Nicaragua frees ‘tens’ of political prisoners

SAN JOSE, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nicaragua’s authoritarian government said it had freed “tens” of detainees, following US pressure and a week after American forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, a close Managua ally. “Tens of people who were in the national penitentiary system have gone home to their families,”…

Argentina wildfire burns over 5,500 hectares: governor

EPUYEN (Argentina), Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A major forest fire in southern Argentina has burned more than 5,500 hectares, authorities said, as hundreds of firefighters and volunteers battled to contain the blaze threatening small communities. The fire broke out a week ago at Puerto Patriada, about 1,700 km southwest of…

Benin heads to polls a month after foiled coup attempt

COTONOU, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Beninese cast their votes Sunday in crucial parliamentary and local elections, just one month after a failed coup plot shook the west African country. President Patrice Talon’s ruling coalition is expected to strengthen its already powerful hand in the ballots, with the main opposition Democrats party barred from…

Sudan: PM Kamil Idris announces govt return to Khartoum from wartime capital

KHARTOUM, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris announced the government’s return to Khartoum, after nearly three years of operating from its wartime capital of Port Sudan. In the early days of the regular military’s war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, the army-aligned government fled the capital, which…

EU countries override France to greenlight Mercosur trade deal

The deal has provoked farmers’ protests in several countries, including France BRUSSELS, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU gave Friday a long-delayed go ahead to a huge trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur championed by business groups but loathed by many European farmers — overriding opposition led by France.…

Argentina: Arson wildfire in Patagonia closes highway, forces evacuations

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 9 (NNN-EFE) — A massive, intentionally set wildfire, burning out of control in the mountainous Patagonian province of Chubut, Argentina, engulfed the areas around El Hoyo and Epuyén, leading to the complete closure of the crucial National Route 40. “The situation is dramatic,” said Ariel Ruiz, the fire operations…

Benin parliamentary elections: Parties end campaigning days ahead of Sunday vote

COTONOU, Jan 9 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Just over a month after the attempted coup that shook Cotonou, Beninese voters will be heading to the polls on Sunday to vote in parliamentary and local elections. The parties in the running are bringing two weeks of campaigning to an end on Friday. For…

Brazil: Pres Lula vetoes entire leniency bill for Jan 8 rioters

BRASILIA, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIA BRASIL) — On the third anniversary of the Jan 8 attempted coup d’état, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula de Silva vetoed the entire Bill 2,162 approved by both Houses of Congress, providing for the reduction of sentences of the over 800 people convicted for their involvement…

Venezuela releases political prisoners in first major gesture since Maduro’s capture

CARACAS, Jan 9 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Venezuela has begun releasing a “significant number” of political prisoners, including Venezuelan citizens and foreign nationals, in what authorities described as a unilateral gesture to help consolidate peace and peaceful coexistence in the country. The announcement comes less than a week after former president Nicolás…

Ecuador: 3 killed in armed attack at Mocoli Golf Club sports court

QUITO, Jan 9 (NNN-XINHUA) — Three people were killed in an armed attack late Wednesday inside a private residential complex on Mocoli Island in Ecuador’s coastal province of Guayas, Interior Minister John Reimberg said. Local media reported that the gunmen violently entered the Mocoli Golf Club sports court after breaching…