Cyprus on alert as Syrian oil slick spreads across Mediterranean

An oil slick on the Syrian coast  NICOSIA, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Authorities in Cyprus are monitoring an oil slick that originated from a power plant on Syria’s Mediterranean coast and could soon affect the island. Syrian state media said last week there had been a spill from the plant,…

Thirty-two die as bus plunges off cliff in Peru

  LIMA, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thirty-two passengers died, including two children, and more than 20 were injured when a bus plummeted from a cliff in Peru, officials said, in the country’s third multiple-victim transport accident in four days.   The early Tuesday accident happened on a narrow stretch of…

Covid-19: Half of global population without any social protections against pandemic, says UN

GENEVA, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Over half of all people in the world have no social protections, the United Nations said, even after the pandemic spurred countries to offer more services to their populations. In a Wednesday report on the state of social protection globally, the UN’s International Labour Organization…

Covid-19: Austria probes data leak

 VIENNA, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Austria on Wednesday said it was probing the leak of 24,000 names and addresses of people who tested positive for coronavirus this year in the western province of Tyrol. The list, which includes people’s names, dates of birth, addresses and other data, was leaked to…

Gambia says migrants expelled from EU are not welcome home

Flag of Gambia BANJUL, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Gambia has formally blocked flights returning migrants deported from the European Union, declaring that the country cannot reintegrate them. Being the smallest country on mainland Africa, Gambia has a long tradition of migration. An estimated 118,000 Gambians live abroad, according to the…

Update: Thousands flee as Hurricane Ida bears down on Louisiana

Traffic has clogged some roads out of Louisiana as residents flee  BATON ROUGE (Louisiana, US), Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tens of thousands of people are fleeing for safety from the US state of Louisiana as Hurricane Ida closes in. Ida is expected on make landfall on the Gulf of Mexico…

Europe migrant crisis: More than 500 people rescued off Italian island – single largest in a day

Hundreds of migrants crammed onto a decrepit fishing boat were rescued off the island of Lampedusa, Italy  ROME, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italian coastguard vessels have rescued 539 migrants from a fishing boat drifting off the island of Lampedusa. The rescue on Saturday delivered one of the largest numbers of…

Brazilian President says “everyone should buy a rifle”

BRASILIA, Aug 29 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that “everyone should buy a rifle” in order not to be enslaved. “Everybody has to buy a rifle, wow! Armed people will never be enslaved,” said Bolsonaro as he left the Palacio da Alvorada in Brasilia. The former Army captain…

Chilean Senate debates whether to make voting mandatory ahead of November election

GABRIEL BORIC SANTIAGO, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Chilean Senate is debating a bill whether to make voting in national elections mandatory, a highly controversial issue since lawmakers of the ruling coalition are against the initiative while the opposition insists in approving it to increase the participation percentage. A few…

Covid-19: Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro City Hall to require vaccine passports for public spaces starting next month

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 29 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The City Hall of Rio de Janeiro announced that effective Sept 1, a COVID-19 vaccination passport will be required for customers to be allowed to enter cinemas, theatres, museums, stadiums, amusement parks and gyms. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes explained the city’s flexibility plans…