IMF approves $2.34billion package for Kenya

Estimates show that Kenya faces US$2.6 billion in sovereign external debt WASHINGTON, April 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The International Monetary Fund on Friday said its board had approved new three-year financing arrangements for Kenya valued at $2.34 billion to help the African country continue responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and address…

1.4m face hunger as Kenya fights Covid, drought – State says

An estimated 1.4 million Kenyans are currently facing hunger, and the figure is likely to rise NAIROBI, April 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Millions of Kenyans are likely to face hunger due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the drought currently being experienced in parts of the country, the government…

Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict: World powers condemn ‘human rights abuses’

The G7 also called for immediate humanitarian access to the region  ADDIS ABABA, April 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The G7 group of leading economic powers has said it is “strongly concerned” by reports of human rights abuses in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region. The group, which includes the UK, US and the EU, called for…

Al-Shabaab attacks two key Somali bases, both repelled: army

MOGADISHU, April 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Al-Shabaab fighters attacked two key military bases in Somalia Saturday, detonating car bombs at both locations before engaging in an intense gun battle, an army official and witnesses said. The attacks happened in the southern region of Lower Shabelle on bases in the towns of…

Update: Seven deaths in UK among AstraZeneca jab recipients after blood clots – Medical regulator

People relax in small groups in Hyde Park in central London on April 2,as life continues following an easing of the coronavirus restrictions to allow people from more than one household to meet outdoors LONDON, April 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK medical regulator said Saturday that out of 30 people…

Covid-19: Argentine government launches vaccine passport

BUENOS AIRES, April 3 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Argentine government announced the creation of a so-called coronavirus vaccine passport for domestic travel. The document, which runs within the Mi Argentina smartphone app, collects data from the Federal Registry of Nominalized Vaccination. Argentina has so far recorded 56,023 Covid-19 deaths and 2,373,153…

US adds 916,000 jobs in March, unemployment rate dips to 6 percent

WASHINGTON, April 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US unemployment rate dipped slightly to 6.0 percent in March as the country added a much higher-than-forecast 916,000 jobs in a pandemic-suppressed market, the Labor Department announced. “Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 916,000 in March, and the unemployment rate edged down to 6.0…

Fourteen killed in bandit attack in north-central Nigeria

ABUJA, April 3 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least 14 persons were killed in a gunmen attack on a military base and some communities in Niger state, north-central Nigeria, an official said. Six soldiers and one policeman were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen “numbering about 200” on a military base…

German’s Lufthansa to resume flights from Frankfurt to Tehran this month

FRANKFURT, April 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German airline Lufthansa said that it would resume flights from Frankfurt to Tehran from Apr 16. Lufthansa had suspended flights in January 2020 after a Ukranian airliner was shot down soon after take-off from Tehran. The airline said it has since assessed security measures by Iran…

Covid-19: Russia’s death toll as of February crosses 225,000

A graveyard for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) victims on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg, Russia MOSCOW, April 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia has recorded over 225,000 deaths related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in April, the Rosstat statistics service said on Friday, a figure that is more than…