Covid-19: Tanzania’s Zanzibar receives China-donated Sinovac vaccines

Zanzibar’s Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Omar Said Shaaban (L) and Chinese Consul General in Zanzibar Zhang Zhisheng ZANZIBAR, Aug 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — Tanzania’s Zanzibar on Saturday received a batch of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines and syringes donated by China. Zanzibar’s Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Omar Said Shaaban,…

Covid-19: Britain’s cases down by 33% over past week

LONDON, Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain has reported 26,144 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Saturday, meaning the fall in cases between July 25 and July 31 stood at 33 per cent compared with the previous seven days. A further 71 people were reported as having died within 28 days…

Brazil: Pres Bolsonaro says oil company Petrobras will pay for free LPG to low-income group

BRASILIA, Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that state-controlled company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, known as Petrobras, has 3 billion reais to fund free LPG bottles to low-income people that cannot afford them. Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) bottles are used for cooking mainly by low-income Brazilians, and the…

Heatwave causes massive melt of Greenland ice sheet

The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest mass of freshwater ice on the planet, second only to Antarctica NUUK (Greenland), Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greenland’s ice sheet has experienced a “massive melting event” during a heatwave that has seen temperatures more than 10 degrees above seasonal norms, according to…

Covid-19: Thousands protest against health pass in France

PARIS, Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities against a mandatory coronavirus health pass for entry to a wide array of public venues, introduced by the government as it battles a fourth wave of infections. Protesters injured three police officers in Paris, a…

US official visits restive Sudan, crisis-ridden Ethiopia to support democratic transition

Samantha Power KHARTOUM, Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US official who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on genocide landed on Saturday in Sudan, aiming to support the country’s fragile transition to democracy before travelling to Ethiopia to press the government there to allow humanitarian aid to the war-torn Tigray region. Samantha…

Rhino killings on the rise in South Africa

South Africa is home to nearly 80 percent of the world’s rhinos but their horns are prized in traditional medicine in Asia  PRETORIA, Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 249 rhinos were killed the first six months of this year in South Africa, the environment minister said, partly pushed by the…

US Secretary of State Blinken to court Southeast Asia in virtual meetings next week

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet virtually with Southeast Asian officials every day next week, a senior state department official said, as Washington seeks to show the region it’s a US priority while also addressing the crisis in Myanmar. The top US diplomat will attend virtual meetings for…

Covid-19: Eurozone out of recession after economy grows 2%

BRUSSELS, Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The eurozone’s economy grew by 2% in the second three months of the year, taking the region out of recession. New figures suggest there was growth in all the individual national economies which reported data. The 19-nation bloc had suffered a so-called double-dip recession when the…

Pres Biden says he is hopeful about talks with Russia on strategic stability

WASHINGTON, July 31 (NNN-TASS) — US President Joe Biden said he is hopeful about the Russian-American strategic stability talks, the first round of which took place earlier this week in Geneva. Talking to reporters at the White House Biden was asked to clarify whether he is satisfied with the way…