Covid-19: Italy begins to emerge from world’s longest nationwide lockdown

ROME, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italians went strolling and visiting relatives for the first time in nine weeks on Monday as Europe’s hardest-hit country eases back the world’s longest nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Four million people — an estimated 72 percent of them men — returned to their construction sites and…

Covid-19: US has ‘enormous evidence’ virus came from China lab – Sec of State Pompeo

WASHINGTON, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “enormous evidence” showed the new coronavirus originated in a lab in China, further fueling tensions with Beijing over its handling of the outbreak. Pompeo’s comments came as parts of the United States prepared to cautiously lift virus lockdowns…

Malta refuses to let migrant ship dock, awaits EU deal

Newly-elected leader of the Labour Party Robert Abela VALLETTA, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Malta plans to keep 57 rescued migrants aboard a private ship anchored just outside territorial waters until the European Union finds a way to rehouse them, Prime Minister Robert Abela said. The migrants were plucked from a…

Chile police arrest dozens at Santiago May Day protest

Riot police arrest demonstrators in Santiago SANTIAGO, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chilean police on Friday arrested dozens of people, including press photographers, when they broke up a May Day demonstration in the capital Santiago. Demonstrators had gathered in the city’s Plaza Italia in defiance of a government prohibition on public…

French Foreign Legion soldier fighting in Mali dies from IED injuries

PARIS, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A French Foreign Legion soldier who was fighting in Mali died on Friday from his injuries in an IED attack, the Élysée Palace announced in a press release on Saturday. Brigadier Dymyto Martynyouk was struck by an improvised explosive device during an “operation against terrorist…

Covid-19: Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro opens 2nd field hospital for patients

A new field hospital at the Riocentro convention center  RIO DE JANEIRO, May 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro opened on Friday its second field hospital to serve patients infected with COVID-19, as the pandemic has put a strain on the city’s public hospital network. It…

Libyan east-based parliament condemns deadly terrorist attack in Egypt’s Sinai

TRIPOLI, May 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — The east-based House of Representatives of Libya on Friday strongly condemned the deadly attack in Egypt’s restive North Sinai province, which killed nine military men. “The Committee of Foreign Affairs condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that targeted Egyptian soldiers in south of…

Covid-19: Ecuadorian president urges workers, employers to come to agreements to avoid layoffs amid pandemic

QUITO, May 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno asked employers and employees to come to agreements to avoid layoffs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has strongly impacted the economy. “These are difficult times for Ecuador and the world. That is why it is important, especially now,…

Covid-19: Russian construction minister and deputy tests positive

President Vladimir Putin (L) meeting with Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Vladimir Yakushev in Moscow MOSCOW, May 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Russian Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Vladimir Yakushev and his deputy Dmitry Volkov have tested positive for COVID-19, the TASS news agency reported on Friday, citing the press…

WHO congratulates Wuhan on clearing all COVID-19 cases

Cured patients on a bus wave goodbye to medical workers in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province GENEVA, May 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the news that there are no more hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China, praising its people’s “tireless efforts” to combat the pandemic. After…