Covid-19: IMF to make US$50 billion available for Sub-Saharan Africa

The International Monetary Fund WASHINGTON, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The International Monetary Fund will provide $50 billion in emergency facilities to countries in sub-Saharan Africa by early April to mitigate the economic shocks of the Coronavirus, including US$10 billion in concessional loans for low-income countries.“Our member countries need us more than…

Covid-19: More than 3 billion told to stay home worldwide as death toll passes 20,000

PARIS, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than three billion people have been asked to stay at home in almost 70 countries and territories as governments battle the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe. Most of the countries concerned, including Argentina, Britain, France, India and Italy as well as many US states,…

Covid-19: Prince Charles tests positive; self-isolating in Scotland

LONDON, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prince Charles, the eldest son and heir to Queen Elizabeth II, is showing mild symptoms of the new coronavirus but “otherwise remains in good health”, his office said. The 71-year-old and his wife Camilla — who does not have COVID-19 — arecurrently self-isolating in Scotland,…

Portugal starts repatriation of passengers stuck on cruise ship

Passengers disembark from MSC Fantasia cruise ship in Lisbon, Portugal LISBON, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 1,000 passengers aboard a cruise ship docked in Portugal’s capital Lisbon were being flown back to their home countries on Tuesday even though a fellow passenger tested positive for coronavirus, the interior ministry…

Covid-19: US has potential of becoming coronavirus epicentre, says WHO

People line up to get a test at Elmhurst Hospital due to coronavirus outbreak in Queens, New York, United States GENEVA, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization said that the United States could become the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters there…

Update: US Congress, negotiators reach deal on US$2 trillion COVID-19 aid package

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin WASHINGTON, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US senators and Trump administration officials have reached an agreement on a massive economic stimulus bill to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the negotiators said on Wednesday. The Senate will vote on the US$2-trillion package later…

Covid-19: Canada’s coronavirus economic aid package delayed

OTTAWA, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Billions in economic aid announced last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help Canadians deal with the coronavirus pandemic hit a snag when opposition parties rejected giving his minority government unprecedented spending powers. Thirty-two members of Parliament, proportionally representing each party instead of the…

7.5-magnitude quake hits off Russia’s Kuril Islands: USGS

MOSCOW, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 7.5-magnitude quake hit off Russia’s Kuril Islands on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake hit at a depth of 59 kilometres, around 1,400kilometres northeast of the Japanese city of Sapporo, USGSadded. The US National Tsunami Warning Center said it was “analyzing the…

Covid-19: UK ramps up measures as more cases reported

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson  LONDON, March 25 (NNN-XINHUA) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a series of measures that aim to restrict social contact in the United Kingdom, so as to curb the spread of COVID-19. Johnson made the Monday announcement during a TV address to the nation.…

Covid-19: Panic buying triggers price hikes for essentials in Zimbabwe as virus claims first life

HARARE, March 25 (NNN-XINHUA) — With demand far outstripping supply, prices for essential products needed to contain the spread of COVID-19 are on the rise as the virus takes its first life in Zimbabwe. In most supermarkets at the capital Harare, face masks and sanitizers were in acute short supply,…