Ecuador makes big push into large-scale mining with Chinese-backed project

TUNDAYME (Ecuador), July 22 (NNN-EFE) — Ecuador has taken its first step into the megamining sector, starting production last week at the Condor-Mirador open-pit mine. The mining project, which will produce copper, silver, gold and molybdenum, is located in Tundayme, an area in the Amazonian province of Zamora Chinchipe. President…

NGOs to resume migrant rescue operations in Mediterranean

PARIS, July 22 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Humanitarian organizations, SOS Méditerranée and Médecins Sans Frontières have decided to resume rescue operations for migrants off the Libyan coast, after a 7-month debar. The organizations were forced to stop their rescue operations due to pressure from some countries. In a statement, MSF and SOS Méditerranée said they will continue their…

Caribbean destinations top choice for American travelers

ST THOMAS (USVI), July 22 (NNN-CARIBBEANNEWS) — The US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism will take advantage of trends which confirm the Territory as a top vacation destination for American travelers.  Speaking ahead of the Department of Tourism’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Hearing presentation on Thursday, Commissioner of Tourism Joseph…

Unemployment drops to 7.8 percent in Jamaica

Director-General of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), Carol Coy KINGSTON, July 22 (NNN-JIS) — The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting a further reduction in the unemployment rate to a new record low of 7.8 percent. As contained in STATIN’s April 2019 Labour Force Survey, the figure is…

Zimbabwe: Government seeks to privatise parks

HARARE, July 22 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) — The Zimbabwe government is planning to privatise the commercial side of the national parks and is currently seeking investors as it aims to make maximum profit of the entity. The move comes at a time ZimParks is reportedly saddled with a debt of about $21.5…

Mexico anxiously awaits US response on immigration deal as deadline arrives

MEXICO CITY, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexico is on tenterhooks as a Monday deadline on a US migration deal that removed tariff threats on Mexican exports arrived, and despite progress made in reducing migrant flows it was unclear what President Donald Trump’s next move would be.  The agreement reached in June…

Final hours of voting in race to become British PM

LONDON, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The voting closes Monday in the contest to become Britain’s next prime minister, with Boris Johnson expected to be confirmed as the winner charged with delivering Brexit. After a month-long contest between former London mayor Johnson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the postal votes of…

Argentina: Bariloche airport reopens after closing due to heavy snow

BUENOS AIRES, July 22 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The international airport at the Argentine winter sports resort of Bariloche has resumed operations following a decision to close it Saturday due to heavy snowing despite a record-setting peak season demand . The intense fall of snow and bad weather had led the city…

Volcano eruption leads to state of emergency, evacuations in southern Peru

The Ubinas volcano, the most active in Peru, had not erupted since 2017. LIMA, July 22 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Peru’s government has declared a state of emergency and carried out numerous evacuations in the areas hit in one way or another by the Ubinas volcano’s eruptive process which has affected around…

Nigerian president condemns killing of 37 villagers by cattle thieves

ABUJA, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari “strongly” condemned recent attacks by cattle raiders on three villages in the country’s northwest that officials said killed 37 people. He offered commiserations to the survivors and vowed a firm response to “these brutal and remorseless enemies of humanity”. “These frequent…