, Zanzibar,…

US: Mamdani takes over as New York mayor

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani NEW YORK, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zohran Mamdani was sworn in Thursday to take over as New York mayor for a term sure to see him cross swords with President Donald Trump. After the clocks struck midnight, bringing in 2026, Mamdani took his oath…

Switzerland: Several dead in explosion at ski resort town Crans Montana

This image shared on social media shows rescuers at the scene following the explosion. GENEVA, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several people were killed and others injured when an explosion ripped through a bar in the luxury Alpine ski resort town of Crans Montana, Swiss police said early Thursday. “There has…

Panamanians commemorate transfer of canal administration

PANAMA CITY, Jan 1 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Panamanians commemorate the transfer by the United States of the canal’s administration, an event considered more than just an administrative act, but a symbol of sovereignty. This nation not only efficiently managed the canal’s operation in these 26 years, but also fostered its…

Ecuador: Pres Noboa declares prison perimeters as security zones

QUITO, Jan 1 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared the perimeters surrounding prisons as restricted security zones, requiring the Armed Forces to reinforce controls in these areas today. The decision, announced through an executive decree, came after a meeting of the State Public Security Council (Cosepe). The document…

Brazil: A family of 4 killed in head-on vehicle collision in southeastern Minas Gerais state

BRASILIA, Jan 1 (NNN-XINHUA) — Four members of the same family were killed early Wednesday when their car was struck head-on by a car-hauler truck on a federal highway in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais, police said. The crash occurred on the BR-040 highway near the municipality of Joao…

DR Congo says more than 1,500 civilians killed in eastern violence

KINSHASA, Jan 1 (NNN-XINHUA) — The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said Wednesday that more than 1,500 civilians have been killed in escalating violence in the country’s eastern province of South Kivu since early December. In a statement, the government said fighting has intensified in several…

South Africa: 9 killed in traffic accident involving minibus and passenger car in Eastern Cape

CAPE TOWN, Jan 1 (NNN-XINHUA) — Nine people were killed and eight others injured in a traffic accident in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa on Wednesday morning, local media reported. According to media reports, the accident involving a minibus taxi and a passenger car occurred around 10:00 a.m.…