Strong earthquake shakes Peru’s capital

LIMA, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A strong earthquake shook Lima and regionsof central coastal Peru late Tuesday, with no immediate reports of casualtiesor damage.   The quake was of magnitude 6, Peru’s Seismological Center said, while theUS Geological Survey which monitors quakes worldwide pegged it at magnitude5.8.   The quake…

US: Biden administration takes aim at gun trafficking

WASHINGTON, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A day before US President Joe Bidenwas due to announce measures to combat a rise in violent crime, the JusticeDepartment on Tuesday revealed it had created five new units to tackle guntrafficking.   The units will be set up in the next 30 days and…

Covid-19: More than 150 Texas hospital staff fired or quit over vaccine ruling

HOUSTON, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 150 employees at the HoustonMethodist hospital in Texas were fired or resigned after failing to complywith orders to get a Covid-19 vaccination to continue working there, ahospital spokeswoman said.   Officials Houston Methodist told its staff they needed to have received aCovid vaccination…

US seizes Iranian state news websites

WASHINGTON, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Justice Department said Wednesdayit had seized 33 Iranian government-controlled media websites, as well asthree of the Iraqi group Kataeb Hezbollah, which it said were hosted on US-owned domains in violation of sanctions.   Visitors to leading Iranian media sites like Press TV and Al-Alam,…

Vote count under way in Ethiopia after contentious election

ADDIS ABABA, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ballot papers are still being counted following delayed parliamentary elections in Ethiopia, the first electoral test for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Africa’s second-most populous country went to the polls on Monday but an opposition boycott, a months-long war in the northern region of Tigray,…

Deadly Florida Pride Parade Crash Not Intentional, Police Say

The incident took place at a Pride parade in Wilton Manors, north of Fort Lauderdale  FORT LAUDERBALE (Florida, US), June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The man who drove a pickup truck into a Pride parade in Florida, killing one and injuring another, acted unintentionally, officials say. Fort Lauderdale police said the…

Spain approves pardons for jailed Catalan separatists

The jailed Catalan separatist leaders (TOP L-R) Raul Romeva, Joaquim Forn, Jordi Turull, Oriol Junqueras, Josep Rull (BOTTOM L-R) Jordi Cuixart, Carme Forcadell, Dolors Bassa and Jordi Sanchez MADRID, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Spanish government on Tuesday approved the pardons of nine jailed Catalan separatists behind a failed 2017…

60,000-plus fans allowed at Euro 2020 semis and final at Wembley: British govt

LONDON, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 60,000 fans will be allowed to attend the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020 at Wembley, the British government announced. The matches will see the largest crowds assembled at a sporting event in Britain in more than 15 months. Numbers have been strictly limited…

Russia: Moscow battered by historic June heat wave

  MOSCOW, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Moscow has been hit by a historic heat wave this week, with temperatures reaching a 120-year record due to the effects of climate change, Russia’s weather service said.    On Monday the temperature in the Russian capital hit 34.7 degrees Celsius (94.5 degrees Fahrenheit), according…

‘Around 10’ police killed in Burkina Faso ambush; several others missing

OUAGADOUGOU, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Around 10 policemen were killed in an ambush by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso and several more officers are missing, security sources told AFP on Tuesday. “On Monday evening, a group of police officers were targeted in an ambush by armed individuals near Barsalogho,” a…