Nation and world news in brief for July 1
Greek firefighters battle wildfires for second day amid strong winds
ATHENS (Reuters) — Greek firefighters were battling two wildfires near Athens on Sunday amid strong winds, just hours after managing to contain blazes in a mountainous area also near the capital as well as on an island in the Aegean Sea. Dozens of firefighters in full gear, backed by 23 water-carrying aircraft, fought with hoses to tame a fire in a sparsely-populated area near the town of Keratea, some 35 kms (22 miles) south of Athens. Authorities had ordered evacuations before flames from burning pine and olive trees engulfed houses.
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Nevada residents will vote on abortion rights in November
(NYT) — Nevada residents will vote on whether to protect the right to abortion in the state in November, as abortion rights groups try to continue their winning streak with measures that put the issue directly before voters. The Nevada secretary of state’s office certified the ballot initiative Friday after verifying the signatures required. In Nevada, abortion is legal through 24 weeks of pregnancy. Organizers of the ballot initiative are seeking to amend the state constitution to protect abortion up to the point of fetal viability — also around 24 weeks — because it is harder to change the constitution than repeal state law.
Small plane with 5 aboard crashes in rural upstate New York
(NYT) — Emergency responders were searching for a small plane carrying five people that crashed in a rural part of New York state outside the Catskill Park on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The single-engine Piper PA-46 crashed around 2 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading an investigation. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash or whether there were injuries or fatalities. Preliminary information indicated that the plane left from Albert S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta, New York, with five people aboard, authorities said. It was headed to Charleston, West Virginia, when it crashed under unknown circumstances, an NTSB public affairs specialist said.
In Boston, all aboard googly-eyed trains
(NYT) — Demonstrators marched to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Boston headquarters in April with a single, deeply researched demand. Put googly eyes on some trains, they said. Two months later, their demands have been met — at least until the decals wear off. The campaign was organized by two recent college graduates who cast the effort as an attempt to improve commuters’ spirits and promote empathy for the metal contraptions that transport them. The organizers said the transportation authority had “a responsibility to improve the lives of Bostonians.” If the city’s trains can’t be reliable, they wrote, at least they could bring a smile to riders.
Taliban talks with UN go on despite alarm over exclusion of women
(NYT) — Taliban officials attended a rare, United Nations-led conference of global envoys to Afghanistan on Sunday, the first such meeting Taliban representatives have agreed to engage in, after organizers said Afghan women would be excluded from the talks. The two-day conference in Doha, Qatar, is the third of its kind. It is part of a United Nations-led effort, known as the “Doha process,” started in May 2023. It is meant to develop a unified approach for international engagement with Afghanistan.
