‘Abandoned’ Greek villagers reluctantly flee raging fires

The fires remained out of control over large swathes of Evia island ATHENS, Aug 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A police car siren calls for the last residents of the village of Gouves on the Greek island of Evia to evacuate as fire rages down a mountainside and engulfs the first houses.…

US wildfires: California fire now second-worst in state history

California Governor Gavin Newsom surveys a burned United States Post Office in downtown Greenville LOS ANGELES (California, US), Aug 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The monstrous Dixie Fire in northern California continued to grow overnight, making it the second-largest wildfire in state history as thousands of people continued to flee advancing flames,…

Covid-19: Quarantine-free travel to France resumes as UK rules change

Visitors to Paris no longer have to quarantine on their return, after UK fears over the Beta variant faded LONDON, Aug 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fully vaccinated people can now visit France without quarantining on their return to the UK, after travel rule changes came into force at 04:00 BST. Brittany Ferries…

Olympic flag passed to Paris mayor for 2024 Games

  TOKYO, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Olympic flag was passed to Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo for the 2024 Games at the Tokyo closing ceremony on Sunday.    Hidalgo waved the flag, decorated with the five Olympic rings, after she received it from International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. The…

Covid-19: UK reports another 28,612 coronavirus cases

People wearing protective face masks walk along a platform at King’s Cross Station LONDON, Aug 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Britain has reported another 28,612 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 6,042,252, according to official figures released Saturday. The country…

Covid-19: Chile continues to register below 1,000 daily cases

SANTIAGO, Aug 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Chile continued to register below 1,000 daily cases of COVID-19 after reporting 940 infections in the last 24 hours. “940 new cases have been reported, with a positivity of 1.4 percent in the last 24 hours nationwide,” Health Minister Enrique Paris told the press. However,…

US shootings: Chicago police officer killed, another seriously wounded in West Englewood; 4 men wounded in separate incident

Chicago police officer investigate the shooting of two officers Saturday night in the 6300 block of South Bell Avenue  CHICAGO (US), Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Chicago police officer was killed and another was seriously wounded in a shooting Saturday night on the South Side, officials said. The officers were…

Over 2,000 rally in Lima against leftist Castillo administration

     LIMA, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some two thousand people took to the streets of downtown Lima on Saturday to call on Peru’s Congress to remove leftist president Pedro Castillo and his cabinet. Peru’s first leader in decades with no ties to the country’s political or economic elite, Castillo was sworn…

Tunisia ‘state of exception’ hits halfway with no government in sight

     TUNIS, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Halfway into Tunisia’s 30-day “state of exception” announced by President Kais Saied last month, he has yet to lay out a road map or appoint a government. Despite naming several ministers to replace those in the sacked administration of Hichem Mechichi, Saied is facing calls…

Mediterranean has become a ‘wildfire hotspot’, EU scientists say

BRUSSELS, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Mediterranean has become a wildfire hotspot, with Turkey hit by its most intense blazes on record and a heatwave producing a high risk of further fires and smoke pollution around the region, a European Union atmosphere monitor said. Wildfires are raging in countries including…