International

Mass blackouts hit Balkans as region swelters

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AFP) – Major blackouts hit large swaths of the western Balkans on Friday as surging demand for electricity linked to a spike in temperatures across the region overwhelmed power networks. Temperatures in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica touched 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday afternoon, as the country’s main power provider said electricity was out across most of the Adriatic nation. Montenegro’s Minister of Energy and Mining Sasa Mujovic told local media that […]

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Hezbollah targets Israeli barracks after Islamist commander’s death

BEIRUT, June 23, 2024 (AFP) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said Sunday it had targeted two military positions in northern Israel with an armed drone in response to the killing of an Islamist commander. Israel and the powerful Iran-backed group, a Hamas ally, have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted on October 7. Hezbollah’s announcement came hours after it published a video excerpt purporting to show locations in Israel along with their […]

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Flights cancelled at UK’s Manchester airport after power cut

LONDON, June 23, 2024 (AFP) – Flights at the UK’s third-busiest airport were being delayed or cancelled Sunday after a major power cut, the airport operator said. The Manchester Airports Group, which also operates London Stansted and the East Midlands airports, said Manchester Airport had been “affected by a major power cut in the area earlier this morning.” Power has now been restored at the international airport in the north of England, but passengers due […]

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Food piles up at Gaza crossing as aid agencies say unable to work

By Jack Moore JERUSALEM, June 22, 2024 (AFP) – Days after Israel announced a daily pause in fighting on a key route to allow more aid into Gaza, chaos in the besieged Palestinian territory has left vital supplies piled up and undistributed in the searing summer heat. More than eight months of war, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, have led to dire humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip and repeated UN […]

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Japanese royals arrive for three-day state visit to UK

LONDON, June 22, 2024 (AFP) – Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako arrived in Britain on Saturday for a three-day state visit hosted by King Charles III. A special flight from Japan landed at London’s Stansted airport. The royal couple are to spend Sunday and Monday at private engagements before the official programme begins on Tuesday. The highlight will be a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, with all eyes on a possible appearance by heir […]

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Three missing after heavy Swiss flooding

GENEVA, June 22, 2024 (AFP) – Swiss authorities in the southeastern canton of Grisons said Saturday that they were searching for three people missing after heavy flooding the previous day in the region. Police said a woman feared to have been swept away had been found alive after being caught in torrential rain and thunderstorms that caused landslides and flooding in the Mesolcina valley and forces dozens of residents to be briefly evacuated. “Intensive searches […]

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US aircraft carrier arrives in S. Korea for joint drills

SEOUL, June 22, 2024 (AFP) – A US aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a joint military drills aimed to better counter North Korean threats, Seoul’s navy said. The announcement came a day after South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul to protest a defence deal signed by President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang this week, which included a pledge to come to each other’s aid […]

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Malaysia beaches hit by Singapore oil spill

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – An oil spill off Singapore has spread to beaches in southern Malaysia, a government official said Friday, with clean-up operations underway. Around 25 people were involved in the clean-up of two beaches spanning one kilometre (0.6 miles) in southern Johor state, local government official Ling Tian Soon told AFP. “Work began today and we hope to complete the task tomorrow. From our observation, marine life or fishermen activities have not been […]

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Torrential rains kill 27 across Central America

SAN SALVADOR, June 21, 2024 (AFP) – Torrential rains across Central America have left at least 27 dead in landslides and flooding over the past week, mainly in El Salvador, but also in Guatemala and Honduras, officials said Friday. El Salvador’s Environment Minister Fernando Lopez said the deluge was a result of low pressure over the Pacific Ocean, with indirect influence from tropical storm Alberto which left four people dead in Mexico. “Unfortunately, the death […]

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Two people hospitalized after lightning strike near PGA tournament course

  NEW YORK, June 23, 2024 (AFP) – Two people were taken to hospital Saturday after a lightning strike near a home at TPC River Highlands, the course hosting the US PGA Tour Travelers Championship, the local fire department said. A release from the Cromwell Fire Department said the Connecticut town’s police department began receiving emergency calls regarding a lightning strike at a house located near the course’s fifth green around 4:26 pm — about […]

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Italy swelters in first summer heatwave

ROME (AFP) – Tourists and locals sweltered under Italy’s first summer heatwave on Friday, with the installation in Rome of potted trees for shade providing little relief. Temperatures were forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of the country, according to the official air force weather service, while the health ministry issued red alerts for Rome and Palermo among other cities. Weather website Il Meteo blamed an African anticyclone it dubbed […]

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Extreme heat is new danger stalking US-bound migrants

By Hérika MARTÍNEZ CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico (AFP) – In the Mexican desert near the US border, security forces are on alert after a man was found dead from heat stroke on the journey to what he hoped would be a better life in North America. The 45-year-old Mexican man’s body was found buried among sand and bushes under the merciless sun, a week after a woman died from dehydration in the northern state of Chihuahua, […]

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