Covid-19: France becomes first European country to top 2 million cases

A patient suffering being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Centre Cardiologique du Nord private hospital in Saint-Denis near Paris PARIS, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France’s cumulative number of COVID-19 cases now exceeds 2 million but efforts to rein in the pandemic are starting to bear fruit, its…

Pres Putin announces a naval facility in Sudan strengthening Russian foothold in Africa

MOSCOW, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Vladimir Putin approved the creation of a Russian naval facility in Sudan capable of mooring nuclear-powered surface vessels, clearing the way for Moscow’s first substantial military foothold in Africa since the Soviet fall. The new facility, earmarked to be built in the vicinity of…

Europe bird flu outbreak extends to France and Denmark; thousands of chickens culled

PARIS, Nov 18 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — France and Denmark confirmed bird flu cases on Monday days after an outbreak in the Netherlands triggered a massive cull. Hundreds of hens were killed after the virus was detected in a garden centre on the French island of Corsica, and the Danes said more…

Brazil is emerging as the world’s leading offshore oil producer

BRASILIA, Nov 18 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Sharply weaker oil prices, the COVID-19 pandemic, and heightened geopolitical uncertainty have done little to blunt Brazil’s epic offshore oil boom. By September 2020 Brazil had soared to be the third-largest supplier of crude oil to China, the world’s second-largest economy. The scale of Brazil’s…

Colombia requests more time to complete removal of landmines in accordance with the Ottawa Treaty

BOGOTA, Nov 18 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Colombia has requested a more than four-year extension under the Ottawa Treaty for removing landmines from across the country, the High Peace Commissioner’s office said. If the request is granted, Colombia will have until the end of 2025 to remove anti-personnel landmines from its territory.…

Covid-19: Virus infections top 15 million in Europe

PARIS, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of coronavirus infections in Europe climbed past 15 million on Tuesday. The continent is the worst-hit region in the world, ahead of Latin America and the Caribbean which together have recorded 12.1 million cases and Asia with 11.5 million. Globally more than 55…

UK to ban petrol, diesel cars from 2030 in green ‘revolution’

LONDON, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain will ban petrol and diesel vehicle sales from 2030 as part of a 10-point plan for a “green industrialrevolution” to be unveiled Wednesday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The British premier has earmarked 12 billion pound for the wide-ranging plans, which he hopes will…

Update: Iota, weakened but deadly, rips through Central America

TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Storm Iota has killed at least nine people as it smashed homes, uprooted trees and swamped roads during its destructive advance across Central America, just two weeks after Hurricane Eta devastated parts of the region. Iota, which made landfall in Nicaragua as a “catastrophic” Category…

Mali holds state funeral for ex-president Toure

BAMAKO, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mali held a state funeral on Tuesday for former president Amadou Toumani Toure, who steered the troubled nation to free elections and led it for a decade before being oustedin a coup. Toure, sometimes called Mali’s “soldier of democracy,” died on Nov 10at the age…

Covid-19: Hard-hit Brazil threatened by second wave of virus

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — After struggling for months to get its spiraling Covid-19 death toll under control, Brazil is now threatened by the nightmare scenario that has already shaken the United States and Europe: a second wave. Brazil has been one of the countries hit hardest by…