- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 23
- Melrose Group Publicly Files Complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
22 dead, dozens injured as flooding hits Ecuador capital
The heaviest flooding to hit Ecuador in two decades has killed at least 22 people in Quito, inundating homes, swamping cars and sweeping away athletes and spectators on a sports field, officials said Tuesday.
Twenty people are missing and 47 injured, Ecuador's SNGRE emergency service said on Twitter.
Video footage showed torrents of water carrying stones, mud and debris down streets in the Ecuadoran capital, as rescuers helped inhabitants wade through the fast-running currents to safety.
Many in the city of 2.7 million people were taken to shelters.
Rain that drenched Quito for 17 straight hours caused a deluge that damaged roads, agricultural areas, clinics, schools, a police station and an electric power substation.
Quito mayor Santiago Guarderas said a downpour had overwhelmed a hillside water catchment structure that had a capacity of 4,500 cubic meters but was inundated with more than four times that volume.
The resultant failure sent a kilometer-long (half-mile-long) deluge through a sports field where volleyball players were practicing with spectators on the sidelines.
"People who were playing couldn't get away. It grabbed them suddenly," witness Freddy Barrios Gonzalez told AFP.
"Those who managed to run were saved (but) a family got buried" under a river of mud, added Gonzalez, his own clothes still muddy from the ordeal.
"There they died."
It was not immediately known how many of the players or spectators were among the total number of dead and injured.
Soldiers with rescue dogs were scouring the area around the field for survivors.
Quito police chief Cesar Zapata did not rule out finding more bodies under thousands of cubic meters (cubic feet) of mud and debris left behind by the flood.
- 'Rivers of mud' -
Rescuer Cristian Rivera said many people in Quito had to be treated for hypothermia.
The municipality has mobilized heavy machinery to clear roads and fix the failed water catchment system.
Resident Mauro Pinas said he heard "an explosion" when the structure burst, after which "rivers of mud" descended on the city -- mainly in the northwest.
Power was lost in some parts after electrical poles were brought down.
Dozens of soldiers were deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts of the police and fire brigades.
The flooding began on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, which overlooks the nation's capital.
Guarderas said Monday's rainfall brought down 75 liters (20 gallons) per square meter (square foot) following 3.5 liters on Saturday.
This is "a record figure, which we have not had since 2003," he added.
President Guillermo Lasso, who traveled to China on Monday, offered his condolences on Twitter to those affected.
"We continue to work in search and rescue, containment actions, psychological care and the transfer of injured people to hospital," he said.
Heavy rains have hit 22 of Ecuador's 24 provinces since October, leaving at least 18 dead and 24 injured as of Sunday, according to the National Risk Management Service.
Scientists say climate change is intensifying the risk of heavy rain around the world because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.
G.Stevens--AMWN