Caribbean: Tropical storm warning issued for hurricane-hit Bahamas

MIAMI/NASSAU, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A tropical storm warning was issued on Friday for the northern Bahamas as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned of the dangers of climate change during a visit to the hurricane-battered archipelago. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said a depression had formed near the Bahamas…

Zimbabwe settles row to give Mugabe hero’s burial

The casket of former president Robert Mugabe is carried by the presidential guard to an air force helicopter for transport to a stadium where it will lie in state, at his official residence in the capital Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo courtesy of Ben Curtis  HARARE, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe’s former…

Spain: Flash floods in south-eastern region kill at least five

The floods have swept away cars and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people  MADRID, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least five people have died and 3,500 have been evacuated from their homes after flash floods struck south-eastern Spain. Rivers burst their banks as some areas of Valencia, Murcia and eastern…

UN to deploy assessment mission to El Salvador to support anti-graft commission

On Sept 6, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced an agreement with the Organization of American States (OAS) to create the International Commission against Corruption and Impunity in El Salvador (CICIES) UNITED NATIONS, Sept 14 (NNN-XINHUA) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decided to deploy an assessment mission to El Salvador as a first step to…

US: Pres Trump says not to pick Sec of State Pompeo as National Security Advisor

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (NNN-XINHUA) — US Pres Donald Trump said that he will not ask Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to assume a dual role of being his fourth national security advisor after the ouster of John Bolton. Trump told reporters at the White House that he discussed the idea with Pompeo and “he (Pompeo)…

British PM Johnson prepares for Brussels showdown in bid to win Brexit deal

LONDON, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that he will hold a crucial meeting in Brussels on Monday in his latest bid to win a Brexit deal. During a visit on Friday to the county of Yorkshire, Johnson said during a keynote speech that he would be meeting the European Union…

Called-off Afghan peace process: Congress orders US Taliban negotiator Khalilzad to testify

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US envoy charged with negotiating with the Taliban was ordered to testify by the Democratic-led House of Representatives, which complained it had been kept in the dark on the now called-off peace process. Representative Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign AffairsCommittee, issued…

Tunisia gears up for Sunday presidential poll steeped in uncertainty

TUNIS, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tunisia will hold on Sunday its secondfree presidential election since the 2011 uprising that toppled an autocratic regime, with growing uncertainty over who will reach the next round. Twenty-six candidates are in the race, including the incumbent primeminister and a media magnate who was arrested…

UN eases arms embargo on Central African Republic

UN peacekeepers from Gabon patrolling Central African Republic town of Bria  UNITED NATIONS, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN SecurityCouncil unanimously approved the easing of an arms embargo on theCentral African Republic for the first time since 2013 when it was engulfedin violence. Drafted by France, the resolution authorizes the…

Brazil: At least 10 dead in Rio de Janeiro hospital blaze – fire service

Medical staff evacuating a patient from the Badim hospital in Rio de Janeiro RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 10 people died in afire inside a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday evening withrescuers desperately trying to evacuate scores of patients from the building,the fire…