Ukraine police seize US$60m of heroin

KIEV, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ukraine police seized heroin worth about US$60 million – over half a tonne of the powder – in raids in the country’s centre and west, officials said, describing it as the biggest haul they had ever seen. Chief of the national police Sergiy Knyazev announced on Facebook…

Four hurt, 10 held in Nicaragua despite govt pledges: Opposition

MANAGUA, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A day after Nicaragua’s government pledged to restore the right to protest, at least four people were hurt and 10 detained during a demonstration calling for the release of prisoners, the opposition said. One of the wounded was linked to the government, said Silvia Gutierrez,…

First Rohingya woman shot dead in Bangladesh drugs clampdown

DHAKA, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bangladesh security forces have shot dead a Rohingya woman in a border town known as a gateway for smuggling meth pills from neighbouring Myanmar, officials said. Rights activists said Rumana Akter, 20, was the first Rohingya woman to be killed in a clampdown by Bangladesh…

Thai demonstrators protest alleged cheating in election

BANGKOK, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thai demonstrators on Sunday protested against alleged cheating in the military-ruled kingdom’s first election since a 2014 coup, a week after the controversial poll sowed confusion over the ballot results. A military-backed party and its main rival led by a self-exiled billionaire have both claimed…

Pope rounds off Morocco visit with mass for thousands

RABAT, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Pope Francis called for tolerance and peace at a mass for thousands of Catholics during a rare visit by a pontiff to Morocco, after warning the faithful there against trying to convert others. Ten thousand worshippers, many migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, packed a sports complex in…

Brazil opens Israel trade mission in Jerusalem, short of full embassy move

JERUSALEM, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil opened a new trade mission to Israel in Jerusalem on Sunday, appearing to edge back from earlier signals it would follow the United States by moving its full embassy to the contested city. The announcement came during a visit by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro…

Protests mark Brazil military coup anniversary

BRASILIA, april 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of protesters chanting “dictatorship never again” took to the streets of Brazil´s capital on Sunday (Mar 31) for the 55th anniversary of the coup that established more than two decades of military rule. Further demonstrations against the 1964-1985 dictatorship are planned in Rio de…

Eight miners suffocated in unauthorised gold mine in Peru: Local media

LIMA, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eight men suffocated in an unauthorised gold mine in Peru after a tunnel they dug began spewing noxious fumes, local media reported. Cesar Rondo, the only miner who survived the disaster, told local broadcaster RPP that the group became dizzy and suffered headaches in the…

Britain: Four stabbed in random knife attacks

LONDON, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four people have been stabbed in a spate of “cowardly and senseless” attacks in north London that police believe could be linked. Over a period of nearly 10 hours, the woman and three men were approached from behind and knifed in the back as they…

Pres Erdogan Appears to Suffer Major Defeats in Turkey’s Two Biggest Cities

Photo courtesy Anadolu ANKARA, April 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suffered a blow in local elections, with his party losing control of the capital Ankara and an opposition party also claiming victory in Istanbul. “If there are any shortcomings, it is our duty to correct them,” he…