Ukraine calls on France, Germany and Russia to urgently hold Normandy Four meeting

KIEV, Aug 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the leaders of the Normandy Four participating countries to hold talks on the deaths of four Ukrainian soldiers who were killed during the shelling on Tuesday. “I urge the leaders of the Normandy negotiation format countries – Emmanuel Macron,…

Brazilian gov’t to present tax reform bill

BRASILIA, Aug 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Brazilian administration will present a bill of tax reform for congressional deliberation, said the government’s spokesperson Otavio Rego Barros. “The economic team is finishing a bill integrated with those existent in the House and Senate,” Rego Barros said in a Tuesday press conference. According…

Mexico seeks role in El Paso mass shooting probe

MEXICO CITY, Aug 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Mexican government seeks an active role in the investigation of the mass shooting in the U.S. city of El Paso that claimed the lives of 22 people, eight of them Mexican. “We want the national prosecutor general’s office to have access to the…

Rwanda, DR Congo to tighten common border control to prevent Ebola spread

KIGALI, Aug 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — Rwandan Minister of Health Diane Gashumba and her counterpart from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Pierre Kangudia met on Tuesday, agreeing to tighten border control to deal with cross-border movement, in a bid to prevent the spread of Ebola. The two countries were…

Venezuela calls US Pres Trump executive order “new, serious attack”

CARACAS, Aug 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — Venezuela called a White House decision to freeze all Venezuelan state assets in the United States “a new and serious attack.” The new sanction imposed by the Donald Trump administration is the latest in a series of “arbitrary measures of economic terrorism against the Venezuelan…

Mali: Four dead in attacks, Red Cross suspends Timbuktu ops

BAMAKO, Aug 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Twin attacks in Mali have killed fourpeople, including two Malian soldiers, security sources said, as theInternational Committee of the Red Cross suspended activities in Timbuktu due to “growing insecurity”. A gendarme was killed in an ambush in the Segou region, east of the capitalBamako on…

Zimbabwe: Ousted former pres Robert Mugabe in hospital in Singapore

HARARE, Aug 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe, 95, has been in hospital in Singapore since April, his successor Emmerson Mnangagwa has said. Mugabe was making “good progress” and could be discharged soon, Mnangagwa added. He did not disclose Mugabe’s illness. In November, he said the ex-president was…

Brazil: Prisoner who dressed up as daughter to escape is found dead

Clauvino da Silva was serving a sentence of more than 70 years for drug trafficking BRASILIA, Aug 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prison authorities in Brazil have found convicted drug dealer Clauvino da Silva dead in his cell, three days after an elaborate escape was foiled.Prison officials said it appeared that Silva…

US ends visa-free entry for visitors who have been to North Korea

WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States has revoked visa-free entry rights for foreigners who have visited North Korea in the past eight years, potentially hampering the latter’s tourism industry.The US allows citizens of 38 countries – including South Korea, Japan and France – to enter for up to…

Zimbabwean opposition plans demonstrations over economy next week

HARARE, Aug 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe’s main opposition party is planning street demonstrations next week to protest against the government’s handling of the economy, which is mired in its worst crisis in a decade and has plunged most citizens into poverty. The southern African nation is enduring shortages of foreign…