Update1: California fire triggered by ‘gender reveal firework’ – unveiling sex of expected child during pregnancies

LOS ANGELES, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A firework at a gender reveal party triggered a wildfire in southern California that has destroyed 2,800ha and forced many residents to flee their homes, the fire department said. More than 500 firefighters and four helicopters were battling the El Dorado blaze east of…

Covid-19: France puts more departments on high alert as 53 new clusters emerge

PARIS, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French authorities have placed seven more departments covering major cities such as Lille, Strasbourg and Dijon on high alert as increases in COVID-19 infections accelerate, the government said. Of France’s 101 mainland and overseas departments, 28 are now considered “red zones” where authorities will be…

US unrest: Protests rock cities on holiday weekend

Demonstration in Rochester, New York NEW YORK, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Jacob Blake, the black man who was shot in the back by a white police officer in Wisconsin last month, spoke out for the first time from his hospital bed as duelling demonstrations over racial justice and policing continued…

Update: ‘Fire on all sides’ – California wildfires prompt evacuations

LOS ANGELES, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 200 people were airlifted to safety overnight after a fast-moving wildfire cut off the only road out of the Mammoth Pool Reservoir, a popular recreational site in California’s Sierra National Forest. Twenty evacuees were taken to hospitals, the Madera County Sheriff said…

UN calls on Paraguay to investigate deaths of 11-year-olds in military operation

ASUNCION, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Paraguayan government must investigate “impartially and without delay” the deaths of two 11-year-old girls in a police and military operation against a rebel group in the north of the country, the regional office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.…

Venezuela: Constituent Assembly will not draft new magna carta, Cabello says

National Constituent Assembly President Diosdado Cabello CARACAS, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly will not deliver a new constitution, the legislature’s chief Diosdado Cabello said, despite repeated assurances from assembly members that the body was preparing to update the 1999 magna carta. President Nicolas Maduro called for the…

Thousands protest against pro-Serb rallies in Montenegro

Participants chanted: “This is not Serbia” and “We do not give away Montenegro” PODGORICA, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands gathered in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica on Sunday evening waving national flags to protest against the use of Serbian national symbols by opposition parties that won elections last week. Participants chanted: “This…

Covid-19: Brazil’s death toll reaches 126,650 as throngs celebrate long weekend

A cemetery worker checks funeral documents at the Vila Formosa cemetery SAO PAULO, Sept 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazil said it registered 447 deaths from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 126,650, while thousands headed to the beach and other recreational spots for…

Russia adds dozens more to Ukraine sanctions list

MOSCOW, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia has put more than 40 new names on its Ukraine economic sanctions list, including former president Petro Poroshenko. In a decree, another 41 names were added to a blacklist of 322 Ukrainian figures and 68 companies dating back to November 2018 whose assets in…

Update: UK PM Johnson gives Oct 15 deadline for Brexit deal

LONDON, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave an Oct 15 deadline for a post-Brexit trade agreement with the European Union, brushing off fears about “no-deal” chaos if talks fail. The eighth round of negotiations resume in London this week, with both sides talking increasingly tough, amid…