Update Ecuador floods: 24 dead, dozens injured as flooding hits Ecuador capital

QUITO, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The heaviest flooding to hit Ecuador in two decades has killed at least 24 people in Quito, inundating homes, swamping cars and sweeping away athletes and spectators on a sports field, officials said Tuesday.    A dozen people are missing and 48 injured, Ecuador’s SNGRE…

Top oil producers eye modest output boost as prices surge

LONDON, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The 23 members of the OPEC+ oil cartel, who meet on Wednesday, are expected to stick to their guns and increase output modestly as the price of crude surges.   As in January, analysts expect the taps to be opened slightly, to the tune of…

Covid-19: Portuguese, Moldova PMs tests positive

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa LISBON, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has tested positive for COVID-19, his cabinet said Tuesday. “The Prime Minister carried out a routine COVID-19 self-test today, having a positive result. This result has already been confirmed by an antigen test,” the cabinet…

Ecuador floods: Death toll rises to 22 in capital after flooding; 50 injured, 5 missing

People carry an injured man during the search for victims after a landslide caused by heavy rains in Quito QUITO, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — The death toll rose to 22 from floods in Ecuador’s capital, with about 50 others injured and at least five missing, the Emergency Operations Committee of…

US gun violence: 2 Virginia college officers killed; suspect in custody

Police form a perimeter on Airport Road south of the North River in Bridgewater, Va., during a manhunt following a shooting at Bridgewater College BRIDGEWATER (Virginia, US), Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A gunman shot and killed two campus officers at a private college Tuesday, prompting a protracted campus lockdown and…

US gun violence: 2 suspects arrested following Minnesota shooting that left 1 student dead and another wounded

Police work in front of South Education Center Academy in Richfield, Minnesota RICHFIELD (Minnesota, US), Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Authorities arrested two suspects Tuesday evening in connection with a Richfield, Minnesota, shooting earlier in the day that left one student dead and another critically injured, officials announced. Officers made the arrests…

UN chief calls for cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres UNITED NATIONS, Feb 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia to observe the Olympic Truce. “The people of Ethiopia continue to suffer greatly from ongoing conflict and bloodshed. For millennia, the tradition of the Olympic Truce has…

Tulia Ackson: Tanzania elects second ever female Speaker of Parliament

Tulia Ackson, Tanzania’s new Speaker of Parliament |  DAR ES SALAAM, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tanzania has a new Speaker of Parliament in the person of 46-year-old Tulia Ackson.The new Speaker has served as deputy to immediate past Job Ndugai since 2015 and is widely expected to tow the line…

Rwanda set to host Commonwealth meeting in June

The Kigali Convention Centre KIGALI, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Rwanda is having another go at hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) after the event was postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.The meeting will now be held starting the week of June 20, 2022.The new date was announced…

UK to help Kenyan nurses learn ‘Medical English’ – Envoy

UK’s ambassador to Kenya, Jane Marriot NAIROBI, Feb 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenyan nurses who failed English language tests required for immigration to the UK will be supported by the British government to learn ‘Medical English’, an envoy has said.“We are ready to assist Kenyan nurses to learn medical English. This…