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,…

Heavy rains trigger floods and infrastructure damage in Bolivia; 4 dead

LA PAZ, Jan 19 (NNN-TELESUR) — Bolivia’s Civil Defense Deputy Minister Juan Calvimontes reported that torrential rains unleashed flooding and infrastructure disasters in several urban and rural regions across the country. “We have approximately 13,000 families affected by the flooding, four people dead, three of whom in Sucre and one in Cochabamba.…

Bolivia stands with Palestinian people, Choquehuanca says

LA PAZ, Jan 19 (NNN-TELESUR) — Bolivia reaffirmed that Israel should be judged for its crimes against Palestinians as the world’s peoples stand in support of illegally occupied Palestine. During a virtual press conference by parliamentarians supporting the Palestinian cause, Bolivia’s Vice-President David Choquehuanca stated that “the crimes committed by the Zionist regime, especially against civilians, especially women…

Mexico urges US to make major immigration reforms

The caravan of migrants blocked a key road after being halted by police in Guatemala at the weekend MEXICO CITY,Jan 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has urged the US to make major reforms to its immigration policy as thousands of migrants were blocked by police in…

Germany provides UNDP with 400,000 euros to support elections in Libya

Libya has been split since 2014 between rival factions in Tripoli in the west and Benghazi in the east TRIPOLI, Jan 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — German Ambassador to Libya Oliver Owcza announced providing 400,000 euros for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to support the High National Elections Commission of Libya.…

Oil companies, aid groups plan to press Biden to allow Venezuela fuel swaps

NEW YORK, Jan 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Representatives of fuel suppliers to Venezuela, importers of Venezuelan oil and advocacy groups said this month they plan to press the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden to reverse a ban on crude-for-diesel swaps. That has prompted concerns about the humanitarian impact of a…

Mexico says drug case row won’t affect US ties

Joe Biden shaking hands with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico City MEXICO CITY, Jan 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that tensions with the United States over the case of a former defense minister accused of cartel ties would not affect cooperation. The US Justice…