News in Brief

Date: 18 June 2023 - 21:36

News ID: ۱۱۶۲۳۲

MANILA (AP) – A ferry carrying 120 passengers and crew members has caught fire at sea in the Philippines, and a coastguard vessel has been deployed to rescue those on board and extinguish the flames, according to officials. The M/V Esperanza Star caught fire at dawn on Sunday while travelling from Siquijor province to Bohol province in the central Philippines, the coastguard said. It did not immediately say how many people had been rescued from the ferry or if there were casualties. Photos and video released by the coastguard show flames and black smoke billowing from two decks at one end of the ferry as coastguard personnel on board another vessel used water cannon trying to put out the fire. A fishing boat and another vessel could be seen nearby. None of the 65 passengers and 55 crew members could be seen on board the burning ferry based on the photographs and video released by the coastguard.

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BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have staged marches in Belgrade and other Serbian cities against President Aleksandar Vucic, pledging to “radicalize” weeks of peaceful gatherings that have already shaken his populist rule. The demonstrators in Belgrade blocked the main highway that leads through the capital and chanted slogans for Vucic to resign, something that he has repeatedly rejected over the past seven weeks of protests. The protest initially erupted in response to two back-to-back mass shootings in early May that left 18 people dead and 20 others wounded, many of them pupils from a Belgrade elementary school. The protesters have been demanding the resignations of top Serbian security officials and the revoking of broadcasting licenses for pro-government media and tabloids that regularly air violent content and host crime figures and war criminals.

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PHILADELPHIA (AFP/Daily Mail) – United States President Joe Biden made his 2024 re-election pitch to union members in Philadelphia in his first political rally since launching his campaign in April, aiming to shore up a key part of his political coalition and bolster support among white working-class voters. The event was hosted by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), which includes 60 unions representing more than 12.5 million workers. It endorsed Biden and his running mate Vice President Kamala Harris this week – the earliest it has ever made an endorsement in a U.S. presidential election. “I told you when I ran for president, I’d have your back, and I have,” Biden told the approximately 2,000 union members in attendance. “But you’ve had my back as well.” A new poll for DailyMail.com lays bare the challenge facing Biden as he runs for reelection. Almost half of Democrats believe he is too old for the job, and 52 of all voters believe they are worse off since he became president. Republicans have used both as attack lines in their campaigns to unseat Biden. The president has always been gaffe-prone, but now any botched comment is seized on as evidence that the 80-year-old is no longer fit for office.

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PARIS (Reuters) – Twelve police have been wounded in clashes with demonstrators in France’s Savoie department where a protest against a high-speed rail project in the Alps turned violent, authorities said. Some 2,000 protesters, including a roughly 300-strong dark-clad hardcore, were in the Maurienne Valley objecting to a tunnel for the link between Lyon and the Italian city of Turin. They threw rocks at riot police, who responded with tear gas, and one demonstrator was wounded, local prefect Francois Ravier told a news conference. “The day is not over, we remain prudent and mobilized,” he said. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted the police injury toll. Border checks turned up 400 objects, like knives and hammers, while 96 individuals known by security services were sent back to Italy, the officials said.

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LUCKNOW (AP) – At least 96 people died in two of India’s most populous states over the last several days, officials said Sunday, with swaths of the country reeling from a sweltering heat wave. The deaths happened in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern Bihar where authorities warned residents over 60 and others suffering various maladies to stay indoors during the daytime. All the fatalities in Uttar Pradesh, totaling 54, were reported in Ballia district, some 300 kilometers southeast of Lucknow, the state capital. Authorities found out most of those who passed away were over 60 years old and had preexisting health conditions, which may have been exacerbated by the intense heat. S. K. Yadav, a medical officer in Ballia, said in the past three days, some 300 patients were admitted to the district hospital for various ailments aggravated by heat. Due to the gravity of the situation, authorities canceled leave applications of medical personnel in Ballia and provided additional hospital beds in the emergency ward to accommodate the influx of patients.

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BAMAKO (Al Jazeera) – Malians voted on Sunday in a referendum on changing the constitution that the military rulers and regional powers have said will pave the way to elections and a return to civilian rule. The military government, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, promised to hold the plebiscite as part of a transition to democracy under pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Voting began at 08:00 GMT and results are expected within 72 hours. Presidential elections are scheduled for February 2024. Voter turnout is expected to be low in the country of 21 million due to armed conflict.