Briefly

UNITED STATES

Emergency declared after chemical incident

Firefighters warned on Saturday that a tank of toxic chemicals in California is heating up, adding to fears of a catastrophic explosion that has already forced tens of thousands of Californians to evacuate. About 40,000 residents were ordered to leave their homes in the Garden Grove area of Orange County on Friday after the tank began to leak, sending fumes over a heavily populated area. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the county on Saturday as emergency crews raced to cool down the tank, which contains 26,600 liters of methyl methacrylate — a volatile and flammable liquid used to make plastics. The situation has grown more urgent as temperatures inside the tank have continued to rise, reaching about 32 C on Saturday from 25 C a day earlier.

Tulsi Gabbard resigns as top intel official

Tulsi Gabbard said on Friday that she was resigning from her job as US President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence, saying her husband had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and she was leaving her role to help him. Gabbard informed Trump of her intention to step down during an Oval Office meeting on Friday, Fox News Digital reported earlier. The resignation is effective on June 30, it said. In her resignation letter posted on X, Gabbard told Trump she was "deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half". Trump said Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas would become acting director. Lukas is a former CIA officer and analyst who served on the National Security Council during Trump's first term.

INDIA

16 die of heatstroke as mercury levels shoot up

At least 16 people have died of heatstroke in southern India so far this summer, officials said on Sunday, as a heat wave grips swathes of the country following official health warnings. India is no stranger to scorching summers, but years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heat waves to become longer, more frequent and more intense. Temperatures in several Indian cities have recently hovered well above 45 C. The deaths were reported in the southern state of Telangana, with revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy calling for "statewide vigilance" to safeguard public health."The intensity of the heat has reached unprecedented levels", Reddy's office said.

Agencies - Xinhua