Brazilian government announces campaign to boost retail sales

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Brazilian government announced a 10-day campaign to boost retail sales in the country. The campaign was dubbed “Brazil Week,” on the occasion of Brazil’s Independence Day on Sept 7. A total of 4,680 companies will offer special discounts on products and services…

UNGA president voices solidarity with Hurricane Dorian victims

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces has expressed solidarity with the victims of and those affected by Hurricane Dorian, which has wreaked havoc in the Bahamas in the Caribbean. Espinosa, in a tweet, regretted the destruction and devastation caused by the hurricane…

Brazilian ministers to propose extending military fire-fighting mission in Amazon

BRASILIA, Sept 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — A Brazilian cabinet delegation will recommend extending the deployment of military troops fighting fires in the Amazon rainforest, the president’s chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni, said. Lorenzoni, head of the delegation sent by President Jair Bolsonaro to assess the state of the forest fires, said…

UN Expert to assess SA’s rights of people with albinism

PRETORIA, Sept 4 (NNN-SANEWS) — The UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by people with albinism, Ikponwosa Ero, is expected to visit South Africa to assess the situation concerning people with albinism in the country.  The Independent Expert is mandated by the Human Rights Council to engage…

South Africa: Parliament seeks solution to xenophobic violence

PRETORIA, Sept 4 (NNN-SANEWS) — An urgent meeting between the Presiding Officers of Parliament and the relevant oversight committees is to be called to determine a parliamentary intervention in the ongoing violent tensions in the country. In a statement on Tuesday, the Presiding Officers of Parliament, led by National Assembly…

Eritrea seizes schools run by religious groups

ASMARA, Sept 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The authorities in Eritrea have seized control of seven secondary schools run by religious organisations. An order to hand over the running of the schools was given to the Catholic Church and other Christian and Muslim groups on Tuesday morning. Most of the students at…

Update: South Africa’s President Ramaphosa condemns ‘anti-foreigner violence’

PRETORIA, Sept 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned a wave of looting and violence that has mostly targeted foreign nationals.“There can be no justification for any South African to attack people from other countries,” he said.Dozens of people were arrested in Johannesburg on Monday. At least…

Ethiopian opposition parties reject electoral reforms

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Opposition political parties in Ethiopia threatened to boycott national elections scheduled for next year if changes to an electoral law they view as biased towards the ruling party are not made. There have been regular parliamentary elections since the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front…

Burkina Faso jails two generals over failed 2015 coup

Burkina Faso’s former foreign minister, Djibril Bassole (R), and General Gilbert Diendere OUAGADOUGOU, Sept 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A military court in Burkina Faso convicted and jailed two generals on charges of masterminding a coup in the fragile Sahel state in 2015. General Gilbert Diendere was convicted on charges of murder…

Bolivia’s fires destroy ‘heritage’ rock art sites

124 LA PAZ, Sept 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Wildfires that have raged across forests and grassland in eastern Bolivia for weeks have destroyed rare rock art sites, archeologists announced Tuesday. “We believe that the damage is big and wide in terms of our heritage of rock art,” said Danilo Drakic, chief…