Update: Mali president ‘seized by mutinying soldiers’

France, the former colonial power, urged the soldiers to return to barracks BAMAKO, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Multiple reports suggest Malian President Ibrahim Boubakar Keïta has been arrested by mutinying soldiers. However, the president’s son, Karim Keïta, dismissed as false reports that he was arrested by troops. The soldiers’ actions…

Covid-19: South Africa launched second vaccine trial

South Africa has highest coronavirus infections in Africa PRETORIA, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The vaccine from US-based biotechnology company Novavax is being trialled in a study by the University of Witwatersrand. Professor of Vaccinology Shabir Madhi said the trial would involve 2,900 participants and would help determine whether the medications…

Ecowas condemns ‘mutiny’ in Mali

Soldiers patrol after gunshots were heard Tuesday at a military camp near Kati area in Bamako BAMAKO, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The West Africa regional body, Ecowas, has condemned what it called a mutiny in Mali and has called on soldiers to return to their barracks.This comes after gunfire erupted…

Covid-19: Namibia warns against elephant dung cure for coronavirus

WINDHOEK, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Namibian government is warning its citizens not to trust claims on social media that elephant dung can cure COVID-19, as coronavirus infections rise more rapidly. Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesman, Romeo Muyunda, said the government had observed that elephant dung was increasingly being…

Afghanistan: 14 rockets hit capital ahead of Independence Day, injuring 10

 t/10 Wounded as Rockets Hit Afghan Capital on Independence Day KABUL, Aug 19 (NNN-XINHUA) – Ten people, including four children and one woman, were wounded after 14 rockets struck in a diplomatic district and other neighborhoods in Kabul on Tuesday morning as the country is preparing to celebrate the 101st…

Covid-19: WHO urges nations to join global shared vaccine bid

GENEVA, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The WHO wrote to every country onTuesday urging them to quickly join its global shared vaccineprogramme and spelled out who would get its eventual coronavirus jabsfirst. The World Health Organization’s director-general Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus said that without vaccinating the highest-risk populationsaround the world all at the…

Covid-19: Latest global developments

PARIS, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Here are some of the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: – MORE THAN 774,000 DEATHS: The pandemic has killed at least 774,832 people worldwide since surfacing in China late last year. More than 21.9 million cases have been registered. The United States has recorded…

ADB approves $50m to finance PPP projects in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Aug 19 (NNN-BSS) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $50 million loan to the government of Bangladesh to fund public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects in the country. The assistance will help strengthen government capacity to develop PPP infrastructure projects and catalyze greater private sector infrastructure investments,”…

Covid-19: Street art thrives in Brazil’s Sao Paulo despite pandemic

SAO PAULO, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Perched atop a platform swaying in the air 10 stories high, Paola Delfin is putting the final touches on a giant graffiti mural in the sprawling concrete jungle of Sao Paulo. The Brazilian mega-city is known as a world street-art capital, and not even…

Covid-19: Latin America cases exceed six million and continue to accelerate

A health worker conducts a Covid-19 test at a drive-thru post in Asuncion, Paraguay BRASILIA, Aug 18 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Coronavirus cases in Latin America, the region of the world worst-affected by the pandemic, exceed six million and continued to accelerate, according to the WHO figures, as most of its nations…