UN Security Council urges Somalis to decide quickly on elections

A man burns a poster of Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in Mogadishu amid a political impasse UNITED NATIONS, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Security Council called on Somalia’s leaders to quickly resume dialogue to arrange new elections, hoping to resolve a new crisis in the violence-ravaged nation. In…

Covid-19: Britain tightens travel restrictions with hotel quarantine and prison threat

People queue at terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues LONDON, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain will require passengers arriving from countries where worrying coronavirus variants are spreading to pay for 10 days of quarantine in hotels, while rule-breakers will face heavy fines…

Covid-19: US backs WHO probe, distances itself from Wuhan lab theory

Journalists attend the WHO-China joint study news conference on the study of origins of the coronavirus disease, at a hotel in Wuhan WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States distanced itself from a theory propagated by former president Donald Trump that COVID-19 came from a Chinese laboratory and voiced…

US shooting: 1 dead, 4 injured in shooting at Minnesota health clinic; local man arrested

BUFFALO (Minnesota, US), Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Authorities say one person is dead and four others are wounded in a shooting at a Minnesota health clinic. A 67-year-old local man said to have been angry with the care he received was arrested. The five people were taken to hospitals after Tuesday’s attack…

Covid-19: Doctors on strike in Bolivia to force lockdown

Santa Cruz is the worst hit region in Bolivia LA PAZ, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Health care workers in Bolivia’s region worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic began a 48-hour strike on Tuesday to demand a lockdown to battle the rise in infections. Emergency services and hospitals attending COVID-19 patients are…

US Senate votes to proceed with impeachment trial of former President Trump

Billboard trucks parked on the National Mall near of the US Capitol during the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in Washington WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — US Senate voted to proceed with the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. The Senate voted 56-44 that the impeachment…

Covid-19: European Commission to defend vaccine plan as virus forces more curbs

BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Commission chief prepared to defend its stumbling vaccine rollout before the EU parliament on Wednesday as the pandemic’s grip on the continent forced Greece into tightening a lockdown around its capital. Europe has logged a third of the more than 2.3 million lives…

Covid-19: Brazilian companies launch plan to speed up vaccination

BRASILIA, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian businesses and non-profit groups announced a plan to help speed up the government’s troubled Covid-19 immunization drive, with the goal of vaccinating the entire country by September. The “United for the Vaccine” initiative aims to tap the logistical expertise of the private sector to…

Oil-rich Libya in poverty after decade of conflict

TRIPOLI, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Libya has Africa’s largest proven oil reserves and only seven million people, but a decade of bloody conflict has left its economy shattered and its population mired in poverty. The dinar has crashed and consumer prices have surged, power outages and fuel shortages are common,…

Haiti president acts to oust judges in power struggle

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise tried to force out three judges who were proposed as potential interim national leader to replace him in the latest twist of the country’s political crisis. Moise says his term in office lasts until February 2022 — but the opposition argues…