Italian premier urges govt to quickly agree EU bailout concept

Bailout
Rome, Dec. 30, 2020 (dpa/NAN) Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday urged his coalition government to speed up agreement on how to use around 209 billion euros (257 billion dollars) from the EU coronavirus recovery fund.

“We cannot let this historic opportunity slip by and the government must not gamble away the credibility it has built,” Conte told an end-of-year news conference.

The premier’s comments follow weeks of mounting tensions in his centre-left coalition, including over a concept of how to use the aid pledged by the EU.

Conte has come up against former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who leads junior coalition party, Italia Viva.

“All is not well,” Conte admitted to journalists on Wednesday, adding that he would be seeking joint solutions for the disputes “in the interests of the country.”

Plans for the EU aid would have to be agreed in January and February, he said.

Conte has led the centre-left coalition since September 2019.

The alliance includes the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Social Democrats (PD), along with smaller parties Italia Viva and Liberi e Uguali (The Free and Equals). (dpa/NAN)
FAT/IAA
=======
Edited by Fatima Sule/IsaacAregbesola

Iran agrees to pay compensation to relatives of downed plane victims

Compensation
Tehran, Dec. 30, 2020 (dpa/NAN) Iran on Wednesday said it would be prepared to pay compensation to the relatives of those killed when a Ukrainian passenger plane was mistakenly shot down by its air defence force.

Iran is willing to pay 150,000 dollars to the family of each of the 176 victims, the state news agency IRNA reported.

The amount should be paid “immediately,” according to the legal department of the Presidential Office, though IRNA did not name an exact date.

The announcement comes almost a year since the Ukrainian Boeing aircraft was shot down on Jan. 8 shortly after taking off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.

Iran admitted having shot down the plane only after a delay. In mid-July, the country’s aviation authority spoke of a “human error” in its final report.

The victims came from Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Afghanistan, Britain and Sweden. The incident has repeatedly led to diplomatic tensions between Tehran and the five affected countries in recent months.

Iran had said it was ready to pay compensation in principle, but wanted to clarify all technical and legal aspects in advance. The other side accused Tehran of delaying tactics.

Iran has been in an acute economic crisis since the U.S. reimposed sanctions in 2018. The crisis has been further exacerbated this year by the pandemic. (dpa/NAN)
FAT/IAA
========
Edited by Fatima Sule/Isaac Aregbesola

Over 10m children in Nigeria, 6 others may face acute malnutrition in 2021, UNICEF warns

Children
United Nations, Dec. 30, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) An estimated 10.4 million children in seven countries, including Nigeria, will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Wednesday.,

“As 2021 approaches, UNICEF is deeply concerned for the health and well-being of 10.4 million children projected to suffer from acute malnutrition next year in those countries,” the statement said, citing the affected countries as  Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen.

UNICEF said ongoing insecurity in the DRC, socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and limited access to essential services will result in an estimated 3.3 million children, under five, who will suffer from acute malnutrition next year.

In Northeast Nigeria, more than 800,000 children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, including almost 300,000 who are estimated to be at imminent risk of death.

According to UNICEF, the highest number of children since 2013 – some 1.4 million – will face acute malnutrition in South Sudan next year, due to ongoing conflict, insecurity, as well as limited health care, water and hygiene services.

In Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, the number of malnourished children could increase by 21 per cent to a staggering 2.9 million amid conflict, displacement and climate shocks in these Central Sahel countries.

UNICEF also warned that more than 2 million children already suffer from acute malnutrition in Yemen and the figure is expected to rise in 2021.

UNICEF had earlier appealed  for more 1 billion dollars from donors to support nutrition programmes for children in fragile countries in 2021.

It also urged humanitarian actors and international donors to expand access and support for aid operations. (Sputnik/NAN)
FAT/MMA
=========
Edited by Fatima Sule/Mouktar Adamu

Sweden to allow flights from Britain but requires virus test

Test
Stockholm, Dec. 30, 2020 (dpa/NAN) Sweden said it would lift a temporary ban for passenger flights from Britain as of Jan. 1, but requires a negative coronavirus test for entry.

The move was announced on Wednesday by Mikael Damberg, the Home Affairs Minister, after a cabinet meeting.

The requirement for a test and the flight ban applied from Dec. 21 were introduced due to the new, apparently more transmissible variant of the coronavirus that appeared in Britain.

Only test results from within 72 hours before departure would be accepted.

“Today’s decision is an important tool to reduce the risk of infection,” Damberg said, adding it was in line with the European Commission’s recommendations.

Damberg said Swedish nationals would not be required to present a test to be allowed entry, but he underscored that everyone who had been in Britain was advised to self-isolate and take a coronavirus test on arrival, too.

Exceptions included those engaged in transporting medical supplies.

Sweden at the weekend reported its first case of the new virus in a traveller who had arrived shortly before Christmas. (dpa/NAN)
FAT/IAA
========
Edited by Fatima Sule/Isaac Aregbesola

Address

Pretoria, Dec. 30, 2020 (Xinhua/NAN) South Africa will deploy additional immigration and health officials and inspectors at the country’s border posts to ease congestions starting on Jan. 2,2021, an official said on Wednesday.

The Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, made the remarks at a news conference about immigration matters and border law enforcement under the adjusted COVID-19 level-three lockdown.

He said that they expected a massive movement of people into the country and they wanted to ensure their smooth travel.

“Home Affairs will deploy an additional 160 officials at six busiest land ports of entry to process returning travelers until Jan.14,” said Motsoaledi.

The minister added that they would be deployed at the border posts with Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Botswana.

Motsoaledi said another 60 additional immigration law enforcement officers would be deployed to support the soldiers at identified high-risk areas along the borderline where people cross illegally into South Africa.

He said the health department would deploy additional port health officials to all ports of entry to ensure that only travellers with valid Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests are allowed into the country.

“South Africa will not allow any traveller into the country without a valid PCR test or the antigen tests for COVID-19,” he said. (Xinhua/NAN)

FAT/PAD
=========
Edited by Fatima Sule/Peter Dada

AU awards 3 outstanding education innovations

Award
Addis Ababa, Dec. 30, 2020 (Xinhua/NAN) The AU has awarded three outstanding education innovations including a project used during the COVID-19, the 55-member pan-African bloc in a statement said on Wednesday.

During the Innovating Education in Africa Pitch Event 2020, the innovations were awarded grants of 60,000, 40,000, and 20,000 dollars according to their ranks, the statement said.

The grants would be used to undertake pilot projects in collaboration with AU member states, it said, indicating that one of the innovations aimed to help teachers and parents during the COVID-19.

The innovations include Building A Generation (BAG), which is a gamified platform that offers real-time access to experience-based learning for university students.

The platform Learnable is a teaching assistant that allows teachers to compose and distribute lessons via a dedicated mobile app and WhatsApp; and Chalkboard Education, a remote teaching and learning toolkit that can help teachers and parents during the COVID-19 crisis.

The high and persistent levels of unemployment together with job vacancies that remain unfilled could be addressed through adopting innovative approaches in education and training, said the AU Commissioner.

The AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, Sarah Agbor, called on all the stakeholders to build education, training and innovative ecosystems that have local relevance, global competitiveness, and mutual recognition.

The commissioner added that this would enable Africa to equip the African citizenry with the necessary knowledge and skills.

Innovating Education in Africa (IEA) is a flagship programme of the AU Commission and its partners, intended to identify and promote practical social and technological innovations.

IEA was aimed at enhancing access, quality, relevance, and inclusion in education in order to release the potential for empowerment, employability, and inventiveness. (Xinhua/NAN)
FAT/ABI
=========
Edited by Fatima Sule/Ali Baba-Inuwa

Vaccine
Nur-Sultan, Dec. 29, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) Kazakhstan plans to produce the Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine for domestic needs.

It also said there were no plans for its exports, a spokesperson for the medical and pharmaceutical control committee of the republic’s health ministry said.

On Dec. 21, the production of Sputnik V started at Karagandy pharmaceutical complex in central Kazakhstan.

Prior to that, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that his country planned to export a COVID-19 vaccine without clarifying if he meant Sputnik V or QazCOVID-in developed in Kazakhstan.

“We are currently working on the issue of the joint production of the Russian vaccine against coronavirus at the facilities of the domestic Karagandy pharmaceutical complex.

“The project will be financed by producers themselves.

“The planned production of the Sputnik V vaccine is envisaged for vaccination in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the export of the Sputnik V vaccine was not considered,’’ the spokesperson said.

Earlier this month, the presidential press service said that the mass vaccination of Kazakh residents will start in March 2021.

High-risk groups, including doctors, teachers and law enforcement agents, will be the first to have access to the vaccine.

Meanwhile, phase 3 clinical trials of QazCovid-in are expected to last until the end of April 2021.

The country is currently building a biopharmaceutical plant for the production of vaccines, which is set to open in March 2021. The production capacity will be 60 million doses per year. (Sputnik/NAN)
FAT/EEE
=======
Edited by Fatima Sule/Ese E. Ekama

Vaccination

Tel Aviv, Dec. 29, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) No fewer than 115,000 people had been administered the COVID-19 vaccines in Israel over the past 9 days.

The Israeli Ministry of Health which released the figure on Tuesday added that the total number of those vaccinated had gone up to over 495,000.

The ministry said that it was part of the progress recorded from Israel’s mass vaccination campaign that began on Dec. 20.

It said that the priority groups that had been getting inoculated include: medical workers, students of medical schools, geriatric medical workers and government officials.

“More than 115,000 citizens were vaccinated yesterday and as of today, around 495,000 people were vaccinated.

“In the nine days since the vaccination campaign started, more people were vaccinated than infected since the epidemic start,” the ministry said in a statement.

In spite of the vaccination campaign being in full swing and a lockdown in effect, the daily increase in COVID-19 cases in Israel continues to grow.

As of Tuesday, the Israeli toll had reached 408,990 cases, including more than 5,400 cases confirmed over the past days. (Sputnik/NAN)

FAT/PAD
=======

Edited by Fatima Sule/Peter Dada

Indonesia to provide COVID-19 vaccines for 181.5m residents in 2021

Vaccines
Jakarta, Dec. 29, 2020 (Xinhua/NAN) Indonesia will provide COVID-19 vaccines for 181.5 million residents in 2021 in order to achieve herd immunity and break the chain of coronavirus transmissions in the country, health ministry said.

The Health Minister, Budi Sadikin, who explained this during a virtual news briefing, said: ”apart from those who have comorbidities, have been infected with COVID-19, and pregnant women, there are still 181.5 million people.”

Sadikin said there are 269 million people living in Indonesia currently, with 188 million of them aged between 18 and 59.

Considering the need for twice vaccinations and vaccine reserves, he said, it means that Indonesia requires around 426 million doses.

Currently, Sadikin said, the Indonesian government has agreements to procure 125 million doses of vaccine with Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech, and 130 million doses with U.S. biotechnology company Novavax.

Besides, the Indonesian government is in the process of cooperating to procure 100 million doses of vaccine with British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and another 100 million doses with U.S. multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer.

Meanwhile, Indonesia also has cooperation in procuring around 16 million to 100 million doses of free vaccine with the COVAX facility, a COVID-19 vaccine distribution programme prepared mainly by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The first period of vaccination will be from January to April 2021, for inoculating 1.3 million medical workers, 17.4 million public workers, and 21.5 million elderly people.

“The vaccination for the elderly will be given if the safety certificate from the BPOM (Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency) has been issued,” added Sadikin.

The second period will run from April 2021 to March 2022. (Xinhua/NAN)
FAT/SH
=======
Edited by Fatima Sule/Sadiya Hamza

Kuwait to resume airport flights on Jan. 2

Flights
Kuwait City, Dec. 29, 2020 (Xinhua/NAN) Kuwait will resume flights at Kuwait International Airport on Jan. 2, 2021, the country’s Directorate-General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to Saad Al-Otaibi, the DGCA spokesman, the resumption of flights will begin on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. local time.

Meanwhile, he added that all decisions might shift according to coronavirus development.

The Kuwaiti government has decided to suspend all international commercial flights from and to Kuwait and close its land and sea border crossings from Dec. 21, 2020, to Jan. 1, 2021.

The suspension was due to the coronavirus pandemic situation, Tareq Al-Mezrem, the Kuwaiti government spokesman, said on Dec. 21.

The continuation of this decision shall be reviewed in light of new matters, with the exception of cargo and shipping operations, he said. (Xinhua/NAN)
FAT/YEE
========
Edited by Fatima Sule/Emmanuel Yashim