Canada: Finance Minister Bill Morneau quits amid charity probe

OTTAWA, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Canada’s finance minister has said he will resign after conflict-of-interest allegations involving WE Charity. Bill Morneau has faced pressure to step down after it was revealed he did not repay travel costs covered by WE while on overseas trips to see its work. He said he recently realised he…

Belarus election dispute: Workers heckled embattled `Pres Lukashenko as unrest spreads

Striking workers gathered outside the Minsk tractor factory on Monday  MINSK, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been heckled by workers on a visit to a factory as anger mounts over his disputed re-election. Workers chanted “leave” and booed the long-time leader of the ex-Soviet state as he insisted…

Xenophobia: Nigeria vows action as its traders in Ghana targeted

Ghana Union of Traders Association locks shops of Nigerians engaged in retail business ABUJA, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria is to take “urgent steps” following a viral video showing the forced closure of shops belonging to Nigerian traders in Ghana.It comes just months after a major diplomatic row in which…

Germany’s FM Maas arrives in war-torn Libya, meeting set with UN-support PM Serraj

The visit by Heiko Maas’ is to spur efforts to resolve Libya’s long-running conflict TRIPOLI, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) –Germany’s top diplomat arrived in Libya for an unannounced visit intended to spur international efforts to resolve the country’s long-running conflict. It is Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’ first visit to Libya following…

Somalia: Al-Shabaab attack army base in Baidoa, hours after hotel siege in capital Mogadishu

At least ten people were killed during the attack MOGADISHU, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 10 people were killed in an al-Shabaab attack on an army base in south-west Somalia, officials said.The attack on the base in Baidoa, claimed by the militant group on their Radio Andalus, comes a…

Death Valley hits 54.4 degrees Celsius, hottest in US since 1913

LOS ANGELES, Aug 18 (NNN-XINHUA) — Temperatures in Death Valley, located between the U.S. states of California and Nevada, reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) on Sunday afternoon, the highest temperature recorded in the country since 1913, according to the National Weather Service. “Death Valley, California recorded a high…

Update: Sixteen killed, dozens injured in Somalia hotel attack

MOGADISHU, Aug 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least 16 people including a police officer were killed and dozens injured after the Somali security forces ended a five-hour siege by the militant group al-Shabaab at a beachside hotel here on Sunday night. Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar Omar said five al-Shabaab fighters were…

Colombia: UN condemns massacre of young people in Nariño, Leiva

BOGOTA, Aug 17 (NNN-TELESUR) — The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia condemned the massacre in the Nariño department where a group of armed men killed nine young people.  The OHCHR in Colombia also rejected the recent killing of two minors last Aug 10…

Covid-19: Argentina’s social distancing extended until Aug 30; daily infections are above 7,000

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 17 (NNN-MER4COPRESS) — Argentina extended until Aug 30 restrictions taken against the coronavirus, President Alberto Fernandez said, underlining that the country’s lockdown would continue in its current form in and around capital city Buenos Aires. The quarantine defined as “preventive, mandatory social isolation” is more relaxed in…

Covid-19: Health care workers in Peru protest demanding better pay and working conditions

LIMA, Aug 17 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Health care workers in Peru held a demonstration demanding better pay and working conditions as more of their colleagues become infected with the coronavirus. Members of medical workers’ unions appealed for government help during a rally outside the Health Ministry. The workers’ plea for aid…