Mideast crisis: UK Foreign Secretary urges ‘de-escalation’

British foreign minister Dominic Raab LONDON, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK’s foreign office has issued a statement on the death of Gen Soleimani.“We have always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qasem Soleimani,” said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.“Following his death, we urge all…

German employment hits record high in 2019

The number of people with jobs rose by 402,00 or 0.9% to 45.3 million despite weaker economic growth BERLIN, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German employment reached a record high in 2019 as higher labor-market participation and increased immigration of foreign workers more than offset demographic change, the statistics office said.The…

Vaping: US unveils partial ban on flavored e-cigarettes

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US government announced it was banning most flavored e-cigarettes in a bid to curb the rising tide of youth vaping, but under industry pressure it stopped short of the full ban promised in September by the White House.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said…

Bird flu kills tens of thousands of turkeys in Poland; 40,000 other poultry to be slaughtered

WARSAW, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Up to 40,000 poultry are due to be slaughtered after bird flu was found responsible for the deaths of at least 25,000 turkeys in eastern Poland. Thursday’s mass slaughter of birds comes in the Lubartow area, a major poultry farming region, Polish veterinary authorities said.…

Ex-Mexican minister pleads not guilty in US to taking drug bribes

Genaro Garcia Luna NEW YORK, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Former Mexican public security minister Genaro Garcia Luna, accused of taking huge bribes to allow the notorious Sinaloa cartel to ship drugs into the US, pleaded not guilty in a New York court. The once-powerful Garcia Luna entered the federal courtroom…

Crisis Group: Djibouti, Eritrea face threats as US-Iran conflict escalates

ASMARA, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Red Sea strait of Bab el Mandeb, located between Yemen and the African countries of Djibouti and Eritrea is one of the areas that might be on the receiving end of rising escalations between the United States and Iran. In Yemen, the United States…

Britain temperature records tumbled in 2019

LONDON, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain recorded its highest ever summer and winter temperatures in 2019, ending one of the hottest decades in history, the Met Office said. As much of northern Europe sweltered in a July heatwave, the mercury hit 38.7 Celsius (101 Fahrenheit) in the east of England,…

NATO ‘monitoring situation’ after Iran general killed

BRUSSELS, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The NATO military alliance was monitoring the situation in Iraq closely with an eye to the safety of its training mission there after US forces killed an Iranian general. NATO maintains a limited presence in Iraq ro train government security forces and the alliance was…

Dying has become a luxury in crisis-ridden Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — No one can escape Argentina’s biggest economic crisis in almost two decades — not even the dead. The cost of buying, renting and maintaining graves and tombs is so high that many people opt to cremate their loved ones instead. Juan Tapia runs the…

Black box of crashed Taiwan military chopper located

Rescuers searching for survivors after a military Black Hawk helicopter smashed into mountains in Yilan county near Taipei TAIPEI, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The black box from a Taiwanese helicopter that crashed killing its military chieff has been recovered, the defence ministry said. The island is in mourning after the Black Hawk…