IDPs in Libya need assistance after returning home: UNHCR

TRIPOLI, March 26 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nearly half a million internally displaced people (IDPs) who have returned to their homes in Libya are in need of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. “Currently in Libya, there are over 445,000 returnees that are in need of humanitarian…

Vale reports Brazil state authorities freeze US$765 million of its assets

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian state prosecutors and public defenders in the state of Minas Gerais have won a bid to freeze assets worth 2.95 billion reais belonging to Vale, which has been struggling since a lethal dam rupture at one of its mines, the company said…

Brazil ex-president Michel Temer freed from jail

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil’s ex-president and alleged head of a graft ring, Michel Temer, was freed from jail on Monday after a judge said there were no legal grounds for his detention. Temer, accused of leading a sophisticated embezzlement and money laundering scheme, was the second ex-president…

US, Russia lock horns over Venezuela, raising the stakes

CARACAS, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US and Russia clashed publicly over Venezuela on Monday, raising geopolitical stakes over the oil-producing nation after Moscow sent dozens of soldiers to Caracas amid what it alleged was a budding “coup.” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned his counterpart Sergei Lavrov over the…

Serbia’s ruling Progressive Party wants early election

BELGRADE, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The leadership of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling Progressive Party (SNS) said it wanted a snap election to test its popularity a year ahead of schedule and after months of opposition protests. “We did not make a formal decision about early elections, but (the party)…

Prince Charles unveils Shakespeare statue, banters with Cubans

HAVANA, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prince Charles unveiled a statue of English playwright William Shakespeare in the heart of Havana’s restored colonial centre, as part of the first official visit ever by a British royal to communist-run Cuba. The Prince of Wales, who is a keen conservationist, and his wife…

US approves US$3.8b F-16 sale to Morocco

WASHINGTON, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States has approved the sale of 25 F-16 fighter aircraft to Morocco for US$3.8 billion, the State Department announced. Besides the new Block 70/72 F-16s, equipped with state of the art electronic systems and weaponry, Washington also approved the modernisation of 23 F-16s…

Mexico demands apology for colonial ‘abuses’, Spain says no

MEXICO CITY, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The 500-year-old wounds of the Spanish conquest were ripped open afresh when Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged Spain and the Vatican to apologize for their “abuses” – a request Madrid said it “firmly rejects.” Spain’s centuries of dominance in the New World,…

US: Pentagon chief says US$1b of funding shifted to Mexico border ‘pedestrian fencing’

WASHINGTON, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The U.S. Department of Defense shifted US$1 billion to plan and build a 57-mile section of “pedestrian fencing”, roads and lighting along the border between the United States and Mexico, the Pentagon chief said. Last week, the Pentagon gave Congress a list that included US$12.8 billion…

Gabon: President Bongo returns home after rehabilitation in Morocco

Gabonese President, Ali Bongo LIBREVILLE, March 26 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — President Ali Bongo Ondimba flew home to Gabon after several months in Morocco recovering from illness.He flew back into Libreville on Saturday afternoon, accompanied by his wife Sylvia, to be welcomed by Prime Minister Julien Nkoghe Bekale and senior members of…