Mexico inaugurates its new National Guard force

MEXICO CITY, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador formally inaugurated the National Guard, a militarised police force aimed at cracking down on the country’s growing crime rate and securing its borders. Lopez Obrador said that the initial 70,000 members would be deployed to 150 regions across Mexico,…

Condemnations pour in over death of detained Venezuela naval officer

CARACAS, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States and Venezuela’s opposition condemned the death of a naval officer detained for alleged trying to oust President Nicolas Maduro. Washington blamed Maduro for the death of Rafael Acosta Arevalo, which came amid a standoff between Venezuela’s opposition chief Juan Guaido and the…

Freak hail storm strikes Mexican city of Guadalajara

GUADALAJARA (Mexico), July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A freak hail storm on Sunday struck Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s most populous cities, shocking residents and trapping vehicles in a deluge of ice pellets up to two metres deep. “I’ve never seen such scenes in Guadalajara,” said the state governor, Enrique Alfaro. “Then we…

Death toll rises at Glencore mine in DR Congo after collapse

KINSHASA, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of artisanal miners killed by a landslide at a copper and cobalt mine run by Glencore in Congo rose to 43 and officials said the army would deploy at the mine as the search for more victims continued. Thursday’s accident occurred in the…

Health of Tunisian president improves significantly, he calls defense minister

TUNIS, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The health of Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi has improved significantly and he has called the defense minister about the situation in the country, the presidency said. Essebsi, 92, a major player in the country’s transition to democracy since 2011, was taken to a military…

EU And Mercosur agree huge trade deal after 20-year talks

BRUSSELS, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU and South American economic bloc Mercosur have clinched a huge trade deal after 20 years of negotiations. EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said it was the EU’s biggest deal to date and, at a time of trade tensions between the US and China,…

Finland accepts some asylum seekers from rescue ship in Mediterranean

HELSINKI, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The Finnish government has decided to allow up to eight persons rescued off the coast of Libya to apply for a possible asylum in Finland. The persons are on the Sea Watch 3 in the port of Lampedosa, Italy. The Italian government has not allowed the 40 asylum seekers on…

Tensions high as Albania heads into disputed local polls

TIRANA, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Albania on Sunday held bitterly disputed municipal polls that have snowballed into a democratic crisis, with the opposition boycotting the vote and refusing to recognise its results. The tense election run-up has seen bouts of violence as opposition supporters attacked polling stations around the country…

Bodies of drowned migrant man, daughter back in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The bodies of a man and his young daughter who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to the United States were returned on Sunday to their native El Salvador. Hearses brought the two corpses from Mexico through Guatemala to the…

Sudan: Seven killed as mass demos rock Khartoum

KHARTOUM, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seven people were killed Sunday as tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters took to the streets to demand civilian rule in the first mass rally since a bloody crackdown on demonstrators — a show of street power despite heavy troop deployments by the ruling generals.…