France: Gabriel Attal, 34, becomes youngest prime minister in decades

PARIS, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Gabriel Attal, the 34-year-old French education minister, has been named the country’s new prime minister, a history-making appointment by President Emmanuel Macron as he looks to jumpstart his government’s fledgling popularity. Attal will be the youngest prime minister since the founding of the French Fifth…

Update: 4 police officers kidnapped in Ecuador during state of emergency

 QUITO, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least four police officers were kidnapped in Ecuador following a declaration of a state of emergency on Monday, police said, hours after a dangerous narco boss escaped from maximum security detention. In the coastal city of Machala “three police officers, who were on duty…

Chile’s health minister wants people to show up for vaccination against Covid-19

SANTIAGO, Jan 9 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chile’s Health Minister Ximena Aguilera launched an appeal to the citizenry to update their vaccination schedules given the appearance of the JN.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, also known as Pirola, of which an outbreak is feared after the strain was detected in over 40…

Bolivia reinstates school mask mandate amid rising COVID-19 cases

LA PAZ, Jan 9 (NNN-XINHUA) — The Bolivian government announced Monday the reinstatement of strict health measures, including mandatory school mask use, in response to rising COVID-19 cases ahead of the upcoming school year. The protocol includes the mandatory use of masks among students, the availability of disinfectants like alcohol…

Ecuadorian president decrees state of emergency amid security crisis

QUITO, Jan 9 (NNN-XINHUA) — Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa decreed on Monday a state of emergency, imposing a curfew for 60 days throughout the country, including in prisons, due to the “serious internal commotion” in several prisons. The president said the measure is based on the “factual situation” of violence…

Cuba: Havana once again welcome the Freedom Caravan

HAVANA, Jan 9 (NNN-ACN) — Just like it did 65 years ago to the day as Commander in Chief Fidel Castro and the Rebel Army announced to the world the triumph of the Revolution, the Freedom Caravan arrive Monday (Jan 8) in this city.After travelling through various municipalities of the…

Nigeria: Poverty Minister Dr Betta Edu suspended over money in personal bank account

Dr Betta Edu is the youngest minister in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet ABUJA, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria’s president has suspended a minister over the alleged diversion of more than 585 million naira of public money into a personal bank account. Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Minister Dr Betta Edu was…

German farmers blockade Berlin with tractors in subsidy row

BERLIN, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Farmers in Germany are blockading roads in protest against subsidy cuts, with more than 500 tractors and trucks parked up by Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. There are also reported blockages in Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Bavaria. The subsidy cuts were designed to fix a budget…

UK households poorer than before pandemic: trade unions

 LONDON, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Kingdom is the only G7 country where household budgets have not recovered to pre-Covid levels, trade union body the TUC said.     “While families in other countries have seen their incomes recover — household budgets here continue to shrink,” said TUC general secretary…

Budget-crunched Cuba to hike fuel prices over 500 percent: Finance Minister

HAVANA, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cuba’s cash-strapped government announced that fuel prices will soar by more than 500 percent beginning Feb 1, part of a series of economic measures aimed at reducing the deficit. The cost of a liter of regular gasoline will rise from 25 pesos (20 US cents)…