Covid-19: WHO urges Covid jab makers to give Covax 50% of doses

GENEVA, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Orgamisation called for Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers to give Covax first refusal on new doses, or commit half of their volumes to the global jab equity scheme. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said manufacturers should turn their attention to the Covax facility, which…

Covid-19 far worse for work than 2008 financial crash: UN

GENEVA, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations said that the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the world of work was four times worse than the 2008 economic crisis. The UN’s International Labour Organization said the pandemic had had a “devastating” and even “cataclysmic” effect, as it sought to tackle an…

Pres Putin signs law to pull Russia out of Open Skies treaty

Vladimir Putin, Russian President MOSCOW, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Vladimir Putin has signed a law withdrawing Russia from the Open Skies treaty, an arms control pact with the United States that permitted unarmed surveillance flights over military facilities in both countries.The law went into effect upon publication by the…

Update: Death toll in Burkina Faso attack rises to at least 160

OUAGADOUGOU, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll in the attack on Burkina Faso has risen to at least 160 people, including around 20 children.Gunmen burst into the rural town of Solhan, in the northeast of the country last Friday night, leading to the casualties.After the attack, the deadliest in…

Colombia: Another signatory to the Peace Agreement is killed

BOGOTA, June 7 (NNN-TELESUR) — Colombia’s Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ) reported the assassination of Jose Alonso, a social leader from Tulua in the Valle del Cauca Department. The 56-year-old Alonso was a signatory of the 2016 Peace Accord between the Colombian state and the then Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The social…

Update: Peru’s runoff elections – Fujimori slightly ahead but too soon to celebrate

LIMA, June 7 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori was slightly ahead of leftist Pedro Castillo Monday dawn as provisional results of Peru’s presidential runoff were being announced by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE). With 76.507% of the votes counted, the Fuerza Popular candidate Fujimori was edging Peru…

Covid-19: Uganda re-imposes lockdown to beat back case surge

KAMPALA, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni re-imposed a strict lockdown that included the closure of schools and the suspension of inter-district travel to help beat back a surge in COVID-19 cases in the East African country. The new measures, which took effect from Monday morning, include the…

Covid-19: UK’s PM Johnson calls on G7 to vaccinate world by end of 2022

Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister LONDON, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations to make a commitment to vaccinate the entire world against COVID-19 by the end of 2022 when they meet in Britain this Friday.Johnson will host the…

Nigeria suspends Twitter indefinitely citing platform misuse

Twitter is a popular social media platform in Nigeria ABUJA, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Nigerian government has announced the indefinite suspension of microblogging platform, Twitter.Africa’s most populous nation said the move was connected to “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate…

DR Congo: Parents search for missing children post-volcanic eruption

Hundreds of children went missing after Mount Nyiragongo’s eruption GOMA, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two weeks after Mount Nyiragongo’s eruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo, hundreds of children have gone missing from Goma and the region around the city.Family members have been torn apart amid the chaotic frenzy of…