Ethiopian Airlines to resume 737 MAX flights after 2019 crash

 ADDIS ABABA, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ethiopian Airlines is set Tuesday to operate the Boeing 737 MAX for the first time since a crash nearly three years ago killed all 157 people on board and triggered the global grounding of the aircraft. Flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi plunged…

Covid-19: UK’s PM ‘sorry’ for ‘partygate’ findings, vows to stay on

 LONDON, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday apologised in parliament for a series of lockdown-breaching parties identified in an official inquiry, but vowed to fight on in office.   Fending off new opposition calls to resign following senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report, he vowed…

Covid-19: England plans to revoke mandatory jabs for health workers

NHS staff protest against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine rules, at Trafalgar Square, London LONDON, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The British government plans to revoke its decision to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for health workers in England after warnings that an already-stretched service could face serious staff shortages. The policy…

Russia, US clash at UN over Russian troop build-up near Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) –: Tensions between Russia and the United States over Moscow’s troop build-up near Ukraine spilled into the United Nations Security Council on Monday, with both countries accusing each other of being “provocative”. Russia failed to stop the US-requested council meeting on the build-up, allowing for a public face-off over…

Covid-19: Denmark from Tuesday returns to ‘life as we knew it’ despite Omicron

People at a cafe in Roskilde, Denmark COPENHAGEN, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Denmark on Tuesday will become the first European Union country to lift all of its COVID-19 restrictions despite record numbers of cases, relying on its high vaccination rate to cope with the milder Omicron variant. After a first attempt at…

Ryanair calls on Belarus to guarantee no repeat of plane diversion

DUBLIN, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Irish airline Ryanair urged Belarus to guarantee that there would be no repeat of the forced landing of one of its flights last May, and said that airlines should not fly over Belarus without such a guarantee. The plane was overflying Belarus on its way from…

US racism: Judge rejects plea deals for murderers of black jogger

,Ahmaud Arbery was chased “because he was black”, court told WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A United States judge rejected plea deals from two white men convicted of murdering a black jogger in Georgia after relatives of the victim vehemently objected to the agreements. Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael…

770km US megaflash sets new lightning record: UN

‘Lightning is a major hazard that claims many lives every year,’ the UN’s World Meteorological Organization says GENEVA, Ferb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A single flash of lightning in the United States nearly two years ago cut across the sky for nearly 770km, setting a new world record, the United Nations…

Covid-19: Brazil registers 134,175 new daily cases

People wearing face masks walk in Recife, Brazil BRASILIA, Feb 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported 134,175 COVID-19 cases and 330 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s total caseload and death toll to 25,348,797 and 626,854 respectively. The moving average of cases stood at 186,363…

Nearly 900 illegal immigrants rescued off Libyan coast in past week: IOM

UNHCR staff receives migrants back to Libyan shores after their boat was intercepted at sea by coastal security TRIPOLI, Feb 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nearly 900 illegal immigrants were rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya in the past week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced. From Jan…