International

ARAKAPAS: A huge forest blaze in Cyprus killed four people, destroyed homes and forced evacuations of villages, police said on Sunday, as Greece, Israel and other countries deployed fire-fighting planes to the Mediterranean island. The Egyptian government said the four dead were agricultural workers from the North African country, while Nicosia vowed in a tweet to “stand by the victims’ …

VATICAN: Pope Francis went on Sunday to a Rome hospital for scheduled surgery for a stenosis, or restriction, of the large intestine, the Vatican said. The brief announcement from the Vatican’s press office didn’t say exactly when the surgery would be performed but said there would be an announcement when the surgery is complete. Just three hours earlier, Pope Francis …

YANGON: Twenty-five anti-junta fighters and civilians were killed during clashes with the military in central Myanmar, villagers said on Sunday, as locals increasingly take up arms against the regime in the coup-wracked country. Myanmar has been in turmoil since a February coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, with 890 people killed in a junta crackdown on dissent, according …

PERPIGNAN: Marine Le Pen won re-election as head of France’s far-right National Rally on Sunday at a party congress, where she is seeking new impetus for her 2022 presidential bid after performing badly in regional polls. The National Rally (RN), which had been tipped for strong gains in last month’s regional elections, was left floundering after failing to win any …

MOSCOW: Russia on Sunday counted more than 25,000 new daily infections after a week of record death tolls as the highly contagious Delta variant propels a global resurgence of the pandemic. The coronavirus has killed nearly four million people worldwide, forcing numerous nations to reimpose restrictions well over a year after the outbreak of the pandemic. Moscow has so far …

Two astronauts made the first spacewalk on Sunday outside China’s new orbital station to work on setting up a 15-metre-long robotic arm. Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo were shown by state television climbing out of the airlock as Earth rolled past below them. The third crew member, commander Nie Haisheng, stayed inside. The astronauts arrived at the orbital station on …

OTTAWA: The Canadian military was on standby on Saturday to help evacuate towns and fight more than 170 wildfires fueled by a record-smashing heatwave and tinder-dry conditions as the government in Ottawa warned of a “long and challenging summer” ahead. At least 177 fires were active in the western province of British Columbia, 76 of them sparked in the last …

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the delivery of 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine highlights America’s “enduring friendship” with Pakistan and its cooperation in the fight against Covid-19. “We are committed to bringing this pandemic to an end around the world,” Secretary Blinken said in a tweet, posted hours after American officials handed over the vaccines …

TUNIS: At least 43 migrants drowned off the coast of Tunisia on Saturday and 84 others were rescued after their boat capsized overnight, the Tunisian Red Crescent said. Mongi Slim, head of the organisation, said that the boat, which was carrying 127 migrants, left Libya’s coastal city of Zuwara on Friday to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward Italy. He said …

ADDIS ABABA: The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on Saturday added to UN calls for “urgent measures” to protect and assist civilians in Tigray, where damage to key infrastructure is exacerbating the imminent threat of famine caused by the eight-month conflict. Millions are at risk of starvation as the brutal civil war reaches a turning point, with thousands of captured …