Covid-19: Sweden limits public gatherings to eight people – PM

STOCKHOLM, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sweden, which has made headlines for its softer approach to the new coronavirus, now banned gatherings of more than eight people for the first time amid a strong surge in cases. The limit for gatherings, previously set to between 50 and 300 people depending on…

Full-scale humanitarian crisis unfolding’ in Ethiopia: UN

An Ethiopian refugee holds a child as she sits in a hut at the Um Rakuba camp in Sudan’s eastern Gedaref province GENEVA, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations said that thousands of people were fleeing Ethiopia’s conflict-torn northern Tigray region and the border area with Sudan now faced…

Hurricane Iota tears through Central America after Nicaragua landfall

BILWI (Nicaragua), Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hurricane Iota was barreling through Central America on Tuesday, hours after making landfall as the strongest Atlantic storm this year along a stretch of Nicaraguan coast devastated by a powerful storm just two weeks ago. Authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people from coastal…

Covid-19: Global cases surpass 55 mln, WHO “extremely concerned”

GENEVA, Nov 18 (NNN-XINHUA) — Global COVID-19 cases topped 55 million on Tuesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that it was “extremely concerned” by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in some countries, particularly in Europe…

Covid-19: Strict new limits imposed coast to coast in US as pandemic surge continues

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The city of Philadelphia and several large U.S. states announced strict new limits on social gatherings and commercial activity to tamp down a coronavirus surge threatening to overwhelm healthcare systems and claim thousands more lives in the weeks ahead.New Jersey, California, Ohio and Pennsylvania’s largest…

Armenian foreign minister resigns after unpopular Karabakh ceasefire

Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan YEREVAN, Nov 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan resigned from his post in a sign of political fall-out in the ex-Soviet republic after a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that locked in territorial gains for Azerbaijan. Mnatsakanyan, whose departure was announced Monday by…

EU warns ‘extremely late’ for post-Brexit deal

BRUSSELS, Nov 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A top EU diplomat warned it was getting dangerously late to secure a post-Brexit trade deal as a week of crucial talks began in Brussels. The clock is ticking down to Dec 31 when a post-Brexit transition phase ends and the UK and Europe will…

Suspected bandits kill 11 villagers in northwestern Nigeria

 A Nigerian soldier on patrol in Banki, in the northeastern state of Borno ABUJA, Nov 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — A group of unidentified gunmen killed at least 11 villagers and wounded many others in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Kaduna on Monday, said a local official. The gunmen, suspected to be bandits,…

UN calls for de-escalating conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray state

Ethiopians, who fled ongoing fighting, seen at a refugee camp in Kassala state, Sudan UNITED NATIONS, Nov 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — Alarmed by increasing and spreading violence in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray regional state, the United Nations called for de-escalating the conflict and allowing humanitarian access. “The United Nations is alarmed by…

Covid-19: Kenya’s surging infections risk derailing transformation agenda

Kenya has recorded high cases of Coronavirus NAIROBI, Nov 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has said that a sudden increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the country and fatalities has placed new hurdles towards the realization of the country’s socio-economic transformation agenda.Kenyatta said during a televised address…