UN Sec-Gen Guterres endorses millionaire’s tax to help fight covid-19

UNITED NATIONS, April 14 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres agreed with several world leaders on the convenience to tax the wealthiest, so that States have more resources to support the vulnerable population which has been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. “A paradigm shift is needed to align the…

20 children killed in Niger school fire

NIAMEY, April 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some 20 children died Tuesday after several classrooms caught fire at a school in Niger’s capital Niamey, the fire service said. “Twenty-one classrooms in straw huts caught fire. Around 20 children were trapped in the blaze,” fire service commander Sidi Mohamed said on public television.…

Covid-19: Number of cases across globe up by over 567,000 in past day – WHO

GENEVA, April 14 (NNN-TASS) — More than 567,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection were registered worldwide in the past day, with the overall number of such cases exceeding 136.29 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its daily bulletin. As of April 13, as many as 136,291,128…

Austrian health minister quits over COVID-19 crisis ‘overwork’

Rudolf Anschober became health minister early last year VIENNA, April 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Austria’s health minister announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he was overworked and exhausted managing the coronavirus crisis. “I’ve decided to resign from my job,” Rudolf Anschober, who has faced death threats over the government’s anti-virus measures,…

Covid-19: South Africa suspends Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout after US pause

PRETORIA, April 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa has suspended the rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine, its health minister said, after US federal health agencies recommended pausing its use because of rare cases of blood clots. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the pause there was expected to be a matter…

Covid-19: Brazil justice gives health regulator 30 days to decide on Sputnik vaccine

Bottles of Russia’s “Sputnik-V” COVID-19 vaccine BRASILIA, April 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered health regulator Anvisa to decide within 30 days whether it would approve the emergency import of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine by the government of Maranhao state. The order came following legal action by…

Timeframe and venue for 2022 Russia-Africa summit to be determined soon: FM Lavrov

Russian President Vladimir Putin MOSCOW, April 14 (NNN-TASS) — The date and venue of the Russia-Africa summit in 2022 will be determined in the immediate future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.The second [Russia-Africa] summit is expected to be held in an African country in 2022.“The venue and timeframe are…

Covid-19: Brazil reports 3,808 single-day deaths as Argentina breaks record for daily cases

BRASILIA, April 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazil on Tuesday reported 3,808 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, raising its pandemic death toll to 358,425. According to the Ministry of Health, during the same period, tests detected 82,186 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections to 13,599,994. With overburdened hospitals…

Putin, Biden discuss cooperation by phone

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden MOSCOW, April 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden exchanged views on bilateral ties and explored areas of possible cooperation during a phone conversation on Tuesday. Putin and Biden thoroughly discussed the current state of Russian-US…

Death toll from boat capsize off Djibouti coast rises to 42: UN

Bodies of suspected migrants who died after their boat capsized are seen arranged after they were retrieved off the coast of Djibouti DJIBOUTI, April 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — The death toll from a recent boat capsize off the coast of Djibouti has risen to 42, the International Organization for Migration (IOM)…