Covid-19: Argentina hits 1 million cases as pandemic slams Latin America

USHUAIA (Argentina), Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At the edge of Argentina in a city known as “The End of the World,” many thought they might be spared from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Sitting far from the South American nation’s bustling capital, health workers in Ushuaia were initially able…

Covid-19: 10 residents dead at Kansas nursing home

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly TOPEKA (Kansas, US), Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A coronavirus outbreak has killed 10 residents in a nursing home in a northwestern Kansas county that proportionally already had the nation’s largest increase in cases over two weeks. The health department in Norton County reported that all 62…

Covid-19: Sputnik V vaccine supplies to Latin America may start in December

MOSCOW, Oct 20 (NNN-TASS) – The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) plans to initiate supplies of the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V to Argentina and Peru, chief executive of the Fund Kirill Dmitriev said during an online conference “We will announce shortly an agreement with Argentina and an agreement with…

UN Security Council discusses Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) –United Nations Security Council members called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect a new ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh during a meeting on the disputed region Monday. The council held closed-door discussions on the fighting, which has left hundreds dead since clashes erupted on September 27, at…

Covid-19: Ireland is first EU country to re-enter lockdown but keeps schools open

DUBLIN, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ireland will be the first EU country to return to coronavirus lockdown, prime minister Micheal Martin said, issuing a nationwide “stay at home” order but insisting schools will stay open. Measures coming into effect for six weeks from midnight on Wednesday (2300 GMT) will also…

Covid-19: Pelosi, Mnuchin continue US stimulus talks as Tuesday deadline nears

WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made progress in US stimulus negotiations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, an aide to the Democratic lawmaker said. Negotiations over another stimulus package to help the economy ravaged by Covid-19 have gone on for months, with Democrats pushing a $2.2 trillion…

European lawmakers urge EU to downgrade presence at Saudi-hosted G20 “over human rights violations”

BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sixty-five European lawmakers have signed a letter calling for the EU to downgrade its attendance at next month’s G20 summit in Riyadh over human rights concerns. The letter signed by European Parliament members follows a wide-ranging resolution passed earlier this month that also appealed for…

US, Brazil sign ‘ambitious’ trade protocol

BRASILIA, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States and Brazil signed three agreements Monday they said would expand and deepen their existing trade deal, the latest bonding moment under Presidents Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil said talks on the “ambitious” agreements were launched when Bolsonaro, a far-right leader sometimes…

EU hails US plan to remove Sudan from terror blacklist

BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU’s diplomatic chief welcomed President Donald Trump’s announcement that he is ready to remove Sudan from a US blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism. The move, a major boost for Sudan’s civilian-backed government after decades as an international pariah, came after Khartoum agreed to…

Covid-19: Enforce quarantine to crush pandemic, says WHO

GENEVA, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Contacts of people confirmed to have coronavirus should be properly quarantined, the World Health Organization said, as the pandemic surges in Europe and North America. WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan linked soaring transmission rates in the northern hemisphere to the failure to implement the vital…