Covid-19: Giving up on virus control as suggested by top US official ‘dangerous’, says WHO chief

GENEVA, Oct 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization chief warned that abandoning efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic, as suggested by a top US official, was “dangerous”, urging countries not to “give up”. “We must not give up,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing. He acknowledged that after…

EU backs Nigerian WTO candidate Okonjo-Iweala

BRUSSELS, Oct 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigerian finance ministrer Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala picked up crucial backing from the EU, sources said, giving her bid to become the first African head of the WTO a major boost. The World Trade Organization will announce its new director general next month, but sources said the…

Bolivia: Terrorism charges against ex-pres Evo Morales overridden

LA PAZ, Oct 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — La Paz’s Departmental Court of Justice (TDJ) President Jorge Quino announced that the accusation and apprehension orders issued against former Bolivian president Evo Morales are overridden. The judicial authorities declared valid a request for freedom filed by Morales’ defense, considering that the ex-president’s fundamental…

Brazil to extend military operation in the Amazon until 2021

Areas devastated by fire in the Guariba region, Mato Grosso state, Brazil BRASILIA, Oct 27 (NNN-TELESUR) — Brazil’s Vice-President Hamilton Mourao announced that his country will extend the operation of the Armed Forces in the Amazon until April 2021. Since May, Brazilian soldiers have been deployed in the Amazon basin…

Mexico: Pres Obrador considers asking the UN for the return of heritage objects

Mexico City, Oct 27 (NNN-TELESUR) — Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that he would consider asking the United Nations (UN) to return all the objects that are the heritage of the country’s history. “The nations that currently have these pieces refuse to give it back,” Obrador pointed out…

Drought and wildfires devastating South America’s wetlands and forests

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 27 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Experts say the wildfires in a region that spans Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay – especially the region between the Paraguay, Parana, and Uruguay rivers – have become critical in 2020. “There has been a dramatic increase in fires. In Argentina there has been…

US Coast Guard will increase presence in the Pacific to contain the threat of China’s IUU fishing

WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — US national security adviser said the US Coast Guard (USCG) was basing Enhanced Response Cutters in the western Pacific for maritime security missions, citing illegal fishing and harassment of vessels by China. In a statement, Robert O’Brien said the Coast Guard planned to evaluate next…

Guinea: 21 people have died in post-election unrest – state TV

CONAKRY, Oct 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Twenty-one people have been killed in unrest following the presidential election in Guinea last week, state television reported, citing the government which had previously put the toll at around 10. “The Guinea government has indicated that 21 people have been killed since October 19 in…

Algeria deeply divided as it braces for Nov 1 constitutional vote

In recent weeks, controversy has raged in Algeria over the draft constitutional amendments ALGIERS, Oct 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Algerians are set to vote on Nov 1 on proposed constitutional changes more than a year after mass street protests forced long-time ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down. The constitutional amendments are…

Campaigning quiet ahead of Ivory Coast presidential election

Opposition activists want Ouattara disqualified from the election ABIDJAN, Oct 27 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — With just days until the Ivory Coast presidential election, campaigning is unusually quiet this year as the spectres of the 2010 post-election violence, which killed thousands of people, still, haunt the population. “Frankly you don’t feel an…