Tanker truck fuel blast kills 58 in Niger

NIAMEY, May 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fifty-eight people died in Niger’s capitalNiamey after an overturned tanker truck exploded as crowds collected spiltfuel, authorities said. The blast on the RN1 route near the international airport Sunday night leftthe burnt truck’s wreckage, motorbikes and debris scattered over the road.Nearby houses were damaged by…

US visitors to Cuba almost double despite Trump sanctions

HAVANA, May 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cuba’s relationship with Donald Trump’s administration may be worsening, but that didn’t stop the island nation from welcoming more than a quarter million US visitors in the first four months of 2019. That was a 93.5 percent increase from the same period in 2018, said…

US Pres Trump plays hardball after officials accuse China of backtracking in trade talks

WASHINGTON, May 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump has effectively ended a six-month trade truce with China, with top US officials accusing Beijing of backtracking ahead of a key round of negotiations this week. Tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese merchandise will more than double to 25 percent at…

Backers ‘failed to follow through’ in abortive uprising, opposition leader Guaido says

CARACAS, May 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said that backers who had pledged support for his abortive uprising last week had “failed to follow through” to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro. But that “doesn’t mean that they won’t do it soon,” Guaido said in an interview. Guaido, recognized…

Cyclone Fani death toll rises to 42 in India, Bangladesh

NEW DELHI, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from a cyclone that battered India and Bangladesh rose to 42 as emergency teams raced to fix water supplies and roads devastated by the storm. Twenty-nine of the dead were in eastern India’s Odisha state and 13 in Bangladesh, officials in…

Indonesia misses economic growth forecasts in Q1 as exports slip

JAKARTA, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indonesia’s economy grew slower than expected in the first quarter, official data showed, as exports contracted for the first time since 2016 owing to softer demand for key commodities. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy expanded 5.07 per cent in January-March, nearly flat from a year earlier…

Sri Lanka schools re-open amid fears of more militant attacks

COLOMBO, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — State schools in Sri Lanka resumed classes on Monday amid tight security after the Easter Sunday bombings, but many anxious parents kept their children at home over fears of more attacks by militants. Two weeks after suicide bombings at hotels and churches killed 257 people,…

Papua New Guinea PM plays down leadership challenge

PORT MORESBY, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Papua New Guinea’s embattled prime minister insisted he still had the backing of his party and can avoid being turfed out of office in a vote of no confidence. Peter O’Neill could face a vote on his eight-year premiership after parliament returns Tuesday, following a…

Thousands march in protest against Mexico’s president

MEXICO CITY, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several thousand people marched through Mexico City on Sunday to demand the resignation of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the first major protest against the leftist leader in the capital since he took office five months ago. Largely dressed in white, protesters marched…

Panama’s Cortizo wins close presidential race, calls for national unity

PANAMA CITY, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US-educated political veteran Laurentino “Nito” Cortizo won Panama’s presidential election in an unprecedented close race on Sunday, with the electoral tribunal declaring a winner after 95 per cent of votes had been counted. In his victory speech, Cortizo called for national unity, after winning just a…