Malawi: Europe Deploys Poll Observers to Malawi

LILONGWE, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union (EU) has deployed an election observation mission (EOM) to Malawi ahead of what is anticipated to be a closely-contested poll in May. Miroslav Poche, a Member of the European Parliament from the Czech Republic is the Chief Observer. The envoy expressed hope…

Libya: UN Postpones Libyan National Conference Due to Fighting

UNITED NATIONS, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations said Tuesday that a national conference for Libya scheduled for Sunday to bring warring parties together is unlikely to go ahead due to the military escalation in Tripoli. In a statement, U.N. Libya envoy Ghassan Salame said that he is determined…

Argentina and Venezuela: Growth retarders in Latin America – IMF

WASHINGTON, April 10 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The decline in the forecasts of Argentina, Mexico and Brazil, the major economies of the Latin American region, and the deepening of the Venezuelan crisis will halt the development of the region, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. In Argentina, the bonds remain on offer…

Zimbabwe seeks $613 million aid from donors after drought, cyclone

HARARE, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe appealed for $613 million in aid from local and foreign donors to cover food imports and help with a humanitarian crisis after a severe drought and a cyclone that battered the east of the country. An El Nino-induced drought has wilted crops across Zimbabwe…

U.N. rights chief says Mexico violence recalls that of Chile dictatorship

MEXICO CITY, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said the deadly toll of Mexico’s rampant gangland violence was reminiscent of the era in her native Chile when thousands died or disappeared during a military dictatorship. Bachelet, a former Chilean president, concluded a five-day visit to…

World Bank: Drought to affect Kenya’s 2019 economic growth

NAIROBI, April 10 (NNN-KBC) — Prevailing drought in most parts of Kenya poses a threat to economic growth, says the World Bank. As a result, the group has cut Kenya’s GDP growth projection to 5.7 per cent from 5.8 per cent it forecast last year in its latest Kenya Economic…

U.S. authorities apprehended or turned away more than 103,000 migrants in March

WASHINGTON, April 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Tuesday it turned away or apprehended more than 103,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border in March, the highest in the past six years. The total number of apprehensions and rejections was 103,492, representing a nearly 106 percent…

Mexico, UN ink accord to tackle violence

MEXICO CITY, April 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — Mexico’s government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday signed an agreement to jointly tackle violence in the country. The UN would join Mexico’s efforts in tackling violence as the country has more than 40,000 missing persons…

Congo Ebola outbreak ‘far from contained,’ US aid chief says

WASHINGTON, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is far from contained, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green said on Tuesday. “In the last week we have seen a number of signs that the outbreak is far from contained. There’s a…

Polish smugglers who hid Iraqi migrant in coffin handed jail sentence in France

LILLE (France), April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A French court has sentenced two Polish truck drivers to 14-month jail terms for trying to smuggle an Iraqi migrant across the Channel to Britain in a coffin, local authorities said. The men showed up at the Calais entrance to the Channel Tunnel linking…