Category: World

ATHENS, Greece (AP): Firefighters and residents battled a massive forest fire on Greece’s second-largest island for a seventh day Monday, fighting to save what they can from flames that have ravaged pristine forests, destroyed homes and businesses and sent thousands fleeing. The smoke and ash from the fire on Evia, a rugged island of forests… Continue reading Massive island forest fire in Greece burns for 7th day

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP): Israel on Thursday escalated its response to rocket attacks this week by launching rare airstrikes on Lebanon, the army said. The army said in a statement that jets struck the launch sites from which rockets had been fired over the previous day, as well as an additional target used to attack… Continue reading Israel launches airstrikes on Lebanon in response to rockets

TOKYO (AP): Tokyo reported 5,042 new daily coronavirus cases on Thursday, hitting a record since the pandemic began as the infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics. The additional cases brought the total for Tokyo to 236,138. Nationwide, Japan reported more than 14,000 cases on Wednesday for a total of 970,000. Tokyo has… Continue reading Tokyo logs record 5,042 cases as infections surge amid Games

BBC: Israel has accused Iran of being behind an attack on an oil tanker in which two crew members – a British national and a Romanian citizen – were killed. The MV Mercer Street, operated by the London-based company Zodiac Maritime, was off Oman’s coast in the Arabian Sea when the incident occurred on Thursday.… Continue reading Israel accuses Iran over deadly oil tanker attack

WASHINGTON (AP): President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping new pandemic requirements aimed at boosting vaccination rates for millions of federal workers and contractors as he lamented the “American tragedy” of rising-yet-preventable deaths among the unvaccinated. Federal workers will be required to sign forms attesting they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else comply with… Continue reading Biden orders tough new vaccination rules for federal workers

CARRY-LE-ROUET, France (AP) — Europe’s famed summer holiday season is in full swing, but efforts to inoculate people against the coronavirus are not taking a break. Instead, with lockdowns easing despite concerns about variants and nations looking to breathe new life into their ailing tourism industries, vaccinations are being taken to vacationers. It’s all part… Continue reading Europe on vacation, but vaccinations not taking a break

OSLO, Norway (AP): Church bells rang out across Norway on Thursday, marking 10 years since the country’s worst ever peacetime slaughter as leaders urged their country to fight the extremism that was behind the attack. On July 22, 2011, right-wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before… Continue reading Norway mourns 77 dead a decade after extremist attack

BBC: Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui has been killed in Afghanistan, said the country’s ambassador in Delhi. Siddiqui, the chief photographer of Reuters news agency in India, was on assignment in Afghanistan when he died. He was embedded with a convoy of Afghan forces that was ambushed by Taliban militants near a key border… Continue reading Indian photojournalist killed in Afghanistan

AP: COVID-19 deaths and cases are on the rise again globally in a dispiriting setback that is triggering another round of restrictions and dampening hopes for an almost normal summer of fun. The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that deaths climbed last week after nine straight weeks of decline. It recorded more than 55,000 deaths,… Continue reading Covid deaths and cases rising again globally

AP: Firefighters were working in extreme temperatures across the U.S. West and struggling to contain wildfires, the largest burning in California and Oregon, as another heat wave baked the region, straining power grids. The largest wildfire of the year in California — the Beckwourth Complex — was raging along the Nevada state line and has… Continue reading Wildfires rage as US West grapples with heat wave, drought