Humanitarian situation in Burkina Faso worsens as armed attacks persist: UN

NITED NATIONS, July 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — The humanitarian emergency in Burkina Faso is worsening as recurrent armed attacks and insecurity continue to force people to flee their homes, a UN spokesman said. “Nearly 220,000 people are now displaced. This is 50,000 more people than in May — 171,000,” said Farhan…

U.S. retaliates with investigation as France taxes digital giants

WASHINGTON, July 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — U.S. trade authorities have initiated an investigation against France’s decision to tax digital giants, which are mostly U.S.-based. The French Parliament passed a new law to tax digital giants on Thursday, making France one of the first countries to tax “GAFA” companies, namely Google, Amazon,…

South Africa to hold conference on next 25 years of democracy

PRETORIA, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to lead government’s delegation at the “25 Years of Democracy – The Next 25 Years” Conference at the University of Johannesburg, scheduled for later this month. Ramaphosa will deliver an opening address to the two-day conference, which will be held in…

Hong Kong firm signs MoU to manage Ethiopian industrial park

ADDIS ABABA, July 12 (NNN-GNA) — Hong Kong firm Hop Lun Company (HLH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ethiopian officials to manage Bahir Dar Industrial Park (BIP) located in the northern part of Ethiopia.The MoU agreement was signed between representatives of Hop Lun Company and the Ethiopian Investment…

Slovakia’s new president calls on EU’s eastern bloc to respect rule of law

BUDAPEST, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Slovakia’s new president called on the Visegrad group of eastern EU member states to protect the rule of law to avoid being seen as “weakening the European Union”, signalling a possible rift within a bloc that often acts together. After meeting with Hungarian President Janos…

Sudan general says coup attempt foiled

KHARTOUM, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan’s ruling military council foiled a coup attempt, a top general announced on state television Thursday, saying that 12 officers and four soldiers had been arrested. The announcement came as the ruling military and civilian protesters agreed last week to end a political impasse after…

Venezuela government, opposition agree to pursue crisis talks

CARACAS, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela’s government and opposition have agreed to set up a platform for ongoing negotiations to resolve the country’s simmering political crisis after three days of talks in Barbados, mediator nation Norway said Thursday. Representatives of President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader JuanGuaido met from Monday…

Germany extradites convicted top ex-spy to Croatia

Josip Perkovic BERLIN, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A former top Yugoslavian spy, sentenced in Germany for the 1983 murder of a dissident, was extradited Thursday to Croatia to serve his 30-year jail term, the interior ministry said.Josip Perkovic, a former Yugoslav secret service agent and ex-head of Croatia’s military intelligence,…

Nigeria: Shiites continue protest over el-Zakzaky detention

ABUJA, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigerian police fired guns and tear gas in a Thursday clash with a protesting group of Shiites in the capital Abuja, witnesses said, just two days after a peaceful protest turned violent just outside the parliament.Witnesses saw policemen fired their weapons in an effort to…

South Africa to harshly punish employers for hiring undocumented foreigners – official

PRETORIA, July 12 (NNN-GNA) — South Africa will harshly punish employers who employ undocumented foreign nationals, Home Affairs Deputy Minister Njabulo Bheka has warned.“We will curb the appetite of employers to employ undocumented foreign nationals all in the name of profits,” Bheka said while delivering his department’s 2019/20 budget in…