Covid-19: Virus kills fewer African women than men – WHO study

ADDIS ABABA, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Women in Africa are less likely to die from Covid-19 than men, but more likely to succumb to maternal complications due to limited access to reproductive services since the pandemic started, the UN said citing reports. A study of 28 African countries including Guinea,…

US hopes Iran will ‘engage’ after Europeans drop nuclear censure plan

State Department spokesman Ned Price WASHINGTON, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States said it hoped Iran would “engage” in diplomacy after European allies dropped a plan to censure Tehran at the UN nuclear watchdog. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was “pleased” that the Europeans withdrew…

Peru issues tsunami alert after NZ quake

LIMA, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peru issued a tsunami warning for its coast but no evacuation order Thursday, after a cluster of powerful South Pacific earthquakes. The country’s National Emergency Operations Center reported “a tsunamialert on the Peruvian coast,” with the arrival of a wave train “estimatedduring the early morning…

Greece rocked by new quake near city of Larissa

ATHENS, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A new earthquake hit central Greece near the city of Larissa on Thursday, the same region where an even stronger tremor left 11 people injured the day before, the Athens seismological observatory said. The quake, which the US Geological Survey said was of 5.6 magnitude,…

US, at UN, accuses Russia of blocking ‘accountability’ on Syria chem weapons

UNITED NATIONS, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The new US envoy to the United Nations accused Russia of seeking to stymie efforts to hold the government of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad accountable for its use of chemical weapons during its long civil war. “We all know the Assad regime has repeatedly…

Covid-19: Pandemic pushed LatAm extreme poverty to 20-year high, says UN

SANTIAGO, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Extreme poverty in Latin America has reached its worst level in 20 years due to the coronavirus pandemic, a report by the UN said. Poverty is also at its highest level in 12 years after the number of poor people in the region rose by…

COVID-19: Daily US cases below 40,000 for first time in months – monitor

WASHINGTON, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States recorded fewer than 40,000 new cases of Covid-19 in one day for the first time in five months on Thursday, according to the Johns Hopkins University pandemic tracker. This number peaked at nearly 300,000 new cases on Jan 8 in the country…

At least 64 Mexican politicians killed ahead of elections

Relatives and friends mourn Florisel Rios, a mayor who was murdered in Mexico’s eastern Veracruz state in November 2020 MEXICO CITY, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 64 Mexican politicians have been murdered in the past six months, the government said, three months ahead of elections, which typically unleash a…

UN expert urges ‘global arms embargo’, sanctions on Myanmar

GENEVA, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations Security Council should impose a “global arms embargo” and targeted sanctions against Myanmar’s military, a top UN rights expert said, voicing alarm at the brutal repression of anti-coup protests. In a fresh report, Thomas Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights…

Covid-19: France tightens restrictions, steps up vaccine rollout

People wearing masks walk on the street in Paris PARIS, March 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — To contain the spread of new coronavirus variants in France, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced weekend lockdown in more areas, tougher rules against social mixing in high-risk regions and faster vaccination rollout. The northern department of…