Covid-19: Nearly 800,000 children in US test positive

Children walk past school buses in the Borough Park neighborhood in the Brooklyn borough of New York WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (NNN-XINHUA) – Nearly 800,000 children in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to a new report of the American Academy of…

Covid-19: Pandemic slashes international tourism by 70 pct – UN

MADRID, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — International tourists arrivals plunged by an annualised 70 percent during the first eight months of 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) said. The Northern Hemisphere’s peak summer season was ravaged by travel restrictions, with tourist arrivals down by 81 percent…

Sudan doubles fuel prices

KHARTOUM, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan announced a doubling of fuel prices on Tuesday, adding to hardships in a country faced with record-breaking inflation. “The government is increasing fuel prices,” Khairi Abdel Rahman, the deputy energy minister, told a news conference in Khartoum, announcing cuts in state subsidies with immediate…

Covid-19: Algeria president hospitalised amid Covid scare among aides

ALGIERS, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been hospitalised, his office said, days after he went into self-isolation after suspected coronavirus cases among his aides. In its statement, however, the presidency said Tebboune’s “state of health does not raise any concern”. Tebboune’s hospitalisation comes five days ahead…

Tanzania elections: Opposition claims 5 killed, leader held ahead of polls

Police feared tear gas to disperse opposition supporters before arresting Hamad DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A major opposition party in Tanzania has accused security forces of shooting dead five citizens and arresting its leader amid unrest in the semi-autonomous archipelago over alleged fraud on the eve of…

American citizen kidnapped in southern Niger – security sources

The incident happened in the rural village of Massalata NIAMEY, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Armed men on motorbikes have kidnapped an American citizen from his home in southern Niger, according to security sources. The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday, in the rural village of Massalata in the…

Guinea vote: International envoys urge end to opposition leader Diallo blockade

Police have barricaded Diallo inside his house for days CONAKRY, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — International envoys mediating in the violence following Guinea’s disputed election have urged the government to lift a blockade of the home of opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo. Representatives from the United Nations, African Union and the…

Southern California’s latest wildfires rage with little progress reported

LOS ANGELES, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Firefighters in Southern California reported little headway against two explosive, wind-whipped wildfires that forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of residents and badly injured two crew members on the front lines. Howling Santa Ana winds, blowing hot, dry air from the desert, had…

France warns citizens to be cautious as anger seethes in Muslim world over cartoons

A picture of French President Emmanuel Macron is burnt PARIS, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France warned its citizens in several Muslim-majority countries to take extra security precautions as anger surged over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, and the head of Russia’s Chechnya region said Paris was pushing people towards terrorism. In…

Covid-19: UN cancels in-person meetings over infections

The United Nations Headquarters UNITED NATIONS, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations cancelled all in-person meetings at its New York headquarters for the rest of the week after five people in Niger’s UN mission were infected with the novel coronavirus. After largely operating virtually since New York became a global…