Covid-19: Guinea Bissau PM and three ministers tests positive for coronavirus

Nuno Gomes Nabiam BISSAU, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guinea Bissau’s Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam has tested positive for coronavirus, the health ministry has said. Interior Minister Botche Cande and two other ministers also have Covid-19. Nabiam said that several members of an interministerial coronavirus committee had the disease. Guinea…

Sudan makes female genital cutting a crime in ‘new era’ for women’s rights

KHARTOUM, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan has criminalised female genital mutilation (FGM), making it punishable by three years in jail, a move campaigners said ushered in a “new era” for women’s rights in the African nation. Almost nine out of 10 women and girls in predominately Muslim Sudan have undergone…

Covid-19: First four positive cases confirmed in DR Congo prison; many inmates quarantined

KINSHASA, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed its first cases of COVID-19 in a prison. At least four inmates have tested positive and many more are quarantined in Ndolo prison in the capital city, Kinshasa. The overcrowded prison is hosting inmates at nearly four times…

Covid-19: ADB approves $100m for Bangladesh to meet urgent public health needs

DHAKA, May 1 (NNN-BSS) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $100 million loan to support Bangladesh in its efforts to address the immediate public health requirements of combating the novel coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic. “ADB stands with Bangladesh in this difficult time when the COVID-19pandemic challenges the country’s recent successes…

Covid-19: India’s death toll rises to 1,074; cases 33,050

NEW DELHI, May 1 (NNN-PTI) — The death toll due to the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 1,074 after 66 more fatalities and the number of cases climbed to 33,050 in India, according to the Union Health Ministry. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 23,651, while 8,324 people…

Covid-19: Japan to extend state of emergency over virus – reports

TOKYO, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe islikely to extend a nationwide state of emergency imposed over the coronavirus, possibly by another month, local media reported. The measure was initially declared on April 7 across seven regionsexperiencing a spike in infections, but was later expanded to cover…

Family names Canadian officer killed in NATO helicopter crash off Greece as a body found amid wreckage

OTTAWA/ATHENS, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The grief-stricken father of a Canadian sailor said Thursday she was killed in a military helicopter crash in the sea between Greece and Italy. Sub Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough was on board a Cyclone Sikorsky CH-148 helicopter that, according to NATO, crashed after taking off from…

Covid-19: Italy to open two airports after nearly two-month shutdown

ROME, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italy said it would reopentwo of its shuttered airports next week, Ciampino in Rome and Peretola inFlorence. The two airports will reopen on May 4 for passenger flights, the transportministry said in a brief statement. Ciampino is Rome’s secondary airport and is mostly used by…

Covid-19: US, China block UN resolution in spat over WHO handling of pandemic

UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States and China remained at loggerheads Thursday over a UN Security Council draft resolution calling for a 90-day humanitarian pause in conflicts worldwide in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The stalemate — over a mention of the World Health Organization —…

Covid-19: IMF approves $220 mn loan for Afghanistan amid coronavirus

WASHINGTON, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The IMF board approved $220 million in emergency aid for Afghanistan to help the country deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic is inflicting heavy damage on Afghanistan’s economy, which is expected to contract sharply in 2020, imperiling the livelihood of…