Uruguay government sued for US$62m over Venezuela’s unpaid milk bills

MONTEVIDEO, March 10 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Uruguayan dairy producer Conaprole has filed a lawsuit against the State for nearly US$ 62 million due to payments owed by Venezuela for the sale of products, Agriculture Minister Fernando Mattos announced. Mattos added that the authorities had been informed of the lawsuit recently and…

Covid-19: Paraguay’s Lower House passes bill to scrap masks and vax cards

ASUNCION, March 10 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Paraguay’s House of Deputies passed a bill to repeal the law mandating the use of facemasks and also provided for the termination of the COVID-19 vaccination pass requirement. The initiative is now up to the Senate. Law 6699/20 had been approved in the midst of…

Over 900 measles cases reported across 3 regions in Ethiopia: UN

ADDIS ABABA, March 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — About 929 new measles cases have been reported across three regions in Ethiopia, namely Somali, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s (SNNP) regions, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. In the latest situation update, the office believed that…

France: Riots shake Corsica over assault of jailed nationalist figure

AJACCIO (France), March 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Violent clashes broke out between protesters and police overnight Wednesday to Thursday on France’s Mediterranean island of Corsica as local anger intensified over the assaultin prison of a nationalist figure.   Yvan Colonna, who is serving a life sentence for the assassination in 1998…

Sudan: Several deaths in Abyei inter-communal fighting, says UN

UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — Weeks of inter-communal violence in the disputed Abyei area of Sudan left several people dead and thousands displaced from their homes, a UN spokesman said. “The UN Interim Security Force there is deeply concerned about the renewed violence in the southern part of the…

2 dead, 5 missing in fishing boat sink off Moroccan coast

RABAT, March 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least two people have died and five are missing from the sinking of a fishing boat off the coast of the Moroccan city of El Jadida on Wednesday morning. Both the deaths and missing are crew members, the Moroccan financial daily L’Economiste quoted local…

9 people shot dead in central Mexico

MEXICO CITY, March 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nine people, including three women, were shot dead early Wednesday morning at a private residence in Atlixco, a town in central Mexico’s Puebla state, state authorities confirmed. One survivor was “in critical condition,” with shots to the head, leg and shoulder, the Puebla Attorney…

Covid-19: Austria suspends obligatory vaccination despite record infection numbers

VIENNA, March 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — Austria’s compulsory vaccination mandate is to be suspended, just days before enforcement measures were due to kick in, the country’s government announced. The mandate, which makes vaccination against COVID-19 compulsory for all adults in Austria, has been in effect since Feb 5. However, routine police…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Top Russia, Ukraine diplomats arrive in Turkey for talks

 ANTALYA (Turkey), March 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine have arrived in Turkey for face-to-face talks set for Thursday, officials said, in the first high-level contact between the two sides since Moscow invaded its ex-Soviet neighbour.   Officials from Kyiv and Moscow have held several rounds…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: US lawmakers advance budget with $14 bn for Ukraine

WASHINGTON, March 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US lawmakers signed off on almost $14 billion in aid for war-torn Ukraine as part of a giant blueprint to fund federal agencies and avoid a damaging government shutdown at home.   The House of Representatives green-lit around $1.5 trillion in spending through September, less…