World News Roundup: U.S. military says it is assisting tanker that was attacked off Oman; FBI probe shows amount of chemicals in Beirut blast was a fraction of original shipment and more

As the first anniversary approaches on Aug. 4, major questions remain unanswered, including how a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate - which can be used to make fertiliser or bombs - was left unsafely stored in a capital city for years. Firemen fighting wildfires in Sicilian town of Catania Firemen in Italy said on Saturday they were battling for a second straight day wildfires in Sicily that reached the town of Catania, forcing people to leave their homes and the local airport to temporarily shut down.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. military says it is assisting tanker that was attacked off Oman

The U.S. Navy is assisting an Israeli-managed petroleum products tanker that was fatally attacked on Thursday off the coast of Oman, the U.S. military said on Saturday, adding the ship was most likely hit by a drone strike. The Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel, is currently being escorted by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

FBI probe shows amount of chemicals in Beirut blast was a fraction of original shipment

The amount of ammonium nitrate that blew up at Beirut port last year was one fifth of the shipment unloaded there in 2013, the FBI concluded after the blast, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing. As the first anniversary approaches on Aug. 4, major questions remain unanswered, including how a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate - which can be used to make fertiliser or bombs - was left unsafely stored in a capital city for years.

Firemen fighting wildfires in Sicilian town of Catania

Firemen in Italy said on Saturday they were battling for a second straight day wildfires in Sicily that reached the town of Catania, forcing people to leave their homes and the local airport to temporarily shut down. The firemen said on Twitter they had been conducting 250 operations in Sicily in the past 24 hours, of which 50 were in Catania alone. The city famous for its Baroque architecture is located on the slopes of Mount Etna on the island's eastern coast.

Malaysia suspends parliament session citing risk of COVID infection

Malaysia's special parliamentary sitting will be cut short after the detection of COVID-19 infections in the building, the legislative body said on Saturday, potentially providing relief for embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Muhyiddin faced calls to resign this week after Malaysia's king issued a rare rebuke of the government's revocation of ordinances - issued under an emergency rule in place since January - without his consent.

More countries hike climate pledges, piling pressure on major emitters

A group of mostly smaller countries submitted new, more ambitious climate pledges to the United Nations this week, raising pressure on big emitters including China to do the same ahead of a major U.N. climate summit in November. U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa said that as of Saturday the United Nations had received new pledges from 110 countries, out of the nearly 200 that signed the 2015 Paris climate accord.

U.S. issues new Cuba sanctions, Biden promises more to come

The United States imposed sanctions on the Cuban police force and two of its leaders on Friday in response to the Havana government's crackdown on protesters, and President Joe Biden promised Cuban-American leaders more actions were coming. The U.S. Treasury Department said the sanctions, which appeared to be largely symbolic, were a reaction to "actions to suppress peaceful, pro-democratic protests in Cuba that began on July 11."

COVID-19 cases surge in Sydney as police cordon deters protest

Sydney's coronavirus cases continued to surge on Saturday as police cordoned off the city's central district, preventing a planned anti-lockdown protest from taking place. There were 210 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 reported in Sydney and vicinities that are under a weeks-long strict lockdown while battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. Saturday's numbers bring the outbreak to 3,190 cases.

Haiti police say former Supreme Court judge suspect in president's killing

Haitian police on Friday outlined fresh accusations against a former Supreme Court judge over her links to the assassination of President Jovenel Moise earlier this month, saying she had met with some Colombian mercenaries accused of killing him. The assassination of Moise has plunged the Western hemisphere's poorest nation deeper into chaos, and launched an international manhunt for mercenaries and the murder masterminds across the Americas.

Delta variant rampant in Asia; Tokyo, Thailand, Malaysia post record COVID infections

The Olympics host city Tokyo, as well as Thailand and Malaysia, announced record COVID-19 infections on Saturday, mostly driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant of the disease. Cases surged in Sydney as well, where police cordoned off the central business district to prevent a protest against a strict lockdown that will last until the end of August.

Turkish wildfire leaves charred home and ashes, as blazes continue

Days after a raging wildfire in southern Turkey drove his family from the home they lived in for four decades, Mehmet Demir returned on Saturday to discover a burnt-out building, charred belongings and ashes. Bedsprings, a ladder, metal chairs and some kitchenware were the only things left identifiable after some of the worst fires in years tore through the region, with several still burning four days after they erupted on Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)