Canadian PM announce federal election on Sept 20

OTTAWA, Aug 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday called an early election for Sept 20, saying he needed a new mandate to ensure voters approved of his Liberal government’s plan to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Trudeau, also Canadian Liberal Party leader, made the announcement after…

Covid-19: US daily cases could exceed 200,000 in coming weeks, warns NIH director

WASHINGTON, Aug 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — US COVID-19 cases could break 200,000 a day as the latest surge of the virus driven by the Delta variant is “going very steeply upward with no signs of having peaked out,” said National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins. “I will be surprised if…

Covid-19: Canada’s cases surpass 1.45 mln

A staff member replaces a new face mask as required at the entrance of the Aviva Center during the 2021 National Bank Open in Toronto OTTAWA, Aug 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — Canada’s new COVID-19 cases continue rising, bringing the cumulative total to 1,451,211 cases, including 26,700 deaths, as of Sunday afternoon,…

Update: Death toll from 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti rises to 1,297

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Aug 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — The death toll from the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday rose to 1,297, the country’s civil protection agency reported. A breakdown of the fatalities in terms of departments shows that 1,054 people were killed in Sud, 122 in Nippes, 119 in Grand’Anse, and…

Italy wildfires: 75 per cent more forest fires compared to last year

ROME, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of forest and vegetation fires in Italy so far this summer is about 75 per cent higher than last year, according to the fire service.Between June 15 and Aug 15, there were 52,584 incidents, the fire brigade announced on Sunday. Last year, there…

Fires in Greece under control, but danger of fire remains high

A burnt forest in Agia Anna village on Evia island, north of Athens ATHENS, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) –The fire brigade counted 53 new forest fires in Greece from Saturday to Sunday. However, no fires were reported to be completely out of control by Sunday noon, meaning the situation has eased…

Flames continue to spread in forest fire disaster in Russia

MOSCOW, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The forest fire catastrophe in Russia is spreading ominously: On Sunday, the Federal Agency for the Protection of the Forests reported almost 252 fires on a total area of 4.4 million hectares.This is again more than the day before. According to the report, more than…

At least 59 killed in floods in Turkey

Damaged buildings lined the river banks in Bozkurt, Turkey ISTANBUL, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll in floods in northern Turkey has risen to 59 and many people were still missing, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in Kastamonu.Heavy rains in recent days have led to the worst flooding in…

Syrian government forces, rebels reach truce in flashpoint area

DAMASCUS, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Syrian government forces and rebels have agreed on a two-week ceasefire in a volatile area in the south of the war-torn country, a local official said.The agreement was reached after talks with the Russian army, a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the spokesman…

Lebanon’s leaders at loggerheads as fuel crisis worsens

Cars stuck in a traffic jam near a gas station in Jiyeh, Lebanon BEIRUT, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Lebanese President Michel Aoun called an emergency meeting to discuss a worsening fuel crisis but was rebuffed by the prime minister as political paralysis obstructed efforts to find a solution, even as…