South Africa floods: Damage caused by Limpopo floods “catastrophic”, 19 dead – says Pres Ramaphosa

LIMPOPO (South Africa), Jan 18 (NNN-SANEWS) — President Cyril Ramaphosa has visited the Limpopo province where heavy rainfall and flooding has left at least 19 people dead and caused destruction to homes, businesses and infrastructure. The President, together with Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and Limpopo Premier, Dr Phophi…

Portugal presidential vote wide open as far-right surge expected

LISBON, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Portugal votes on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election in which a far-right candidate could for the first time make it to a run-off ballot, but with the final result hard to predict. Polls predict Andre Ventura, leader of the far-right Chega…

South Africa gun violence: Shooting in Marikana township leaves 7 dead

CAPE TOWN, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Gunmen killed seven people in a township outside the South African city of Cape Town early on Saturday in an incident believed to be extortion-related, police said. The attack is the latest in a string of mass shootings that have shaken the crime-weary country…

Austria avalanche kills 3, bringing toll to 8

VIENNA, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An avalanche killed three Czech skiers in central Austria, police said, bringing the total to eight killed in the country’s Alps on Saturday. Avalanches across the Alps have claimed victims since last week following heavy snowfall. An avalanche swept away three of a group of…

Greenland minister praises European countries for response to Trump tariffs threat

Young people with placards reading “Greenland is not for sale!” take part in a demonstration that gathered almost a third of the city population to protest against the US President’s plans to take Greenland in Nuuk, Greenland, near the US Consulate to Greenland NUUK, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greenlandic minister…

Uganda: President Yoweri Museveni wins seventh term – Electoral Commission

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni will extend his four decades in power KAMPALA, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected to a seventh term, the country’s electoral commission has announced, after a tense campaign marked by an opposition crackdown and internet blackout. Museveni, 81, won with 71.65 percent of…

UN chief Guterres warns ‘powerful forces’ undermining global ties

LONDON, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN chief Antonio Guterres Saturday deplored a host of “powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation” in a London speech marking the 80th anniversary of the first UN General Assembly. Guterres, whose term as secretary-general ends on Dec 31 this year, delivered the warning at the Methodist…

China, Canada reach ‘landmark’ deal on tariffs, visas

BEIJING, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a raft of measures from trade to tourism on Friday at the first meeting between the countries’ leaders in Beijing in eight years. The Canadian leader hailed a “landmark deal” under a “new…

Brazil, EU hail trade deal as victory for multilateralism

RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil), Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday hailed a trade deal between the EU and South America’s Mercosur bloc as a victory for multilateralism at a time of global volatility. The pair met…

EU inks South America trade deal after 25 years of negotiations

The deal between the 27-nation European Union and Mercosur bloc members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay creates one of the world’s largest free trade areas after 25 years of tricky negotiations ASUNCION, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union and Mercosur officially signed one of the world’s largest free-trade agreements…