Immigrants: US Pres Trump drops census citizenship question, vows to get data from government

WASHINGTON, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — U.S. President Donald Trump ended his quest on Thursday to add a contentious citizenship question to the 2020 census, but insisted he was not retreating from his fight against illegal immigration and said the government would obtain the data by combing through federal records.“We are…

US to launch raids on undocumented migrants Sunday

WASHINGTON, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are planning to launch sweeping deportation raids this weekend as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on undocumented immigrants.A senior administration immigration officials says that ICE has about one million names on a list of targets in the…

Eswatini ‘bans witchcraft and spell competition’

MBABANE, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eswatini has banned a competition of “witchcraft and magic spells”, a government statement said.“Anyone who will persist with any activity related to witchcraft will face the full might of the law,” government spokesman Percy Simelane said.People in the country, formerly known as Swaziland, could not…

West Africa anti-terror fight is insufficient – UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the current fight against terror in West Africa’s Sahel region is insufficient. He was speaking at a UN summit on counter-terrorism, where he urged donors to do more to support military and developmental efforts to stop violent extremism.…

Nigeria bans insecticides linked to suicide

ABUJA, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Authorities in Nigeria say agricultural insecticides, which have been linked to recent cases of people killing themselves, will no longer be sold in shops from September.Most of these high-strength insecticides can easily be bought in shops and from hawkers, but the regulatory agency, Nafdac, has…

Nigeria’s population hits 190 million

ABUJA, July 12 (NNN-GNA) — The population of Africa’s most populous country Nigeria population has hit about 190 million, a figure which negates the one earlier given by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).Head of the National Population Commission (NPC) Ghaji Ismail told a press conference that it arrived at…

U.S. government posts $8 billion deficit in June

WASHINGTON, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The U.S. government posted an $8 billion budget deficit in June, according to data released on Thursday by the Treasury Department. Analysts had expected a $6.35 billion deficit for the month. The Treasury said federal spending in June was $342 billion, down 12% from the…

Four killed as car bombs target funeral in Libya’s Benghazi

BENGHAZI (Italy), July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least four people were killed and 33 wounded when two car bombs exploded at a funeral for a former special forces commander in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Those killed in Thursday’s blast were two civilians and two soldiers, while soldiers, police,…

France courts African diaspora with Elysée invite

Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo is to attend as part of his state visit to France PARIS, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Students, entrepreneurs and sports stars are among some 400 representatives of the African diaspora invited to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris Friday as part of an “interactive debate”…

Cricket: England thrash Australia by eight wickets to reach World Cup final

BIRMINGHAM (United Kingdom), July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — England swept into their first World Cup final for 27 years as the hosts crushed Australia by eight wickets to book a clash with New Zealand in Sunday’s title match. Eoin Morgan’s side ended Australia’s bid to retain the World Cup in ruthless…