6.5-magnitude quake shakes Guatemala, Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Mexico and Guatemala on Friday, leaving three people injured and causing infrastructure damage, authorities said. The quake struck near the Mexico-Guatemala border, 37 kilometers southwest of Ciudad Hidalgo, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, said Mexico’sNational Seismological Service. It put…

US sets deadline for foreigners dealing in Venezuela oil

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Non-U.S. entities buying oil or petroleum products from Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA in deals that involve the U.S. financial system, brokers or people must be wound down by April 28, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a notice posted early on Friday. The notice clarifies some…

Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa denies rift with deputy: Newspaper reports

HARARE, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said there is no rift with his deputy and dismissed rumours of a possible coup in January when he was abroad following a security service crackdown on anti-government protesters. Mnangagwa said in comments published on Friday by the privately-owned weekly…

Uganda seizes ivory, pangolin scales worth an estimated US$8 million

KAMPALA, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Uganda seized a contraband shipment of ivory and pangolin scales it said was the largest the country had ever taken, with a market value estimated at more than US$8 million. The haul originated in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and passed through South Sudan before…

UN raises ‘serious doubts’ whether Bahrain opposition leaders got fair trial

GENEVA, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Human Rights Office said there were “serious doubts” whether three Bahraini opposition leaders were given a fair trial after Bahrain’s highest court upheld this week their life sentences on charges of spying for Qatar. Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of the now banned Shi’ite Muslim…

Spain: Catalan separatist leaders moved to Madrid for trial on rebellion charges

BARCELONA, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Jailed Catalan politician Raul Romeva hopes the upcoming trial of separatist leaders at the Supreme Court in Madrid will refocus attention on the region’s push for independence from Spain. The trial of Romeva and 11 others – described by Supreme Court president Carlos Lesmes as the…

Venezuela’s opposition to up pressure on Maduro with new weekend rally

CARACAS, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela’s US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido prepared to crank up the pressure on embattled President Nicolas Maduro with a massive weekend protest to push for early elections as Washington warned the socialist leader had run out of time for negotiations. Major European countries have set a…

Brazil: Pres Bolsonaro faces political test as new Congress sits

BRASILIA, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Plans by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to shake up Latin America’s biggest economy with pro-business reforms and anti-crime measures are about to run into their first real test, with his country’s new Congress beginning work on Friday. Bolsonaro, a 63-year-old former paratrooper and veteran legislator, took…

EU states destroy suspect Polish beef as scare spreads

BRUSSELS/WARSAW, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several EU countries on Friday seized and destroyed suspect beef from a Polish slaughterhouse where allegedly sick cows were butchered, as French authorities said some of the meat had already been sold to customers. Warsaw has attempted to reassure affected countries and says the meat…

Pres Trump leans toward declaring state of emergency on US-Mexico border

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Donald Trump gave his strongest indication yet that he will soon declare a state of emergency, bypassing the need for congressional approval to fund a controversial US-Mexico border wall. Trump hinted in remarks at a White House meeting on cross-border trafficking that a declaration –…