Ecuador condemns killing of 4 children in armed attack

QUITO, Dec 13 (NNN-XINHUA) — Ecuador’s government on Tuesday condemned the killing of four children in an armed attack on Monday night in Guasmo Sur, a poor neighborhood in the southwest coastal city of Guayaquil, amid a wave of violence plaguing the South American country. “The murder of four children…

1 killed, dozens injured after fire burns downtown building in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 13 (NNN-XINHUA) — One woman was killed and at least 42 others injured after a fire swept through two floors of a building in downtown Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, on Tuesday. The injured, mostly from smoke inhalation, received treatment from healthcare professionals, with 35 of them…

Kenya to abolish visa requirement for all foreign visitors beginning January

NAIROBI, Dec 13 (NNN-XINHUA) — Foreign visitors to Kenya will not be required to have a visa beginning January 2024, President William Ruto announced Tuesday during the celebration of Jamhuri Day, or Independence Day, held in Nairobi, the capital. Ruto said all foreign nationals will enter the county without a…

Cuba seized nearly 2,000 kg of illegal drugs in 2023

Cuban police officers and Coast guards unload 25 sacks of marijuana in Las Tunas, Eastern Cuba HAVANA, Dec 13 (NNN-ACN) — Cuban Ministry of Interior ( MININT), during this 2023, seized 1,756.31 kilograms (kg) of illegal drugs, coming from 245 acts of recalo in the Cuban coasts, main supply route…

Update: UK’s Sunak wins parliament vote on deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outside 10 Downing Street in London LONDON, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s emergency bill to revive his plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has avoided defeat in parliament, surviving a rebellion by dozens of his own MPs that laid bare…

South Africa: President establishes Presidential PhD Initiative to boost innovation

PRETORIA, Dec 13 (NNN-SANEWS) — President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the South African government has established the Presidential PhD Initiative through an initial R1 billion investment from the National Skills Fund in efforts to boost science and technology.   “The first phase aims to expose our country’s brightest young minds…

BRICS TB health summit: Health concerned about death rate among TB patients in South Africa

DURBAN (South Africa), Dec 13 (NNN-SANEWS) — Although South Africa’s Tuberculosis (TB) infection incidence is dropping, government is disturbed about the death rate among patients. This is according to Deputy Health Minister, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, who was delivering a keynote address on the opening day of the BRICS TB Research…

Kenya: Sunday’s nationwide power blackout sparks KPLC sabotage suspicions

Power had been restored to most parts of the country by Monday morning NAIROBI, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A power blackout that plunged Kenya into darkness on Sunday was a possible act of sabotage, a minister says. It hit at about 20:00 local time – Kenya’s third nationwide blackout in…

Donald Tusk set to become Polish Prime Minister

 WARSAW, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Donald Tusk is set to become Poland’s prime minister after current leader Mateusz Morawiecki lost a key vote in the country’s parliament on Monday. Morawiecki’s populist Law and Justice (PiS) party failed to win a majority in October’s elections. President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally,…

South Africa: Zulu King’s official crowning by President Rampahosa invalid, court rules

King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini PRETORIA, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A South African court has ruled that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s official crowning of the new Zulu king last year was “unlawful and invalid”. The court has ordered him to set up an inquiry into whether King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini’s accession to the…