Briefly

UNITED STATES

Fires in Washington state burn 600 homes

Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said on Sunday. The fires in and around Spokane, the state's second-largest city, burned about 21 square kilometers over the weekend and were among dozens of wildfires across Western US that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. About 1,000 square kilometers have burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, remain uncontained.

UKRAINE

Umerov to head foreign intelligence service

President Volodymyr Zelensky put Ukraine's chief negotiator in charge of foreign intelligence on Monday, the latest move in an ongoing shakeup that included replacing the defense minister in July. Zelensky said Rustem Umerov, who moved to the post of spy chief from his previous job as head of the advisory Security Council, would remain in charge of peace talks, tasking him with continuing to seek a diplomatic end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Former interior minister Ihor Klymenko would take over as head of the Security Council. Zelensky has been moving senior officials among top posts since an abrupt cabinet purge last month.

EGYPT

Quake strike activates quick response plans

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook eastern Egypt early on Monday, prompting authorities to activate response plans although there were no immediate requests for emergency help. The tremors were felt across a wide area, waking AFP journalists across Cairo and reaching as far as El-Arish near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip. The quake struck about 40 kilometers north of the city of Suez, according to Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, which revised an earlier estimate of 5.2. The US Geological Survey put the shallow tremor at magnitude 5.0, revising down an earlier reading.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA