Covid-19: Chile lifts curfew; quarantine only for travelers and other specific situations

SANTIAGO, Oct 2 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chilean authorities have lifted the curfew imposed over a year and a half ago as a part of the sanitary measures against the COVID-19 pandemic effective Oct 1, it was announced.  The return to pre-pandemic ways of life could be noticed from the very beginning,…

WFP: Kenya drought leaves 2.4 million at risk of hunger by November

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta NAIROBI, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 2.4 million people risk going hungry by November as drought ravages northern and eastern Kenya, a nearly threefold increase from last year, the World Food Programme said. The East African country has been hit by an accumulation of calamities…

UNICEF regrets Ethiopia’s decision to expel its representative

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that the Ethiopian government’s decision to expel the UNICEF representative in the country — along with six other UN officials — is “regrettable and alarming.” UNICEF has been present in Ethiopia for more than 60 years, working to…

COVID-19 vaccine to be mandatory for California students – a first in the United States

California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks with 7th grade students at James Denman Middle School in San Francisco LOS ANGELES, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — COVID-19 vaccinations will be compulsory for all students in California, the state governor announced – a first in the United States, where vaccine hesitancy has slowed efforts…

Lithuanian doctors find kilo of screws and nails in man’s stomach

Doctors in Lithuania spent three hours removing metallic objects from a man’s stomach VILNIUS, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Doctors in Lithuania said they had removed over a kilogram of nails and screws from the stomach of a man who started swallowing metallic objects after quitting alcohol.   The man, who was…

Disappointed Haitians, hopeful Venezuelans caught up at Chile border

ARICA (Chile), Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — In a coastal desert on Chile’s border with Peru, a night patrol runs into two different groups of migrants making their way across Latin America: Haitians returning to Chile after failing to enter the United States, and Venezuelans begging to be allowed in.   The…

Covid-19: Brazil top court upholds vaccine pass for tourist hotspot Rio

 RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil’s Supreme Court has upheld a requirement that all who access Rio de Janeiro’s tourist spots starting Friday must have a Covid-19 vaccine certificate.   The mandate also applies for access to other public spaces such as cinemas, theaters, gyms, museums, sports stadiums and…

Russia doubles electricity exports to China to help ease power crunch

People walk past electricity pylons in Shenyang, Liaoning province MOSCOW, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia’s electricity exports monopoly Inter RAO said on Friday that it would double its October supplies to China after a request from the world’s No.2 economy as it grapples with power cuts. China is scrambling to…

Mexico’s president seeks to undo market reforms with electricity bill

MEXICO CITY, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexico has sent a proposed electricity reform to Congress seeking to boost the role of the state power utility, marking another effort by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to roll back the last government’s liberalisation of the energy market. The bill, which also calls…

Covid-19: Nigeria gets US$400 million in World Bank financing

WASHINGTON, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria got approval on Friday for US$400 million in World Bank financing to procure and deploy COVID-19 vaccinations, the bank said in a statement. The World Bank board of directors signed off on the financing, provided via the International Development Association, which it said would…