US wants to make ‘meaningful progress’ in China trade talks – Treasury Secretary Mnuchin

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US trade negotiators want to make “meaningful progress” in upcoming talks with China, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, after conciliatory gestures by both sidesboosted hopes of an eventual resolution. Mnuchin said on CNBC he is “cautiously optimistic” about chances for adeal to resolve the conflict,…

12 drown in India in religious ceremony

A devotee carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha for immersing in the waters on the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. NEW DELHI, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Twelve people drowned in a lake in central India on Friday morning when their boats capsized during a religious ceremony, authorities said.…

US Senate presses action on China’s treatment of Uighurs

WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Senate has approved a Bill to press China on its treatment of Uighurs, requiring the US government to closely monitor the mass incarceration of the community and consider punishment of those responsible. The Senate unanimously approved the so-called Uighur Human Rights Policy Act…

New Zealand: PM Ardern acts to tighten gun laws further, six months after attack

Ardern also announced more funding to meet mental health needs of people affected by the shooting WELLINGTON, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern introduced a new bill to parliament on Friday that aims to further tighten gun laws, as the country marks six months since the mass shooting…

Kenya becomes third African nation to introduce world’s first malaria vaccine

NAIROBI, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenya on Friday added the world’s first malaria vaccine to the routine immunization schedule for children under two, becoming the third country in Africa to roll out the vaccine for the disease that kills one child globally every two minutes. Malaria is a top killer…

Update: Bahamas’ count of missing people post-Dorian drops to 1,300

NASSAU, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Bahamian government now believes there are 1,300 people missing after Hurricane Dorian plowed into the islands, a sharp decline from the 2,500 listed on the missing registry a day earlier, a government spokesman said. The Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday had said…

Twitter blocks accounts of Raul Castro and Cuban state-run media

HAVANA, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US social media firm Twitter Inc has blocked the accounts of Cuban Communist Party Leader Raul Castro, his daughter Mariela Castro and Cuba’s top state-run media outlets, a move the Cuban Union of Journalists denounced as “massive censorship”. Dozens of accounts of journalists for Cuban state-run…

EU to give Colombia €30m in aid for Venezuelan migrants

The European Union gives €30 million to Colombia to deal with influx of Venezuelan migrants BOGOTA, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union will give €30 million in aid to Colombia to help the Andean country grapple with an influx of Venezuelan migrants fleeing economic and political strife at home,…

Ireland: PM eyes May 2020 general election

Leo Varadkar set out his preferred timetable at a Fine Gael meeting in Cork DUBLIN, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar revealed that he wants to hold an early general election in May 2020. Varadkar, 40, said it would be the “right moment” as the Brexit situation…

IMF to discuss loan status with Argentina finance minister

Economy Minister Hernan Lacunza WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — IMF officials will meet with the economic team from crisis-hit Argentina later this month to review the status of the country’s massive loan programme, an IMF spokesman said. That meeting will allow officials to discuss recent steps taken to stabilise the…