Ethiopia unrest: Humanitarian access to Tigray still faces obstacles – UN

The Tigray region faces some of the toughest development challenges in Ethiopia UNITED NATIONS, Jan 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — UN humanitarian access to Ethiopia’s conflict-stricken Tigray region still faces obstacles, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Although movements of humanitarian cargo inside Tigray are improving substantially,…

Covid-19: Frustrated Amazon villagers tackle virus with faith potions

BELA VISTA DO JARAQUI (Brazil), Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Remote Amazon village communities, feeling abandoned by the state, are turning to religion and traditional remedies for protection in the coronavirus pandemic. Raimundo Leite de Sousa, 34, claims he recovered from Covid-19 with a potion made from the stinktoe and crabwood…

Covid-19: Pres-elect Biden leads Covid memorial on eve of inauguration

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President-elect Joe Biden signalled a new tone for the US government by leading a powerful tribute to the 400,000 Americans lost to Covid-19 as he arrived in Washington on the eve of his inauguration. Biden, who has suffered deep personal tragedy and is known for…

Covid-19: Malawi President overrule court ban on lockdown as virus cases rise

LILONGWE, Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Malawi rolled out a first set of anti-coronavirus restrictions this week after its president overruled a court ban on lockdown measures to tackle a surge in cases.Unlike the rest of the continent, daily life had been unfolding normally in the southern African country since its…

Swiss government outlines strategic foreign policy for Africa

ACCRA, Jan 20 (NNN-GNA) — The Government of Switzerland says it will prioritise and promote issues of peace, security and human rights as strategic foreign policy in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next four years (2021-2024).It has also identified the issues of migration, prosperity, sustainability and digitalization as core elements of the…

Covid-19: Africa’s cases surpass 3.2m – Africa CDC

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 20 (NNN-XINHUA) — COVID-19 cases in Africa have reached 3.26 million as of Jan 18, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.According to the continental disease control and prevention agency’s Africa Covid-19 dashboard, the death toll from the pandemic stood at 78,911 on Monday,…

Covid-19: High demand for vaccines puts Africa on the back burner

East African countries are poised to get nearly 40 million Covid-19 vaccine doses ADDIS ABABA, Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — As the African Union (AU) announced this past week that it had secured 270 million doses of Covid vaccines, East Africans will have to wait a bit longer to access the…

Nine African nations, Iran in debt to UN lose voting rights

U.N Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres UNITED NATIONS, Jan 20 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres said nine African nations and Iran should lose their voting rights as required under the UN Charter after defaulting on payment of their dues to the United Nations’ operating budget.Guterres listed the minimum amount that the…

Russia dismisses calls to free opposition leader Navalny, warns against protests

MOSCOW, Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Kremlin dismissed Westerndemands to release Russia’s most prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying his calls for mass protests over his arrest were “troubling”. Legal pressure is ramping up against President Vladimir Putin’s best-knowndomestic critic, who is due in court on defamation charges on Wednesday,…

US Pres Trump decorates Bahrain king on last full day in office

DUBAI, Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump bestowed a rare award on King Hamad of Bahrain on Tuesday, acknowledging the Gulf state’s normalisation of ties with Israel on his last full day in office. Trump, who sees Arab recognition of Israel as a key overseas achievementof his presidency,…