NEW YORK, June 11 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Solar power generation in the northeast United States is tumbling by more than 50% as a result of the smoke from eastern Canada wildfires. On Thursday ISO New England, the operator of the grid, said solar power generation in New England was 56% below last week during times of peak demand.

“In recent days, smoke from wildfires in Canada has traveled to New England, significantly lowering production from solar resources in the region compared to what ISO New England would expect absent the smoke,” pointed out the operator.

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro was holding an early parliamentary election Sunday, a vote that could put an end to deep political divisions and years of instability that have hampered the small NATO-member country on its route to joining the European Union.

Some 542,000 voters are eligible to choose among 15 parties and coalitions fielding candidates, ranging from groups that are staunchly pro-Western to ones that are pro-Serbian and pro-Russian.

TAIPEI, June 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan's air force scrambled into action on Sunday after spotting 10 Chinese warplanes crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, as the island's defence ministry said four Chinese warships also carried out combat patrols.

This is the second time in less than a week that Taiwan has reported renewed Chinese military activity, after 37 Chinese military aircraft on Thursday flew into the island's air defence zone, some of which then flew into the western Pacific.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Clashes between suspected al-Qaida militants and Yemen’s pro-government forces in the country’s south killed three men Saturday, a military official and tribal leaders said.

The fighting broke out Saturday evening when militants thought to be al-Qaida members attacked the United Arab Emirates-backed Shabwa Defense Forces near the town of al-Musnaiya in southern Shabwa province with machine guns, two tribal leaders and a military official said. The three spoke on condition of anonymity.

MOSCOW, June 11 (Reuters) - Russia's most powerful mercenary said on Sunday that his Wagner fighters would not sign any contract with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, publicly refusing an attempt by the defence ministry to bring his fighting force under its sway.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner group, has repeatedly attacked President Vladimir Putin's top military brass for what he casts as treachery for failing to fight the war in Ukraine properly.

MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/: Today there is no even ‘fragile foundation’ for talks with the Kiev regime, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.

TAKEO, Cambodia, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said here Sunday that the country's economy is expected to achieve a 5.6 percent growth rate in 2023, up from 5.2 percent in 2022.

Peace, together with the successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic, has laid a strong foundation for the Southeast Asian country to recover its economy from the pandemic, he said.

HAVANA, June 11 (NNN-ACN) — A Vietnamese donation of 2,000 tons of rice was donated by the government of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to Havana in the presence of the two top Communist Party leaders of both capital cities, Dinh Tien Dung and Luis Antonio Torres.

The donation was granted following the signing by Tien Dung and Torres Iribar of a cooperation accord between the provincial Committees of the Communist Parties of Vietnam and Cuba.

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities said three British nationals were missing after a scuba diving boat they were cruising in caught fire off Egypt’s Red Sea coastline on Sunday.

In a short statement, Egypt’s Red Sea Governate said 12 crew members and 12 British tourists were rescued when a medium-sized scuba diving boat, christened “Hurricane,” went up in flames off the southern Red Sea resort town of Marsa Alam.

A search party was launched to find the remaining three British tourists whose identities were not revealed.

BEIJING, June 11 (Reuters) - Honduras opened an embassy in China on Sunday, Chinese state media reported, after the Central American nation cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan earlier this year.

The embassy in Beijing was opened by foreign ministers from the two countries, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro is in China for a state visit, during which she is to meet with her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, state media have reported.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 11 (APP): A United Nations Security Council report has come as a reminder about the persistent threat Pakistan’s security faces from the Afghanistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying the militant group also poses a threat to the region.

“The link between the Taliban and both Al-Qaeda and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains strong and symbiotic,” the annual report of the 1988 Taliban sanctions committee monitoring team noted.

MOGADISHU, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and the United Nations have condemned the hotel terrorist attack that occurred in the capital, Mogadishu on Friday in which nine people were killed and ten others wounded.

In separate statements, the AU mission and UN in Somalia said terrorist attacks including the latest on Pearl Beach Hotel in Mogadishu by al-Shabab extremist group will not dissuade efforts to stabilize Somalia.