US Sec of State Pompeo and Mexican counterpart welcome reduced flow of migrants seeking American asylum

MEXICO CITY, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked his Mexican counterpart for increased immigration enforcement by the country, which he said is leading to fewer migrants entering the United States. The Sunday meeting confirmed a considerably calmer tone in US-Mexican relations than in early June,…

British PM to hold emergency meeting on seized tanker

LONDON, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prime Minister Theresa May will hold a meeting of Britain’s emergencies committee Monday to discuss Iran’s seizure of a UK-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf. In one of her final important acts as prime minister before resigning on Wednesday, May will chair a meeting of Britain’s…

1,300 firefighters battle Portugal wildfires

LISBON, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Planes and helicopters joinedmore than a thousand firefighters in central Portugal Sunday to battle hugewildfires in a mountainous region where over 100 people died in huge blazes in 2017. By 12:30 pm, one of the biggest mobilisations ever seen in thearea — including 1,300 firefighters…

Zelensky party wins record score in Ukraine vote: exit polls

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) casts his vote at a polling station during Ukrainian parliamentary elections in Kiev, Ukraine on July 21, 2019. Photo courtesy of Vladimir Shtanko – Anadolu Agency KIEV, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ukrainians gave their comedian-turned-president Volodymyr Zelensky a mandate to reboot the country’s politics on…

Cuba pardons more than 2,600 prisoners

HAVANA, July 21 (NNN-EFE) — Cuba’s government announced that 2,604 inmates – mostly women, young people and the elderly – have been granted pardons and will be released from prisons across the island. The decision was made by the Council of State, a body headed by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel,…

AU calls for international actions to address DRC Ebola outbreak

ADDIS ABABA, July 21 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — The African Union called for urgent international actions to tackle the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The call by the AU’s Director for the Africa Centre for Disease Control comes on the back of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the…

Strong contraction of Uruguay’s economy: GDP forecasted to grow 0.6% this year

MONTEVIDEO, July 21 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Uruguay’s Economy minister admitted that the country will end 2019 with a “very modest growth”, in the range of 0.6%, but was confident the economy would pick up in 2020 when the construction of a new pulp mill, with an investment of at least two…

Pres Bolsonaro again denies Amazon deforestation and says Brazilian official data “I’m convinced, is a lie”

BRASILIA, July 21 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accused the state body responsible for tracking deforestation levels of disclosing false data, after preliminary numbers showed a dramatic rise in July. “I am convinced that the data is a lie, and we will ask the president (of the organization) to…

Africans more than twice as likely to be denied UK visa – parliamentary report

LONDON, July 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Africans are more than twice likely to be refused UK visitor visas than applicants from others part of the world, according to a parliamentary report. After six months of evidence gathering, the report published by a parliamentary group found the UK visit visa system is…

Nigeria: Aid worker killed, six missing as gunmen attack NGO convoy in Borno

ABUJA, July 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One person has been killed and six others are missing after suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked a convoy of humanitarian workers in Borno State. The attack on Action Against Hunger, an international nongovernmental organisation, happened on Thursday, but the details have just been made public.…