Covid-19: US CDC warns against Turkey travel, eases India advisory

WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned against travel to Turkey because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in that nation but eased its advisory for India. The CDC added Turkey to its “Level 4: Very High” COVID-19 level, while lowering India…

Fresh Venezuela talks set for September; opposition leader freed

Venezuelan opposition leader Freddy Guevara MEXICO CITY/CARACAS, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Representatives of Venezuela’s government and the opposition said they will resume talks next month after a round of preliminary meetings in Mexico City, just as opposition leader Freddy Guevara was released from prison. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told reporters on Monday…

Storm brings floods as Haitians seek help at overloaded hospitals after quake

LES CAYES (Haiti), Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Doctors in Haiti battled in makeshift tents to save the lives of hundreds of injured people, including young children and the elderly, outside hospitals overwhelmed by an earthquake that killed at least 1,419 people. While rescue teams toiled to dig out survivors of…

Hichilema faces task of reviving Zambian economy after landslide win

Hakainde Hichilema casts his ballot in Lusaka LUSAKA, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zambian President Edgar Lungu conceded defeat on Monday, after a landslide election win by opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, who will face the challenge of reviving an economy in turmoil. With all but one constituency counted, Hichilema had won 2,810,777 votes against…

France’s COVID-19 hospitalisations above 10,000 for first time since end June

PARIS, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — : French health authorities said the total number of people hospitalised for COVID-19 stood at 10,151, going over 10,000 for the first time since June 22. There were also more patients treated in intensive care units for the disease, with an increase of 56 over…

Russia says Kabul seems safer under Taliban than it was under Ghani

MOSCOW, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan praised the Taliban’s conduct and said the group, still officially designated a terrorist organisation in Russia, had made Kabul safer in the first 24 hours than it had been under the previous authorities. The comments by Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov reflect an undisguised…

Covid-19: Nigeria opens 2nd phase of vaccination with US-donated vaccines

ABUJA, Aug 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nigeria has started the second phase of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program. Over 4 million doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the United States through the COVAX facility will be rolled out in this second phase of vaccination, said Boss Mustapha, secretary of the…

Over 1,700 illegal migrants rescued off Libyan coast in past week: UN migration agency

TRIPOLI, Aug 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — More than 1,700 illegal migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast over the past week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. In the period of Aug 8-14, “1,788 migrants were rescued/intercepted at sea and returned to Libya,” the UN migration agency said, adding 22,045…

Haiti quake death toll rises to 1,419, injured now at 6,000

A boy is tended to outside Les Cayes General Hospital LES CAYES (Haiti), Aug 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday climbed to 1,419, authorities announced. The 7.2-magnitude quake also left at least 6,900 people injured and destroyed over 37,000 homes,…

Pres Biden says deteriorating situation in Afghanistan “did unfold more quickly” than US anticipates

US President Joe Biden delivering remarks on Afghanistan at the White House WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — President Joe Biden stood by his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan while acknowledging Kabul’s collapse to the Taliban came much sooner than Washington had anticipated. “I stand squarely behind my decision,”…