Covid-19: Brazil’s indigenous people ask WHO for emergency fund

An indigenous person from Pataxo ethnic group is seen inside the village Nao Xoha BRASILIA, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indigenous leaders in Brazil have asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to set up an emergency fund to help protect their communities from the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. The number…

Covid-19: WHO cautions against untested traditional remedies

Artemisia annua or “Chinese wormwood”, “Sweet wormwood” “Qing hao” is a medicinal plant with proven anti-malaria action PARIS, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization (WHO) said that medicinal plants such as Artemisia annua, touted as possible treatments for COVID-19, should be tested for efficacy and side effects. The…

Covid-19: Latin American governments look to economies as cases continue rising

A commuter wearing a surgical mask while walking inside a metro station in Mexico City MEXICO CITY, May 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — Though cases of the novel coronavirus disease continue to rise, Latin American governments are looking at how to bolster their ravaged economies. The Ecuadorian government on Monday launched the…

Covid-19: South African union wins case on safety for miners

JOHANNESBURG, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa’s mining union said it had won a court case against the government that will force authorities to impose strict guidelines on mining companies to protect workers against COVID-19. The union said in a statement on Facebook that it was “truly elated” with the…

Covid-19: Ivory Coast prime minister evacuated to France for medical checks

Gon Coulibaly is the governing party candidate in October’s presidential election ABIDJAN, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who is the governing party’s candidate in October’s presidential election, was evacuated to France for medical checks. A brief statement from the presidency provided no additional details…

Covid-19: France’s first known case ‘was in December’

A doctor suggests the virus arrived in France almost a month earlier than previously thought  PARIS, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A patient diagnosed with pneumonia near Paris on Dec 27 actually had the coronavirus, his doctor has said. Dr Yves Cohen told French media a swab taken at the time was recently…

Covid-19: US coronavirus deaths rise by 1,015 in 24 hours, lowest in a month – Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Novel coronavirus deaths in the United States rose by 1,015 in the past 24 hours, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed Monday — the lowest one-day figure in a month. The Baltimore-based university had recorded more than 1.17 million cases in the country as…

Covid-19: Niger labour minister died from coronavirus – public TV

NIAMEY, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The novel coronavirus caused the death of Niger’s minister of employment and labour, Mohamed Ben Omar, public television announced. The minister’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) reported Ben Omar, 55, had died on Sunday at the main hospital in the capital Niamey but did not list…

Covid-19: IMF releases $226 million to help Cameroon against virus

WASHINGTON, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The International Monetary Fund approved a $226 million loan to help Cameroon to combat the coronavirus as it faced plunging oil revenues. It was the latest disbursement under its Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), which is aimed at the world’s poorest nations and has been doubled…

US Navy ships in Barents Sea near Russia, 1st time since 1980s

WASHINGTON, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Navy sent four ships this week to conduct Arctic security operations in the Barents Sea north of Russia for the first time in over three decades, the Pentagon said. The move came as US officials said rivals like China and Russia were increasingly…