Covid-19: Argentina extends ban on layoffs for another 90 days

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 23 (NNN-TELESUR) — The Argentine government will extend for another 90 days a ban that prohibits layoffs and establishes the payment of a double compensation if a contract is ended for 2021. The measure aims at preventing private companies from dismissing staff under the pretext of low…

3 schools refurbished in Libya’s Al-Khoms city: UNICEF

Students skip rope in a playground at El Hadana school in Zanzur, east of Tripoli TRIPOLI, Jan 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it has refurbished three schools in the city of Al-Khoms, some 120 km east of the capital Tripoli. With the support of the…

Covid-19: Cuba detects imported case of South African variant

HAVANA, Jan 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — Cuban health authorities said they had detected an imported case of a coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa. The authorities cannot affirm whether the variant “has been introduced or extended to community transmission of the virus in the country, but we cannot rule it…

US to review Taliban violence levels in Afghan peace deal: National Security Advisor

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US administration said it will review whether the Taliban is reducing violence in keeping with itsside of the deal in the Afghan peace accord. President Joe Biden’s newly appointed national security advisor, JakeSullivan, spoke with his Afghan counterpart Hamdullah Mohib and “made clear the…

Covid-19: Portugal identifies first case of South African variant

A healthcare worker provides oxygen to a patient at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in South Africa LISBON, Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The first case of the South African coronavirus variant was identified in Portugal on Friday as the country struggles to contain a crippling surge in cases partially blamed…

Covid-19: Pres Biden warns of ‘600,000 dead’ in the US as Britain says its new strain could be more ‘deadly’

WASHINGTON/LONDON, Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Joe Biden said “well over 600,000” Americans could die of the coronavirus as he stepped up federal aid in the world’s worst-hit country. “The virus is surging. We’re at 400,000 dead, expected to reach well over600,000,” Biden told a news conference, giving his…

Covid-19: Mexicans queue for hours for oxygen for sick relatives

MEXICO CITY, Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — With hospitals in the Mexicancapital overwhelmed by soaring coronavirus infections, relatives are queuing for hours to buy oxygen for the growing number of people fighting the virus at home. Eduardo Martinez was waiting in line in a street in Mexico City on Fridayto fill…

Covid-19: Hungary first in EU to approve Russian vaccine

Hungarian soldiers have been helping deliver the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine  BUDAPEST, Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hungary has become the first country in the European Union to give preliminary approval to the Russian coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff confirmed both the Russian jab and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had been…

Africa conflicts: Sahel violence displaces two million internally – UN says

Violence in Niger and Burkina Faso has forced more than 21,000 people to flee their homes BAMAKO, Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — For the first time, more than two million people have been displaced in the Sahel within the borders of their countries, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported.The Sahel,…

Covid-19: Africa records higher deaths in second wave of coronavirus – WHO

A total of 21 African nations have so far recorded death rate at 2.5 percent ADDIS ABABA, Jan 23 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Africa has recorded nearly 82,000 deaths due to the coronavirus in its second wave, the World Health Organization said, higher than when the first wave of the virus hit…