Algeria recalls Morocco ambassador over Berber comments

ALGIERS, July 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Algeria recalled its ambassador in Morocco for consultations on Sunday as a new diplomatic spat broke out between the regional arch-rivals. The move came after Morocco’s envoy to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, expressed support for self-determination for Algeria’s traditionally restless Kabylie region, a stronghold…

South Africa: Former pres Zuma graft trial to resume after deadly violence

PIETERMARITZBURG (South Africa), July 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The long-running corruption trial of South Africa’s jailed ex-president Jacob Zuma to resume virtually on Monday, despite deadly violence that swept the nation after his imprisonment in an unrelated case. Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering related to the 1999…

Venezuela repatriates 700 citizens from Trinidad and Tobago

CARACAS, July 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Nicolas Maduro’s government repatriated more than 700 Venezuelans who fled to nearby Trinidad and Tobago amid their homeland’s crippling economic crisis, the Foreign Ministry announced Sunday. “More than 700 Venezuelans have arrived in Venezuela from Trinidad and Tobago in the first ‘Vuelta a la…

Covid-19: Restrictions lifted in England, scientists warn of surge in cases

     LONDON, July 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The British government on Monday lifted pandemic restrictions on daily life in England, scrapping all social distancing in a step slammed by scientists and opposition parties as a dangerous leap into the unknown. From midnight (2300 GMT Sunday), nightclubs were able to reopen and other…

Covid-19: Uruguay aims to reopen its borders to vaccinated foreigners

MONTEVIDEO, July 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said that the country is aiming to reopen its borders to foreigners who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year. “One of the hardest hit sectors that we have to help to reactivate is tourism. If…

Sudan says Nile water level stable despite Ethiopia’s 2nd filling of Nile Dam

KHARTOUM, July 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — A Sudanese official said that no drop in the water level of the Blue Nile has been detected despite Ethiopia’s start of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). “Since April, Al-Daim station on the border with Ethiopia has not monitored any…

US shooting: One killed, 3 injured in Northern California

SAN FRANCISCO, July 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — One person died and three others were injured in a shooting early Sunday morning in Walnut Creek, Northern California of the United States, police said. Local police responded after receiving reports of a shooting at about 1:37 a.m., the police said in a Facebook…

UN chief calls for solidarity, unity to honor Mandela’s legacy

The UN General Assembly declared July 18, Mandela’s birthday, as “Nelson Mandela International Day” UNITED NATIONS, July 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for solidarity and unity in his video message for Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day). The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the “vital importance…

OPEC+ countries agree to boost oil production

VIENNA, July 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries, known as OPEC+, agreed in an online meeting on Sunday to boost oil production by 400,000 barrels a day as demand increases. OPEC and its non-OPEC allies also reached a deal to phase out…

Chinese and Mauritanian workers abducted from construction site in Mali

 BAMAKO, July 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three Chinese nationals and two Mauritanians have been abducted from a construction site in south-western Mali. A Mauritanian news agency reported that the gunmen arrived on motorbikes and fled with the hostages. The military in Mali said the gunmen also made off with five pick-up…