l35 killed in Syria bus collision
Damascus, July 25: At least 35 people have been killed and dozens injured after two buses collided on a highway linking the Syrian capital with the eastern province of Deir el-Zour on Saturday, state media reported. Around 30 people were injured in the crash between a civilian bus and an Interior Ministry bus on the desert highway, the SANA news agency cited a health ministry official as saying. Syrian military helicopters were reported to be involved in the operation at the scene. The cause of the collision was not immediately known. (AP)
Romania shoots down 2nd drone in two days
Bucharest, July 25: Romanian President Nicusor Dan said Saturday that Romania had shot down another drone after it violated the country’s airspace, marking the second such incident in two days. The drone was downed about 10 km west of Sfantu Gheorghe in central Romania, Dan said. Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said in a statement that its radar surveillance systems detected an unauthorised drone entering the eastern European country’s national airspace and flying in the border area with Ukraine, Xinhua News Agency reported. “Two F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the Romanian Air Force intercepted the air target and executed standard identification and neutralisation procedures. The drone was safely shot down in an unpopulated area near the border,” the ministry said. It added that the drone was brought down by the same pilot who had shot down the Shahed drone in Buzau County on Friday. (IANS)
Quarter million flee France, Spain wildfires
France, July 25: France was preparing to use a massive specially adapted cargo aircraft to dump flame retardants Saturday on a wildfire that has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, including from some suburbs of the wine region city of Bordeaux. Including some 70,000 people evacuated in central Spain, wildfires in southern Europe this week have displaced more than 250,000 people. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the hulking A400M aircraft will join 18 other water- and retardant-dropping planes and helicopters waging an expected “long and very difficult” battle against the blaze raging in the Gironde region of southwestern France.(AP)
Okefenokee Swamp added to UNESCO List
Seoul, July 25: The Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, an ornate 13th-century Buddhist temple in Thailand and tidal flats in western South Korea were among several sites added to the World Heritage List on Saturday at a UN committee meeting in South Korea. The UNESCO meetings in Busan, which continue through next Wednesday, are reviewing dozens of other nominations, including the D-Day landing beaches in France, Mount Olympus in Greece and the ancient Japanese capitals of Asuka-Fujiwara.The Okefenokee Swamp is regarded as one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems, encompassing a vast network of wetlands that supports exceptional biodiversity and serves as the source of two major rivers. (AP)
