A drought has forced authorities to further slash traffic in Panama Canal, disrupting global trade

PANAMA CITY — A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes. The new cuts announced Wednesday by authorities in Panama are set to deal an even greater economic blow than previously expected. Canal administrators now … Read more

Tanzania says Kenyan authorities bow to pressure and will allow Air Tanzania cargo flights

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan authorities will allow cargo flights from Tanzania after its neighbor threatened to ban Kenya Airways passenger flights to Tanzania’s commercial capital. The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority in a statement Tuesday said its Kenyan counterpart had given approval to operate cargo flights between the East African countries. The issue around aviation restrictions … Read more

U.S. says fuel shipment to Philippines coordinated with authorities

MANILA (Reuters) -The U.S. embassy in Manila said on Thursday that the U.S. delivered fuel from one of its naval bases in Hawaii to a facility inside a former U.S. base in the Philippines in coordination with the government. A Philippines senator had criticised the “inexplicable silence” over the shipment, which she said raised suspicions … Read more

Mexican authorities investigate massacre after rival criminal groups clash in remote desert

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican authorities in the violence-plagued southwestern state of Guerrero said they were investigating a gruesome massacre that took place in a part of a remote desert where two rival criminal groups have been fighting for control. Police investigators had found five burned bodies stacked onto a burned vehicle when they arrived … Read more

Mexican authorities search for 31 migrants abducted near the Texas border

MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities said Wednesday they are searching for 31 migrants from five countries who were abducted over the weekend from a bus near the Texas border. The National Guard, Army and Navy are participating in the search, but there have been few advances, Federal Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez said. On Dec. … Read more

A boozy banana drink in Uganda is under threat as authorities move to restrict home brewers

MBARARA, Uganda (AP) — At least once a week, Girino Ndyanabo’s family converges around a pit in which bananas have been left to ripen. The bananas are peeled and thrown into a wooden vat carved like a boat, and the patriarch steps in with bare feet. The sweet juice he presses out is filtered and … Read more

German chancellor tours flooded regions in the northwest, praises authorities and volunteers

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took a helicopter flight Sunday to check the flooded regions in the northwest of the country, where rivers have swelled and overflowed homes, roads and fields after weeks of heavy rain. In recent days, hundreds of people have been evacuated from affected areas in northern and eastern Germany as … Read more

Anti-corruption authorities to investigate Zambia’s foreign minister over cash-counting video

LUSAKA, Zambia — Anti-corruption authorities in Zambia said they will investigate after a video posted on social media allegedly showed the foreign minister receiving piles of cash from a Chinese businessman. Foreign Minister Stanley Kakubo resigned but denied wrongdoing and said he had stepped down because he didn’t want to cause a distraction for the … Read more

“He’s done” “Definitely guilty” – MLB fans drop their verdict as Wander Franco’s house gets raided by authorities in Santo Domingo

Wander Franco, the talented Major League Baseball star with a staggering $182 million contract, is facing tumultuous times as police in the Dominican Republic raided his homes in connection with an ongoing investigation into alleged inappropriate relations with a minor. Reports suggest that the authorities conducted two separate raids — one at Franco’s family home … Read more

12 Turkish soldiers have been killed over 2 days in clashes: authorities

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Six Turkish soldiers were killed Saturday in clashes with Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, a day after another six were also killed. The six soldiers slain on Saturday died in a firefight when militants attempted to infiltrate a Turkish base, according to a statement by the Turkish Defense Ministry. The statement said … Read more