Mali crisis mediation falters amid opposition defiance

Protests ratcheted up into a crisis on July 10 BAMAKO, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mali’s opposition reiterated calls for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign, again spurning a compromise floated by West African leaders seeking to resolve a weeks-old political crisis.Using the acronym by which the president is known, prominent opposition…

Covid-19: Namibia seeks IMF funding to help fight coronavirus

WINDHOEK, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Namibian government has approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a 4.5 billion Namibian dollars emergency loan to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, a Ministry of Finance spokesman said.“We submitted an application to IMF last week. We will assess the terms and conditions to see if…

Covid-19: Namibia’s teachers not ready for re-opening of schools

WINDHOEK, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Teachers’ Union of Namibia (TUN) says teachers are not ready to return to schools due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases and a lack of psycho-social support. TUN Wednesday night hosted a meeting with parents, civil society representatives and teachers to address the…

EU set to drop Algeria from safe country travel list

ALGIERS, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union is set to exclude Algeria from its safe list of countries from which the bloc allows non-essential travel after a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday. The list of countries will fall to 11, assuming the provisional decision is confirmed in writing…

Zimbabwe agrees to pay $3.5 billion compensation to white farmers

Zimbabwe’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa HARARE, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe agreed to pay $3.5 billion in compensation to white farmers whose land was expropriated by the government to resettle black families, moving a step closer to resolving one the most divisive policies of the Robert Mugabe era. But the southern…

Covid-19: Zimbabwe Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri dies of coronavirus

Perrance Shiri HARARE, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe’s Agriculture Minister has died of COVID-19 at the age of 65, a day after two legislators tested positive for the disease. President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the death of retired air force marshal Perrance Shiri on Wednesday. “I am deeply saddened to inform…

Covid-19: Italy extends state of emergency to Oct 15

ROME, July 30 (NNN-XINHUA) — Italy will extend its coronavirus state of emergency until Oct 15, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced in the Italian Senate. The current state of emergency is set to expire on Friday. “Although the curve of the contagion and the impact [of the coronavirus] on the…

Covid-19: Russia vows ‘promising’ virus vaccines in September

MOSCOW, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia said that itplans to begin production of two “promising” coronavirus vaccines inSeptember and October as Moscow races to develop a formula beforeWestern countries. At a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Deputy PrimeMinister Tatyana Golikova singled out two vaccines under developmentby a research institute…

Covid-19: Half of patients given ventilation died – German study

BERLIN, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One in five patients hospitalisedin Germany over the coronavirus succumbed to the disease, with thefatality rate rising to 53 percent for those who received ventilation,a study showed Wednesday. Data of 10,000 patients admitted to 930 German hospitals betweenFebruary 26 and April 19 were analysed by…

US to withdraw 11,900 troops from Germany

WASHINGTON, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States will slashits military presence in Germany by 11,900 troops in what the Pentagoncalled a “strategic” repositioning but President Donald Trump said was to punish Berlin for its weak defense spending. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the Pentagon will besending home…