Tensions between US and Cuba might worsen: Official

HAVANA, Dec 16 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — The general director of the US Office of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, has warned that tensions between the two countries might worsen due to aggressiveness of the officials in charge of Washington’s foreign policy. In a statement, the Cuban diplomat…

UK PM Johnson cannot keep Scotland in union against its will: Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson row over new Scottish independence referendum LONDON, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he could not keep Scotland in the United Kingdom against the country’s will. Johnson and his government have repeatedly said they will not…

French CGT union gives ultimatum to government to withdraw pension plan

Empty platforms at Gare Montparnasse train station PARIS, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France’s CGT union threatened to double its protests unless the government withdraws its pension reform proposal within the next week. In a major overhaul of its pension scheme, the French government has proposed that people work two years…

France to extradite Argentine torture suspect

PARIS, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France will extradite Argentinian Mario Sandoval to Buenos Aires to face trial over the torture and disappearance of a student during the country’s “dirty war”. The 66-year-old former police officer was arrested on Wednesday at his home near Paris, after French authorities gave the final…

Colombia peace court exhumes bodies in extrajudicial killings case

A forensic doctor examines the bones of an unidentified victim which is analysed in the lab of the Attorney-General’s office in Bogota BOGOTA, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombia’s special justice tribunal has begun to exhume bodies from a grave in the country’s northwest as part of an investigation into as…

‘Freedom march’ marks 30 years since Romania’s revolution

TIMISOARA, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Romania kicked off a series of commemorations to mark 30 years since the overthrow of the tyrannical regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, staging a “freedom march” in the town of Timisoara, cradle of the 1989 revolution. Waving Romanian flags in the torchlit procession, several hundred people…

Update: Bad weather in southwest France claims third victim

The Garonne river’s overflooded bank following strong winds and heavy rains in Bordeaux BORDEAUX (France), Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fierce storms in southwest France have claimed a third victim, authorities said, after a man in his forties was found dead in his submerged car two days after going missing. Deputy…

US expelled two Chinese diplomats on spying claims: Report

The US and Chinese flags WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States quietly expelled two Chinese embassy officials in September after they drove onto a sensitive military base in Virginia. The New York Times reported on Sunday, which cited multiple people with knowledge of the episode, said it appeared to…

US trade negotiator hails ‘remarkable’ deal with China

Robert Lighthizer (centre) chats with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, looking on WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US-China trade deal is “remarkable” in scope but it won’t solve all the problems between the world’s two biggest economies, the top US negotiator said. “This is…

General election 2019: PM Johnson to welcome new MPs to Westminster

Prime Minister Boris Johnson LONDON, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson will address his new intake of Conservative MPs as they arrive in Westminster to take their seats in Parliament.Many of the 109 new MPs won in areas traditionally held by Labour in Thursday’s election, which saw the…