US to allow indefinite detention of migrant children – DHS

WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Donald Trump’s administration announced Wednesday that it would remove tough legal limits on how long migrant children can be detained as part of its broader crackdown on undocumented immigrants.The Department of Homeland Security said it was terminating the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, a binding…

Uganda and Rwanda commit to end tensions

Yoweri Museveni (L) and Paul Kagame (R) LUANDA (Angola), Aug 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda have signed a peace deal to end their diplomatic feud.The agreement was reached on Wednesday in the Angolan capital, Luanda.The two signed it in the presence of…

Nigeria: Pres Buhari assigns cabinet portfolios, appoints new oil minister

President Muhammadu Buhari ABUJA, Aug 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari swore members of his cabinet into office on Wednesday, assigning a new minister of state for petroleum in Africa’s top producer of crude oil. Buhari kept the petroleum portfolio for himself, as in his first term, and appointed…

Burundi heightens border surveillance with DR Congo over Ebola concerns

BUJUMBURA, Aug 22 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Fearing an Ebola epidemic in Burundi, the authorities have stepped up health controls along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo increasing surveillance and safety procedures on the border movement. After confirmed cases of the virus in the Congolese area of South Kivu, international…

Southern Somali state shutters main city, airport ahead of Thursday election – senior local official

GAROWE (Somalia), Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The southern Somali state of Jubbaland has blocked access to the capital city Kismayo and its main airport ahead of Thursday’s vote to elect a president of the semi-autonomous region, a senior regional official said. The move underscores escalating tensions between Jubbaland authorities and…

Update: Italy’s president accepts Conte’s resignation, calls for consultations

President Sergio Mattarella ROME, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italian President Sergio Mattarella has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and will kick off consultations with party leaders on Wednesday to seek a solution to the political crisis, his office said. Mattarella will start his meetings at 4.00 p.m.…

Dominican’s largest drug trafficking gang dismantled after raids, says prosecutor

SANTO DOMINGO, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Dominican Republic’s top prosecutor said that the Caribbean nation’s largest drug trafficking gang has been dismantled, a group that allegedly used two former professional baseball players to launder assets. Former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel was arrested earlier on Tuesday, while Luis…

Colombia laments lack of aid for growing Venezuela migration crisis

Venezuelans gather to cross into Ecuador from Colombia BOGOTA, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — International donors have been significantly less generous in their support of Venezuelan migrants than other global refugee crises, Colombia’s foreign minister said, as he repeated a request for more aid money. Colombia has borne the brunt of…

More than a hundred migrants feared dead off Libya coast: MSF

TRIPOLI, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it fears that a boat packed with migrants sunk off the Libyan coast with more than a hundred people dead. “We have every reason to fear the worst – that over 100 lives were lost and nobody will ever know…

Venezuela to produce some 13 million tons of inputs in 2020

CARACAS, Aug 21 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — The Venezuelan government plans to produce 13,540,000 tons of food for next year, despite the limitations of the blockade imposed by the United States. Fruits, tubers, roots, legumes, cereals, tropical crops, eggs, meat, milk and their derivatives are the sustenance that the country estimates…