LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg (Reuters) – EU environment ministers gathered in Luxembourg on Monday (June 19) held a minute of silence for the victims of the forest fire in Portugal that killed at least 62 over the weekend in Pedro Grande, a mountainous area about 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Lisbon. More than 1.000 firefighters on Monday were still battling Portugal’s deadliest forest blaze, while public prosecutors opened an investigation into the causes of the fire.
International
Full destruction from Portugal fire seen from sky as Spanish air force dump gallons of water over wildfire
PEDROGAO GRANDE, Portugal (Reuters) – The full extent of the damage caused by a forest fire that ravaged parts of Portugal was clearly visible on Monday (June 19) as the Spanish airforce released video filmed from a firefighting plane that has been used to dump thousands of litres of water over the area. The video filmed on Sunday (June 18) showed a vast blackened area of fire-damaged terrain. In some areas smoke cover has not […]
Jetmakers hunt for new growth as order binge fizzles out as Paris Airshow opens
LA BORGUET, France (Reuters) – Plane giants were preparing to squeeze the last drop out of a once raging torrent of airplane orders without the razzmatazz of recent years, as the aerospace industry headed to a belt-tightening Paris Airshow opening on Monday (June 19), looking for new sources of revenue. The June 19-25 gathering takes place against the backdrop of surprisingly strong airline traffic driven by economic growth, but a steep drop in the appetite […]
Bomb attack kills policeman in Bahrain: ministry
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — A “terrorist” bomb attack in a Shiite village in Bahrain has killed a policeman and wounded two others, the interior ministry in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom said on Monday. The attack late Sunday occurred in Diraz, west of the capital Manama, the ministry said on its Twitter account. Witnesses said they heard a loud blast near the home of revered Shiite cleric Isa Qassim, where five people were killed […]
France’s Macron opens Paris Air Show
LA BORGUET, France (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron landed at Le Bourget in an A400M military plane on Monday (June 19) for the official opening of the 52nd Paris AirShow. He attended demonstration flights by fighter jets and helicopters with French Defence Minister, Sylvie Goulard, and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. The June 19-25 gathering takes place against the backdrop of surprisingly strong airline traffic driven by economic growth, but a steep drop […]
Hired van at scene of London attack at centre of investigation
LONDON, United Kingdom (Reuters) – Forensic officers searched for evidence on Monday morning (June 19) after a van ploughed into worshippers leaving a London mosque, injuring 10 people in what witnesses said was a deliberate attack on Muslims. The van being examined at the scene bore the logo of Pontyclun van hire, a firm the BBC said was located in an industrial estate in south Wales. Shortly after midnight, the hired vehicle swerved into a […]
London Police say ramming of worshippers by van is “being treated as a terrorist attack”
LONDON, United Kingdom (Reuters) – A van ploughed into worshippers leaving a London mosque on Monday (June 19), injuring 10 people in what witnesses said was a deliberate attack on Muslims. One man, who was already being given first aid at the scene before the vehicle was driven into pedestrians, has died but police said it was not clear whether his death was directly linked. Eight others are in hospital, with two in a very […]
London attack on Muslim worshippers: What we know
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – One man died and 10 people were injured after a van drove into a crowd of Muslim worshippers near a mosque in London in the early hours of Monday. London Mayor Sadiq Khan called it an “horrific terrorist attack” and counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation, as Muslim leaders linked the incident to a rise in Islamophobic crime. Here is what we know so far: What happened? Witnesses said a […]
US Navy probes destroyer crash that killed seven in Japan
by Kyoko HASEGAWA Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – A probe into the crash between a US navy destroyer and a Philippine-flagged cargo ship was under way Monday, as the names of seven American sailors who died were made public. Investigators were looking at how the USS Fitzgerald came to be holed in the smash in a busy shipping lane near its home port. The container ship, the 222-metre Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, made a 180 […]
Six Thai soldiers killed by bomb in restive south
PATTANI, Thailand (AFP) – Six Thai soldiers were killed and four injured when a roadside bomb ripped their patrol truck apart in the insurgency-plagued south on Monday, police said. The bomb hit the pick-up as it was carrying ten soldiers along a dirt road in Pattani province, leaving a pile of rubble and twisted car parts. “The roadside bomb exploded before noon, killing six and injuring four,” said Preuk Liengsuk, the police chief of Thung […]
Iraq forces push into Mosul Old City, warn IS ‘surrender or die’
by Jean Marc Mojon Agence France-Presse MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) – Iraqi forces pushed deeper into Mosul’s Old City on Monday after launching a final assault on the Islamic State group, warning civilians to stay inside and telling jihadists to “surrender or die”. Iraqi forces launched the operation Sunday to retake the district, the last part of Iraq’s second city still held by IS after a months-long offensive. Commanders say the jihadists are putting up fierce […]
South Sudan’s refugees see little chance of peace
PAGIRINYA, Uganda (Reuters) – When government soldiers came to Pajok, a town in South Sudan close to the Uganda border in April this year, Maria Lalum was caught in crossfire as the soldiers pursued fought rebel forces allied to ousted vice president Riek Machar. She survived by hiding in the forest for five days before crossing into neighboring Uganda. Lalum, a 72-year-old grandmother says this is the third time she has had to flee the […]





