Covid-19: IMF renews $10.8 bn credit line for Colombia as recession looms

WASHINGTON, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The IMF renewed a nearly $11 billion credit line for Colombia as a backstop amid the growing economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Colombia has had a Flexible Credit Line (FCL) since May 2009, and the IMF board has renewed it every two years, providing…

Covid-19: Europe’s virus death toll passes 140,000

PARIS, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in Europe passed 140,000 on Friday. Europe is the hardest-hit continent with 1,495,293 confirmed cases and a total of 140,096 deaths — out of 234,987 worldwide. The European countries with the highest death tolls are Italy with 28,236,…

Canada says five missing in navy chopper crash in Mediterranean Sea believed dead

OTTAWA, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The five missing crew members of a Canadian navy helicopter that crashed during a NATO operation this week into the Mediterranean Sea are presumed dead, officials said. The search and rescue mission undertaken on Wednesday has now officially been transformed into a recovery effort, the…

Covid-19: US death toll climbs by 1,883 in 24 hours as Pres Trump continues point finger at China’s lab

WASHINGTON, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The coronavirus death toll in the United States climbed by 1,883 in the past 24 hours, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities to nearly 65,000. The Baltimore-based university had recorded more than 1.1 million cases in the…

At least 17 dead in Venezuela prison riot: military

CARACAS, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 17 inmates were killed Friday in a riot at a prison in western Venezuela, military authorities reported. Inmates at the Los Llanos prison in Guanare staged “a disturbance of public order … resulting in 17 deaths and nine injuries” according to a military…

Covid-19: Target reached as UK tests pass 100,000 a day

A driver is tested for Covid-19 at Chessington Theme Park in London LONDON, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK deployed more than 122,000 coronavirus tests on the last day of April, passing the government’s target, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. Hancock said the target of 100,000 tests per day was…

Covid-19: European Parliament building shelters 100 homeless women, victims of domestic violence

The cafeteria in the new shelter, which overlooks a park BRUSSELS, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A European Parliament building in Brussels is housing 100 homeless women – many of them victims of domestic abuse – who have been severely affected by Belgium’s coronavirus lockdown. The Helmut Kohl building, an office…

Covid-19: UK grants 1 year automatic visas to frontline health workers

Frontline health and social care workers with visas due to expire will receive automatic extension LONDON, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK has granted a one-year automatic visa to all frontline health workers combating the coronavirus. The policy also applies to social workers whose visas are due to expire in…

Canada: PM Trudeau announces ban on 1,500 kinds of assault weapons following April gun massacre

Canada Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau OTTAWA, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has introduced a long-promised ban on assault-style weapons following the country’s worst gun massacre in April. New rules would make it illegal to sell, transport, import or use 1,500 varieties of assault weapons. The ban…

Pres Trump leave White House on Friday for first time in a month

WASHINGTON, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump leave the White House on Friday for the first time in a month when he travels to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.Trump make the 110 km trip to Camp David on Friday evening, according to a schedule released by…