Halal chicken dispute blocks Brazil/Indonesia free trade talks

BRASILIA, Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil should only begin free trade talks with Indonesia if it adopts recommendations made by a World Trade Organization panel in 2017 after a dispute over halal chicken, Brazil’s meat lobby ABPA said in a letter sent to three government ministries. “We don’t oppose a…

Green hydrogen hub planned in northeast Brazil

BRASILIA, Feb 24 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — A US$ 5.4bn green hydrogen hub has been planned in Ceará, northeast Brazil, and most probably the first-of-its-kind in Latin America. Set to be located at the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex (CIPP), 60km from Fortaleza, the hub will be built by Australia’s Enegix Energy.…

Two Mali soldiers killed in ambush; 7 injured

BAMAKO, Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two soldiers were killed and seven others injured in an ambush in a central region regularly hit by jihadist attacks. Around 0200 pm local time (0200 GMT) Tuesday, the troops were ambushed en route between Konna and Sevare by an armed terrorist group, according to…

Last statue of dictator Franco removed in ‘historic day’ for Spain

MELILLA (Spain), Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The last statue of former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco was removed on Tuesday from the city gates of Melilla, a Spanish enclave and autonomous city on the northwest African coast. Without much fanfare, a group of workmen operated a mechanical digger and heavy drills…

UN urges Colombia to fulfill peace deal, stem violence

Colombia’s President Ivan Duque BOGOTA, Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombia’s government must improve its protection of human rights activists and civilians, be more present in remote, poor areas, and fully implement a peace deal with FARC rebels to curb violence, the United Nations’ human rights body said. The murders of…

Ecuadorean indigenous protesters demand presidential vote recount

QUITO, Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of Ecuadorean indigenous protesters arrived in the capital Quito to demand a recount of the Feb 7 presidential election after official results showed indigenous activist Yaku Perez did not advance to the runoff vote. Perez, 51, has been walking through the Andean nation to…

Hunger in Central America skyrockets, UN agency says

TEGUCIGALPA, Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of people going hungry in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua has nearly quadrupled in the last two years, the United Nations said, as Central America has been battered by an economic crisis. New data released by the UN’s World Food Program (WFP)…

Nigerian troops kill Boko Haram militants, retake “lost” town: army spokesman

ABUJA, Feb 24 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nigerian troops killed some Boko Haram militants while retaking a town “lost” to them earlier in the country’s northeast region, said a spokesman for the army. Mohammed Yerima, the army spokesman, said that the town of Marte and its surrounding areas in the northern state…

UN expert says Iran lied in downing of Ukraine airliner

Authorities work at the scene of a crashed Ukrainian plane in Shahedshahr last year UNITED NATIONS, Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A UN official accused Iran of lying in its explanation of how it shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet near Tehran last year at a time of acute tension with…

US winter storms: Texas power board members resign over mass outages

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four board members of Texas’ power grid operator announced their resignation after millions of stateresidents were left without power during days of unprecedentedly frigidtemperatures. The board chair of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT),Sally Talberg, vice chairman Peter Cramton, finance and audit committee chair…