South Sudan receives additional 59,000 COVID-19 doses from France

Most African countries are receiving AstraZeneca jabs from the COVAX platform JUBA, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Sudan’s government has urged residents to turn up for Covid vaccination after the country received 59,520 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the Covax initiative.Health Minister Elizabeth Achuei said the doses were donated by…

Ethiopia shuts its embassy in Algeria citing cash crunch

Abiy Ahmed Ali is Ethiopian Prime Minister ADDIS ABABA, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Ethiopian government announced it had closed its embassy in Algiers as it began to cut costs on its foreign policy obligations.It cited financial constraints in closing a mission to a country that had in the past…

Covid-19: More vaccine donations are urgently needed in the Americas, says PAHO

According to PAHO, more than a third of countries in the Americas have yet to vaccinate 20 percent of their populations WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More coronavirus vaccine donations are urgently needed in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says of a region that has been hard-hit by the…

Four killed as attackers ambush east DRC convoy, torch vehicles

KINSHASA, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least four civilians have been killed and dozens taken hostage in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when attackers ambushed a convoy and set fire to more than a dozen vehicles, the government says. In a series of Twitter posts on Wednesday, the…

Covid-19: Thousands of Zimbabwean teachers strike over pandemic concerns

HARARE, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe resumed in-classroom teaching this week, but thousands of teachers are protesting salaries that are below the poverty level and a lack of personal protective equipment against COVID-19. Zimbabwe’s Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union says it will only call off the strike when the government addresses…

Latin America and Caribbean expected to grow 5.9% in 2021, UN ECLAC says

SANTIAGO, Sept 2 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — A new “Economic Study of Latin America and the Caribbean” report released Tuesday by the UN agency Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) raised its growth forecast for the region from 5.2% in July to 5.9%. Despite the encouraging improvement, these figures…

Covid-19: WHO names Colombian strain “Mu” and says it is “of interest”

GENEVA, Sept 2 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified a new SARS-Cov-2 variant which has been named “Mu” and was first detected in Colombia last January. Since then, the strain has been found in other South American countries and Europe. Technically, it was labelled B.1.621 and has…

Zambian President Hichilema says he inherits ’empty treasury’

Hakainde Hichilema failed in five previous attempts to become president  LUSAKA, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zambia’s new president said that he has inherited an “empty” treasury, while “horrifying” amounts of money had been stolen. “People are still trying to make last-minute movements of funds, which are unauthorised, which are not…

Covid-19: Italian police guard train stations as covid pass rolled-out

Rail officials in Turin had the task of checking passengers’ green passes before they travelled  ROME, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Police have stepped-up checks at Italian stations amid threats from protesters to disrupt high-speed trains on the first day of a Covid pass. The “green pass” is now compulsory for…

Morocco rejects Algeria’s reasons for severing ties

Algeria has accused members of the MAK separatist movement of starting forest fires RABAT, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco has rejected reasons put forward by Algeria in its decision to sever diplomatic relations with its North African neighbour. Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra announced his country’s decision on Tuesday to cut…