World Bank announces more than $1 bn in aid for Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Bank announced more than $1 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, stating the money will go to UN agencies and international NGOs while remaining “outside thecontrol” of the country’s Taliban rulers.    The reallocation from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) follows the…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Top UN court to hold Ukraine war hearings on March 7, 8

 THE HAGUE, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The International Court of Justice said it would hold genocide hearings on March 7 and 8 over the war in Ukraine, as fighting intensifies.    The Hague-based ICJ, the United Nations’ top court, will open the public hearings after Ukraine lodged a complaint with the…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Oil tops $110, equities sink on rising Ukraine war fears

 PARIS, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Crude surged past $110 a barrel Wednesday and equities sank with investors growing increasingly fearful about the Ukraine war’s impact on global energy supplies and the economic recovery.    Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his neighbour has sent world markets into a spiral over the past…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Canada shuts ports to Russian ships over Ukraine invasion

Cargo ships with their shipping containers are seen in the Port of Montreal TORONTO, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canada ratcheted up pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine by shutting ports to Russian-owned ships and saying that holdings of all Russian oligarchs and companies in the country are under…

UN to take first step towards ‘historic’ plastic treaty

NAIROBI, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations is to launch formal negotiations on Wednesday for a global treaty to address a plastic trash “epidemic” that supporters say is a historic moment for the planet.    The UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), convening in Nairobi, is poised to adopt a resolution…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Don’t discriminate against civilians fleeing Ukraine – UN chief

Africans at Lviv-Holovnyi railway station in Lviv, Ukraine, as displaced Ukrainians flee to Poland UNITED NATIONS, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is against discrimination against some foreign nationals attempting to flee the fighting in Ukraine, his spokesman said. “The secretary-general strongly repudiates, in any shape or form,…

Libyan PM-designate vows to achieve reconciliation, stability after parliament grants confidence

erailing the UN-led reconciliation efforts. Fathi Bashagha was appointed last month as Prime Minister-designate despite growing tensions TRIPOLI, March 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Libyan Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha said that his newly approved government would seek to achieve reconciliation and stability in the North African country, according to Bashagha’s information office.…

Food stocks in Sudan could run out in one month: UN

KHARTOUM, March 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that food stocks in Sudan could run out in one month because of a severe funding shortfall. “Limited resources have been prioritized to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable people in Sudan are met but…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: No weapons deliveries to Ukraine via Hungary, says President Orban

Hungarian President Viktor Orban BUDAPEST, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine will not be allowed to transit across Hungary, according to Hungarian President Viktor Orban.“We have decided that we won’t allow any such deliveries,” he said in a statement distributed by the Hungarian news agency MTI.Hungary, both…

Covid-19 kills over 3000 Nigerians as virus clocks two years – Nigerian agency

Coronavirus remains a global reality with the risk of emergence of dangerous variants ABUJA, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — No fewer than 250,000 excess coronavirus cases have been confirmed, while over 3,000 deaths were recorded within the last two years in Nigeria. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) made this…