Brazil bans upstream dams after deadly Brumadinho disaster

A helicopter crew makes a dramatic rescue in southeastern Brazil. BRASILIA, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Brazil’s National Mining Agency has banned upstream tailings dams, local media reported, which was the same type that burst in south-eastern Minas Gerais state in January, leaving at least 169 people dead. Such dams need…

Tiny South Africa beach restaurant crowned best in world

Chef Kobus van der Merwe received the Restaurant of the Year award for his beach restaurant Wolfgat in South Africa during the inaugural World Restaurant Awards in Paris. PARIS,Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A tiny beach restaurant in an isolated South African fishing village was named the best in the world.…

Kenya: Nine people die in Nakuru-Eldoret highway crash

NAIROBI, Feb 18 (NNN-KBC) — Nine people have died in a tragic road accident along Nakuru- Eldoret highway. Seven of them are said to have died on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries while receiving treatment at Eldama Ravine and Moi teaching and referral hospital. The 1 a.m accident occurred…

Ethiopia, Djibouti sign gas pipeline deal

DJIBOUTI, Feb 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ethiopia and Djibouti have a signed a deal to build a pipeline to carry Ethiopian gas to an export terminal in the Red Sea state. Djibouti’s Energy minister, Yonis Ali Guedi said that the deal laid out ‘’ key terms that will serve as a…

DR Congo: 8 dead in Goma shootings

GOMA (DR Congo), Feb 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Unidentified gunmen killed eight people in three districts of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo during the night of Saturday to Sunday, provoking public anger against the authorities, the city’s mayor reported. “In Mugunga, there were shots fired last night. Five people…

Zimbabwe shelves plans to join Continental Free Trade Area as ‘local industry not ready’

HARARE, Feb 18 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) — The Zimbabwe government has shelved plans to fully join the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) so that it could find space to stabilise local industry which is struggling to produce enough quality goods to compete outside. This was revealed by Industry and Commerce Ministry’s…

Bulgaria’s largest opposition party votes to quit parliament ‘for unspecified period’

SOFIA, Feb 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Lawmakers from Bulgaria’s opposition Socialist Party (BSP) are leaving parliament for an unspecified period, saying fair elections could not be guaranteed following recent Election Code amendments. As the Socialists control 79 of the 240 seats in parliament, the move, approved by BSP’s national council on Saturday,…

Venezuela denies EU lawmakers entry given ‘conspiratorial motives’

Venezuela’s Armed Forces patrolling the streets as Caracas as a citizen walks by. Photo courtesy TeleSUR CARACAS, Feb 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela denied a group of European Parliament deputies entry into the country on Sunday, arguing they had “conspiratorial motives” for flying to Caracas in the throes of a political…

Mozambique: Son of ex-president arrested in graft case

MAPUTO, Feb 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The son of Mozambique’s former president Armando Guebuza was arrested in a legal crackdown on suspects linked to a $2 billion government debt scandal, local media and judiciary sources said. Ndabi Guebuza, the oldest of Guebuza’s four children, was picked up from his home in…

Somalia denies Kenya claims in maritime border spat

MOGADISHU, Feb 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Somalia has rejected accusations by Kenya that it had auctioned off oil and gas blocks in a disputed maritime area. Kenya on Saturday recalled its ambassador from Mogadishu for “urgent consultations” over the maritime border dispute that involves lucrative offshore oil and gas deposits. Kenya…