Iraq exports 113 mln barrels of crude oil in January

BAGHDAD, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Iraq’s Oil Ministry on Friday said it has exported more than 113 million barrels during January, bringing in revenue of over 6 billion U.S. dollars. “The total exports of crude oil in January from oilfields in central and southern Iraq reached 110.245.281 million barrels,” the…

Spotlight: Yemeni warring sides prepare for fresh escalation of fighting in Hodeidah

ADEN, Yemen, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Yemen’s warring factions began preparations for a fresh escalation of fighting raging over the control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, ignoring efforts aimed at cessation of hostilities. The calls for an escalation in fighting between the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and…

UN official voices support for Syrians in Lebanon to return home

BEIRUT, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Philippe Lazzarini, deputy UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said Friday that the United Nations supports the return of all Syrian refugees to their homeland, the National News Agency reported. “The future of all Syrians is in Syria and this is really what Syrians wish for,”…

Remittances to Mexico hit record high in 2018

MEXICO CITY, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Overseas Mexicans have transferred 33.481 billion U.S. dollars to their home country last year, setting a new record of annual remittance into the country, the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) said on Friday. For the second straight year, remittances grew by double digits, surpassing…

Libyan Army-Chad militant clashes cause blackout in southern Libya

TRIPOLI, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Libya’s state-owned General Electricity Company announced Friday that the current clashes between the army forces and Chadian opposition militants caused blackout in the region. The clashes damaged electric circuits in the region, causing blackout in more than a dozen of towns, the company said in…

UN Peace monitors call for effective army unification in South Sudan

JUBA, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — The South Sudan peace monitoring body on Friday called for the establishment of numbers, training sites and start dates of cantonment which it said are an essential step toward the effective unification of security forces. Augostino Njoroge, interim chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and…

Venezuela: Pres Maduro visits military commandos, calls for strengthening intelligence

CARACAS, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro visited the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) here on Friday, where he called for strengthening intelligence and preventive work. “We must improve and strengthen intelligence systems, the intelligence of the Bolivarian National Guard is extraordinary; on that base we…

Pakistan’s Balochistan province announces financial aid to surrendered militants

ISLAMABAD, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — In an attempt to woo insurgents to quit militancy, Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province said Friday that militants who voluntarily surrendered to security forces will get financial assistance from the government. Distributing money among a batch of militants who bade farewell to terrorism and vowed to…

Avalanche kills 3 in Indian-controlled Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Three people were killed after an avalanche hit them in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Saturday. The men who belonged to a snow clearing team were hit Friday after an avalanche swept a snow clearing machine near Aru-Pahalgam in Anantnag district, about 104 km…

Dozens wounded in clashes with Israeli soldiers in West Bank, Gaza

GAZA/RAMALLAH, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Clashes broke out on Friday afternoon between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli army forces in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, wounding dozens of people, medics and eyewitnesses said. In eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, at least 25 Palestinians were shot…