Covid-19: Moscow cases soar to record as mayor blames Delta variant

MOSCOW, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — New coronavirus infections hit a pandemic high in Moscow, tripling in just weeks due to the Delta variant and forcing Russia’s capital to close its Euro fan zone and extend other curbs. A total of 9,056 new cases were recorded in the megapolis of 12…

United Nations calls for halt of weapons to Myanmar

T UNITED NATIONS, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations General Assembly called for a stop to the flow of arms to Myanmar and urged the military to respect November election results and release political detainees, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The General Assembly adopted a resolution with the…

Mexico City mayor to construction firms: Pay up for collapsed metro line

 © MEXICO CITY, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said that she would like the firms that built the metro railway that collapsed and killed 26 people last month to help pay for its reconstruction, though she did not specify how much money was at stake. Preliminary…

Merkel and Macron urge EU coordination on reopening borders

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel BERLIN, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron called on European Union countries to coordinate their COVID-19 border reopening policies and guard against new variants of the virus. Macron said EU countries must be…

Covid-19: US President warns of Delta variant threat, urges public to get vaccinations

President Biden spoke about the nation’s COVID-19 response and the vaccination program in the State Dining Room of the White House WASHINGTON, 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urged Americans to get COVID-19 shots, as the country looks likely to miss the White House’s goals…

Covid-19: Delta variant, first identified in India, becoming globally dominant, WHO official says

GENEVA, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Delta variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, is becoming the globally dominant variant, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief scientist said. Soumya Swaminathan also voiced disappointment in the failure of CureVac’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate in a trial to meet the WHO’s efficacy…

US: Two executions halted over lack of firing squad

Freddie Owens (L) and Brad Sigmon (R) were due to be executed this month COLUMBIA (South Carolina, US), June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A high court in the US state of South Carolina has blocked two executions until the inmates are given the choice of death by electrocution or firing squad.…

Peru presidential run-off: Interim Pres Sagasti hits out at ex-military vote interference

LIMA, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peru’s interim President Francisco Sagastihit out on Friday against retired members of the armed forces who called forthe military to prevent leftwing candidate Pedro Castillo from assuming thepresidency. Unionist Castillo is expected to be declared the winner of the June 6second-round presidential run-off when final…

Migrant arrivals in Malta drop by one-third in 2020: stats

VALLETTA, June 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — The number of migrants arriving in Malta by boat dropped by one-third in 2020, the country’s statistics office said on Friday. The National Statistics Office said that the number of migrants arriving in Malta dropped by 33 percent to 2,281 from the previous year’s number…

Bus with miners plunges into ravine in Peru: 27 dead

LIMA, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 27 people were killed and several injured on Friday after an interprovincial bus overturned in the southern Peruvian region of Ayacucho, according to preliminary information provided by the police to local media. The bus fell into a 250-meter ravine at about 3:00 a.m.…