New Zealand Reports Nine New Cases Of COVID-19 As Auckland Relaxes Restrictions

WELLINGTON, Sept 1 (NNN-XINHUA) – New Zealand reported nine new cases of COVID-19 on Monday as the largest city, Auckland, relaxed restrictions, but required mask-wearing on public transport. Among the nine new cases, four are in managed isolation facilities and five are in the community, according to the Ministry of…

40 Killed Over Past 24 Hours As Afghan Gov’t Pushes For Talks With Taliban

KABUL, Sept 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) – At least 40 fighters, with majority of them militants, were killed across Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, as the Afghan government has been pushing for talks with the Taliban to end the war, officials said Monday. In the latest waves of violent incident, five…

Malaysia Celebrates 63rd Anniversary Of Independence

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Malaysia marked the 63rd anniversary of its independence today, with a scaled back celebration, due to the restrictive measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Malaysia’s Yang DiPertuan Agong (King) Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, officiated the celebration at the administration centre of Putrajaya, being…

Feature: Palestinian Villagers In West Bank Struggle To Protect Lands From Israeli Seizure

by Sanaa Kamal RAMALLAH, Aug 31 (NNN-XINHUA) – For seven days in a row, dozens of Palestinians from the West Bank village of Dura, near Hebron, have been living in camps outside their homes, to prevent settlers from seizing their lands. The villagers told Xinhua that their lands are a…

362 New COVID-19 Cases Reported In UAE, 69,690 In Total

DUBAI, Aug 31 (NNN-WAM) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday, announced 362 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 69,690. At the same time, 398 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 60,600, the…

Israel’s Director Of Budget At Finance Ministry Resigns

JERUSALEM, Aug 31 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israel’s director of budget, at the Finance Ministry, resigned yesterday, claiming intervention by the political echelon, mainly Finance Minister, Israel Katz, in professional decisions. In his resignation letter to the minister, Shaul Meridor wrote that, “the ability to perform my duties has become impossible. Unfortunately,…

Two-Thirds Of School Children Deprived Of Distance Learning In Nepal

KATHMANDU, Aug 31 (NNN-NEPALNEWS) – Two-thirds of school children in Nepal are deprived of distance learning, according to Child and Family Tracker survey, conducted by UNICEF Nepal. As per the report, only three out of 10 children have access to television, radio and Internet-based learning platforms. Of them, only 80…

Cambodia Reports One Imported COVID-19 Case, 274 In Total

PHNOM PENH, Aug 31 (NNN-AKP) – Cambodia confirmed one new imported case of COVID-19 on Monday, raising the total number of infections in the kingdom to 274, the Health Ministry said in a statement. The latest case was detected on a 30-year-old Frenchman, who arrived in the country on Aug…

Fijian Gov’t To Roll Out Cash-For-Work Programme To Assist 130,000 Unemployed Fijians

SUVA, Aug 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A Cash-for-Work programme will be piloted in the western side of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, to assist those working in informal sector and being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Reserve Bank of Fiji, 130,000 Fijians are employed in Fiji’s informal sector,…

Singapore Reports 54 New COVID-19 Cases

SINGAPORE, Aug 31 (NNN-CNA) – Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH), reported 54 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 56,771. Of the new cases, seven are imported cases, eight are community cases and the rest are linked with the dormitories of foreign workers.…