Covid-19: China to give WHO $30 million more after US freezes funds

BEIJING, April 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China said it will donate another $30 million to the World Health Organization to help in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, days after Washington said it would freeze funding. “China has decided to donate another $30 million in cash to the WHO, in…

UNHCR calls for greater coordination to address refugees’ maritime movements in the Bay of Bengal

DHAKA, April 24 (NNN-BSS) — United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) called for greater coordination andresponsibility-sharing by states to address the maritime movements ofrefugees and asylum-seekers in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. “We are increasingly concerned by reports of failure to disembarkvessels in distress and of the grave…

Iran Guards chief vows ‘decisive response’ to US Gulf threat

TEHRAN, April 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chiefwarned the US of a “decisive response” after PresidentDonald Trump said he instructed the US Navy to “shoot down” Iranianboats that harass American ships in the Gulf. “We declare to the Americans that we are absolutely determined andserious… and that all action…

Commonwealth postpones heads of government meeting due to COVID-19

LONDON, April 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled to take place in the Rwandan capital Kigali in June has been postponed due to COVID-19, the organisation said. A new date for the event, which takes place every two years, would be announced in due course, the body’s…

US Senate approves new US$480b COVID-19 relief plan

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer WASHINGTON, April 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Senate approved a bipartisan, nearly half-trillion-dollar relief package, with funding earmarked for devastated small businesses, overwhelmed hospitals, and a ramp-up of testing nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. The essential job-saving measure, which passed by unanimous consent after more than…

Covid-19 very likely of animal origin, no sign of lab manipulation – WHO

A building of the World Health Organization (WHO) GENEVA, April 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization (WHO) said that all available evidence suggests that the novel coronavirus originated in bats in China late last year and it was not manipulated or constructed in a laboratory U.S. President Donald Trump…

Escape of Ebola patient in Congo sparks fear of further infection: WHO

A health worker at a treatment centre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo BENI (DRCongo), April 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An Ebola flare-up in eastern Congo may spread again after a patient escaped from a clinic, complicating efforts to contain the disease that has infected six people since last week,…

Cameroon government admits army’s role in civilian killings – Pres Biya

 YAOUNDE, April 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Cameroon has admitted that soldiers acting alongside a militia shot dead 13 civilians, including 10 children, in the restive north-west of the country. Officials had initially denied the army was involved in the killings in Ntumbo in February. In a statement, Cameroon’s presidency said three soldiers along…

Covid-19: Italy PM Conte says lockdown exit plan coming

ROME, April 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) —By the end of this week Italy will announce a plan to gradually exit its lockdown, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. In a Facebook post, Conte said the country could not give up its policy of “maximum caution”, and said Italy would reopen in line with “serious scientific…

Covid-19: France reports 531 new deaths, total toll 20,796

PARIS, April 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France on Tuesday reported 531 deaths from COVID-19 in 24 hours as the number of people in hospital and intensive care continued to decline. The daily tally — 387 deaths in hospital and 144 in nursing homes — brought France’s total epidemic death toll to…