Update: US says it is tracking ship that may have shared crew with coronavirus-hit cruise liner

US Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the government’s coronavirus task force WASHINGTON, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States is tracking a cruise ship that may have shared crew members with a ship carrying people who tested positive for COVID-19, Vice President Mike Pence said. “We are tracking at…

Bolsonaro urges Brazilians to march in his support

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro called on his backers to take to the streets next weekend to show their support for him, even as critics said such a demonstration would be anti-democratic. “This is not a movement against the Parliament or the judicial branch,…

Trafficking fuel: Venezuelan government detains more than 30 PDVSA workers

CARACAS, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 38 workers from Venezuela’s state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela’s, including the president of maritime subsidiary PDV Marina, were detained on accusations of trafficking fuel, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said, describing the accusations as “treason.” The move comes just days after other…

Covid-19: UN asks 9 countries to delay peacekeeper rotations due to coronavirus

UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations asked nine countries, including China, South Korea and France, to delay by three months the rotations of their UN peacekeeping forces due to the coronavirus outbreak. The request was made to the countries “to maintain operational strength and execute their mandated tasks”, diplomatic…

Greece migrant crisis: Refugee centre ablaze as tensions rise

Water cannon and tear gas used at the Turkey-Greece border ATHENS/ANKARA, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A fire has ripped through a refugee shelter on the Greek island of Lesbos as tensions over a surge in migration from Turkey continue to rise. Flames engulfed the One Happy Family centre, near the…

Covid-19: Attendee at US political summit featuring Pres Trump has coronavirus

WASHINGTON, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A person who attended a gathering of top US political conservatives including President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials said. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is one of the country’s largest annual gatherings of political…

Covid-19: Washington D.C. reports 1st case

WASHINGTON, March 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — The first case of the novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Washington D.C., said the city’s mayor Muriel Bowser. Late Saturday afternoon, testing at the Public Health Lab at the DC Department of Forensic Sciences yielded its first presumptive positive COVID-19 case, Bowser told a…

Covid-19: 64-year-old man dies in Argentina, first death in Latin America

BUENOS AIRES, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 64-year-old man died in Argentina as a result of the new coronavirus, the first such death in Latin America, health authorities announced. The Ministry of Health said the patient lived in Buenos Aires and had been confirmed with COVID-19 after coming down with a cough, fever…

Libya’s UN-backed government targets east-based army in southern Tripoli

A destroyed house in the abandoned suburb of Al-Sedra near the Salah Al-Din frontline in southern Tripoli TRIPOLI, March 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — A spokesman of Libya’s UN-backed government’s forces said its forces targeted units of the east-based army in south of the capital Tripoli. “Our forces destroyed an ammunition store…

Covid-19: Italy plans to quarantine Milan, Venice and other regions

ROME, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Italian government is planning to quarantine the entire Lombardy region around Milan to limit the spread of the coronavirus as well as areas around and including Venice and the northern cities of Parma and Rimini, Italian media reported. A draft of the government resolution…