Canada puts military on standby as B.C. blazes kills one

Canada put its military on standby Monday to help battle deadly wildfires in British Columbia as a local mayor warned that one of the blazes had wreaked huge destruction on his community. A woman has died and some 20,000 people have fled their homes so far.

For days, scores of wildfires have burned across the province, nearly half of them out of control in hot, windy weather and prolonged drought. Thousands have fled on jammed roads as officials said even more communities could be threatened.

The mayor of Summerland — home to about 12,000 people, which was ordered evacuated on Saturday night along with about 8,000 people in and around nearby Peachland — warned that the affected areas remained too dangerous to enter and that it was impossible to determine the scope of the destruction.

The blaze remained out of control after racing toward Summerland and other communities along Okanagan Lake over the weekend.

Defense Minister David McGuinty said the Canadian Armed Forces were in constant contact with provincial and federal officials and were ready to respond if British Columbia formally requested assistance. The federal government has already approved provincial requests for help with shelter and accommodations.

Ukrainian drone attack on an oil hub inside Russia kills 13

Ukraine attacked the petroleum hub of Nizhnekamsk in central Russia’s Tatarstan region on Monday, killing 13 people and injuring 78 others, local authorities said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country in the 4-year-old war.

The Ukrainian military said it hit an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, which is about 750 miles east of the Ukrainian border and has a population of about 240,000.

Russian officials didn’t say what the drones targeted, but the city is home to two refineries and a petrochemical plant. Ukraine has targeted Russian oil facilities with long-range drones almost daily in recent months. The campaign has caused fuel shortages in Russia, eaten into its refining capacity and unsettled the population.

Also on Monday, several Ukrainian drones sparked a fire at an industrial facility in the Tyumen region of western Siberia, said Gov. Alexander Moor, without offering any details.

Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces damaged part of a petrochemical complex in Tobolsk, in the Tyumen region. The plant produces rocket fuel components, aviation fuel, composite materials for drones and high-octane gasoline, it said in a Telegram post.

Prosecutors charge speedboat operator after 2 are killed

NEW YORK >> The driver of a speedboat that capsized in New York Harbor over the weekend, killing a 27-year-old woman and her infant daughter, was charged Monday with causing their deaths through misconduct or neglect.

Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manville, New Jersey, wiped his eyes with his hand as he arrived for his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court, his feet shackled. He was not required to enter a plea and was released on $50,000 bail.

Sara Sanchez and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, died after the 22-foot Yamaha AR210 speedboat overturned late Saturday near the Statue of Liberty in an accident authorities blamed on an overcrowded boat, poor decisions by Hernandez, a lack of appropriate licenses and the failure to put a life vest on a 5-month-old child. Twelve others were rescued and are in stable condition, authorities said.

WHO: Ebola outbreak started months before declared

BUNIA, Congo >> The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record started in February, months before it was officially declared in mid-May, the World Health Organization said Monday as responders in eastern Congo struggle to catch up.

The WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, told a news conference that sequencing indicated the outbreak’s start. He said some cases early on were wrongly attributed to other diseases, including malaria and typhoid.

“So we are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us,” Janabi said.

Confirmed cases of Ebola in this outbreak have reached 4,200, including over 1,900 deaths, according to the latest government figures.

Parliament approves a pardon-like bill for PKK militants

ANKARA, Turkey >> Turkey’s parliament on Monday approved legislation that would introduce a conditional pardon for thousands of Kurdish militants in a bid to advance the government’s peace initiative with their insurgent group.

Legislators voted 468-88 in favor of the measure that would only come into effect after Turkish authorities have verified that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has fully disarmed.

The PKK announced last year that it is ending its decades-long armed campaign against the Turkish state, declaring a decision to dissolve itself as part of the peace effort. The move came in response to a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan.

The group then announced that it was withdrawing fighters from key locations in Turkey to Iraq.

Company announces massive loss and new turnaround effort

NEW YORK >> The president’s media company posted a massive loss in the second quarter and announced plans to ditch new business lines and refocus as a forum for users to post their views.

Trump Media & Technology, the company behind the Truth Social platform, said Monday that it lost $238 million in the three months through June as it branched into businesses unrelated to media, including crypto. That was more than 10 times the loss from a year earlier. The per share loss widened to 86 cents from 8 cents.

In a conference call after the earnings release, the new chief executive, Kevin McGurn, said a yearlong effort to expand by branching into several new industries including online betting and crypto would now be largely abandoned as he refocuses the business on its social media mission.

Trump Media stock fell slightly in after-hours trading following the earnings report. The stock had fallen 8% in regular trading.

— Denver Post wire services