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Four people were found dead on Sunday as a huge fire raged for a second day in Cyprus, razing tracts of forest and gutting dozens of homes in a blaze one official called the worst on record. The blaze, fanned by strong winds, affected at least 10 communities over an area exceeding 50 square kilometres (19 square miles) in the foothills of the Troodos mountain range, an area of pine forest and densely vegetated shrubland.
Source: reuters.com
Marine Le Pen won re-election as head of France's far-right National Rally Sunday at a party congress, where she is seeking new impetus for her 2022 presidential bid after performing badly in regional polls.
Source: france24.com
Iran announced Sunday it was reimposing coronavirus restrictions on major cities, as the spread of the highly contagious delta variant spurs fears of another devastating surge in the nation. After over a year battling the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East, Iran ordered the closures of non-essential businesses in 275 cities, including the capital of Tehran. The country has reported a total of 3.2 million infections and 84,627 deaths — the highest toll in the region.
Source: apnews.com
Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Sunday for scheduled intestinal surgery, the Vatican said, the first time he has been in hospital since his election in 2013. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope, 84, was due to undergo the surgery later on Sunday for an intestinal condition that tends to affect older people and can cause abdominal pain.
Source: reuters.com
Denmark are through to their fourth European Championships semi-final after beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in Baku. Denmark, who won the tournament in 1992 and also reached the last four in 1964 and 1984, will face England in the semi-final at Wembley.
Source: eurosport.com
All 96 passengers on the Philippine air force plane that crashed on Sunday have been accounted for, military chief Cirilito Sobejana has said. The passenger death toll from the crash was 47, while 49 military personnel were injured, Sobejana told Reuters in a phone message. The Department of National Defence said on Sunday that three civilians on the ground were also killed, and that four civilians were injured when the Philippine military C-130 Hercules transport aircraft carrying troops crashed and burst into flames after missing the runway in the south of the country.
Source: theguardian.com
Cuba evacuated 70,000 people in its southern region on Sunday, amid fears that Tropical Storm Elsa could unleash heavy flooding after battering several Caribbean islands and killing at least three people. The Cuban government opened shelters and moved to protect sugarcane and cocoa crops. Most of those evacuated went to relatives’ homes, while about 23,000 sheltered at government facilities. Some 400 in mountainous areas took refuge in caves prepared for the emergency.
Source: theguardian.com
The Taliban’s rapid advance through northern Afghanistan continued on Sunday with more than a dozen districts falling to the militants, as Britain entered the final days of its two-decade deployment to Afghanistan. More than 300 members of the Afghan security forces fled across the border into Tajikistan to escape the militants, and Badakhshan and Takhar provinces are now largely under Taliban control, beyond the respective regional capitals.
Source: theguardian.com
President Hassan Rouhani expressed fears Saturday that Iran will be hit by a new wave of Covid-19 due to an outbreak of the Delta variant in the Middle East's hardest-hit country. Covid-19 has killed more than 84,000 people out of over 3.2 million infections in Iran, according to official figures that authorities admit do not account for all cases. Delta, first detected in India and now present in at least 85 countries, is the most contagious of any Covid-19 variant yet identified.
Source: france24.com
A US police officer played a Taylor Swift song on his phone in a bid to prevent activists who were filming him uploading the video to YouTube. The video platform regularly removes videos that break music copyright rules. However, the officer's efforts were in vain as the clip of the encounter in Oakland, California promptly went viral. Alameda County police told the BBC it was not "approved behaviour". The video was filmed by members of the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP), which says it is a coalition that seeks to "eradicate police terror in communities of colour".
Source: bbc.com
A Wisconsin Walmart employee tackled and restrained a deer that had gotten loose inside the store a week ago, according to reports. Video shared on social media of the incident shows the Baraboo, Wisconsin, worker straddle the wild animal as it struggles to get away. The animal was eventually released unharmed.
Source: foxnews.com
Athletes at Tokyo 2020 will be allowed to "express their views" before and after competing -- but not on the podium -- after Olympics chiefs relaxed some of the rules for protests at the event. It means athletes will now be allowed to take the knee before play begins to highlight racial injustice, speak to the media and post online about their views, or wear clothing with a protest slogan at a press conference. But political statements during events, victory ceremonies and at the Olympic Village are still off the cards, the IOC said.
Source: france24.com
Recent fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has resulted in a famine that is now affecting more than 400,000 people, UN officials say. In its first public meeting on the crisis, members of the UN Security Council warned that as many as 33,000 children were severely malnourished. Officials said that a further 1.8m people were on the brink of famine as a result of the eight-month conflict.
Source: bbc.com
Indian company Bharat Biotech says its late-stage testing of a COVID-19 vaccine has shown an overall efficacy of 77.8% and effectiveness against all variants. The company in a statement says it is now in discussions with the World Health Organization to obtain emergency use listing for its vaccine, marketed as COVAXIN.
Source: apnews.com
A Boeing 737 cargo plane with two people on board has ditched off the coast of Hawaii after experiencing engine trouble. The aircraft was en route from Honolulu to the island of Maui, but went down in the water soon after taking off from Daniel K Inouye International Airport. The Coast Guard rescued both pilots from the sea early on Friday morning.
Source: bbc.com
The Biden administration is exploring having three Central Asian countries temporarily take in thousands of Afghans who worked with U.S. forces and face threats from the Taliban now that American troops are withdrawing after 20 years, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. They said Washington is in talks with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan about letting in the at-risk Afghan citizens.
Source: reuters.com
Protesters burned mock coffins and pictures of Myanmar's army ruler Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday in the latest demonstrations against the coup over five months ago that has plunged the Southeast Asian country into chaos. "We are burning this as a curse," said one protester in the second city of Mandalay, setting ablaze a small pile of picture of the general, 65.
Source: reuters.com
A trove of love letters that explore American poet Sylvia Plath's passion for her British husband, fellow poet Ted Hughes, are up for auction at Sotheby's, along with their wedding rings, family recipes and photo albums. The letters will be sold at Sotheby's on July 9-21. The sale comprises 55 lots and comes directly from the collection of Sylvia's daughter, Frieda Hughes.
Source: reuters.com
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