Covid-19: Czechs launch mass testing to battle surge

PRAGUE, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Czech Republic launched mass coronavirus testing at business premises, in a bid to stem the world’s highest infection rate. The government also enabled regions to call up private doctors and other medical staff to work in public COVID-19 hospitals, many of which have reached capacity.…

Sweden attack: Eight injured in “suspected terrorist” knife stabbings

Police investigators work at the scene where a man attacked eight people with a “sharp weapon,” STOCKHOLM, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A man attacked eight people with a “sharp weapon”, seriously injuring two in the Swedish city of Vetlanda, police said, adding they were investigating a potential “terror motive”. The…

13 dead in California SUV crash may have crossed at Mexico border gap

LOS ANGELES, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — All 13 people killed when a packed vehicle collided with a truck in California are believed to have entered the US illegally through a nearby breach in the Mexico border fence, US authorities said. A 10-foot gap in the frontier barrier was found around…

Covid-19: Bowing to pressure, German Chancellor Merkel eases virus curbs

BERLIN, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to gradually ease virus curbs in Europe’s top economy,caving to political pressure and public discontent seven months before ageneral election. After more than nine hours of talks, Merkel and Germany’s 16 regionalleaders unveiled a step-by-step plan to relax restrictions after…

US: House scraps Thursday session as FBI, police warn of militia threat of US Capitol

WASHINGTON, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Washington’s security posture has been bolstered after threats of a possible Thursday “breach” of the USCapitol, with the House of Representatives changing its voting plans to avoid gathering members on a day of potential unrest. The warning was relayed by US Capitol Police, who said…

Covid-19: New cases in US fall below 50,000

WASHINGTON, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — For the first time since Oct 18, the number of new coronavirus cases in the United States came down below 50,000.With 48,092 new cases reported, the total number of infections in the country rose to 28,664,463, as per the COVID Tracking Project’s latest update.The seven-day…

Covid-19: World Bank readies vaccine funding for about 30 African countries

The global lender has yet to disclose how much money is involved WASHINGTON, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Bank is preparing emergency financing to help about 30 African countries access COVID-19 vaccines, as the continent scrambles to secure doses and start immunising vulnerable groups.Only a handful of African governments have launched…

France admits ‘torture and murder’ of Algerian freedom fighter

Malika Boumendjel, widow of Algerian lawyer Ali Boumendjel PARIS, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French forces “tortured and murdered” Algerian freedom fighter Ali Boumendjel during his country’s war for independence, President Emmanuel Macron admitted, officially reappraising a death that was covered up as a suicide.Macron made the admission “in the name…

Ethiopia releases media workers detained in Tigray

Media watchdog groups reported the arrests of at least 13 journalists in Ethiopia last year ADDIS ABABA, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four media workers recently arrested in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit northern Tigray region have been released.Fitsum Berhane and Alula Akalu, translators working for AFP news agency and Financial Times respectively, BBC…

Pregnant woman, five others killed as ambulance hits landmine in Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) —  A pregnant woman and five other people died when an ambulance carrying them hit a land mine in northern Burkina Faso, in an area that has come under repeated militant attacks, the government said.The ambulance was carrying the woman, her husband, a girl and two…