Republic

June 20 (UPI) — An Italian woman was killed, nine injured and more than 1,700 evacuated from a massive fire at a beachfront resort in the Dominican Republic Friday.

Francesca Valentino, 46, of Italy, died in the fire that broke out around 11 a.m. AST at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach, a four-star resort in Bayahibe in the La Altagracia province, officials said. Three people were taken to medical facilities and six others were treated on site, Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the Dominican Republic’s Emergency Operations Center, said in a press conference.

No cause of the fire has been reported, but the Emergency Operations Center said a preliminary investigation found that portions of the resort’s buildings were made of cane roofs, which are combustible, and windy conditions contributed to the fire’s spread.

The Italian ambassador to the Dominican Republic met the dead woman’s husband at the hospital, the Italian news agency Ansa reported. There were about 285 Italian tourists staying at the resort or nearby, and the embassy in Santo Domingo was working to help them get new passports and arrange flights home.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts franchises some 8,400 hotels worldwide.

“At this time, we are actively gathering the facts regarding the incident and coordinating with the appropriate authorities and on-site teams,” a spokesperson for Viva Resorts by Wyndham told CBS News. “As this process is ongoing, we will not be providing comment at this time.”

The Emergency Operations Center said in a statement that the about 1,690 guests at the resort were evacuated to other hotels and nearby housing facilities, CBS News reported. It also said that Viva Wyndham’s Dominicus Palace, which is nearby, was not damaged and was operating as normal.

June 19 (UPI) — Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, or KHNP, said Thursday that its CEO Kim Hoe-chun has traveled to the Czech Republic to review progress on the construction of two nuclear reactors in the European country.

The state-backed utility noted that Kim took part in a meeting of the Dukovany Steering Committee in Prague alongside South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-kwan and Czech Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlicek.

Kim’s visit is timed with the first anniversary of the signing of an $18 billion contract to build two 1,000-megawatt reactors in Dukovany, located around 120 miles southeast of the Czech capital.

Groundbreaking is targeted for 2029, with commercial completion expected by 2037. The South Korean consortium includes such industrial partners as Daewoo E&C and Doosan Enerbility.

The two sides also discussed ways to strengthen bilateral nuclear cooperation, while companies from the two countries signed an engineering support agreement related to the project, according to KHNP.

Kim also toured the manufacturing facilities of Doosan Skoda Power in Plzen, situated roughly 55 miles west of Prague. The Czech turbine manufacturer owned by the Doosan Group is expected to play a key role in the Dukovany program.

“The Dukovany project is a monumental endeavor that symbolizes the strategic partnership between South Korea and the Czech Republic,” Kim said in a statement.

“We will work closely with the Czech government, the project owner, local communities, and Czech companies to make this project a model for the safest and most successful nuclear power plant construction in the world,” he added.

Wales pairing Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny continued their impressive start to the World Cup of Darts with a resounding victory over Group C opponents Thailand in Frankfurt, Germany.

Having had to go through group qualifying after Gerwyn Price withdrew, the new Wales pairing opened their campaign by thumping Lithuania 4-1, and then followed that up on Friday by beating Thailand by the same score.

The Welsh duo topped their group to book a Saturday afternoon tie at the Eissporthalle against USA.

Hosts Germany again impressed with a 4-2 win over New Zealand as Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko secured their place in the second round where they will play the Czech Republic.

Republic of Ireland’s William O’Connor and Mickey Mansell clinched top spot in Group D by beating Gibraltar’s Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt 4-2, earning a tie against Poland.

The top ranked nations – including England, Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Scotland – enter the tournament in the second round.

England pair Luke Littler and Luke Humphries – the top seeds – face Spain, while defending champions Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney begin their title defence against Belgium.

Scotland duo Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies face Norway, while Netherlands pairing Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen take on Sweden.

France against Latvia completes the round two fixtures.

Three wins and three defeats to finish third in their qualifying group may not look like much, but there is plenty for Republic of Ireland to be proud of in how they navigated what many said was the ‘group of death’ in League A.

The bottom seeds, who had only won promotion to League A with a last-gasp goal against Belgium in a promotion/relegation play-off last year, were tipped to go straight back down to League B when they were drawn against France, Netherlands and Poland.

Manager Carla Ward always said they wanted to aim as high as possible, and while they fell short of scaling their Everest by narrowly losing to France in their final qualifier to miss out on automatic World Cup qualification, they still have a chance to reach next year’s tournament in Brazil.

They became the first side promoted to League A not to be relegated straight back down and the first to pick up not just two but three wins in the top tier, including that sensational win over Netherlands in Cork on Friday.

Their third-place finish has secured a seeded play-off in the autumn and they will be the team many will want to avoid when the draw is made on 18 June given how they have shocked Poland twice and the Netherlands and run France ever so close.

Ward’s overriding feelings when speaking to RTE were pride tinged with pain that they couldn’t get over the line, although she was philosophical in how far they have come and how far they can go.

“I’m incredibly proud of this group and I said it to them there. We’ve got a special, special group who work unbelievably hard. It shows you everything, the [French] scenes at the end, they didn’t have it easy tonight,” she said.

“France are a top, top side and the fact we are here disappointed tells you an awful lot about where we are.

“You can take so many positives. This campaign we have grown and got better and better. Whether we had won, drawn or lost tonight we wanted to continue on the journey. We are in a really good place going into October and that has to be the focus.”

The Football Association of Ireland [FAI] says it will “continue to meet to discuss the operational aspects” of hosting Israel in the Nations League.

On Monday, RTE reported, external the game, scheduled for Dublin on 4 October, is set to be moved to a neutral venue pending Uefa approval – seven days after the teams meet at a neutral venue for Israel’s home Group B3 fixture.

A number of protests in the Republic of Ireland have taken place calling for the team to boycott the fixtures because of the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

A ‘Stop The Game’ campaign has been launched by the pressure group Irish Sport For Palestine, while May’s 1-0 victory over Qatar at the Aviva Stadium was twice disrupted when tennis balls featuring the Palestine flag were thrown onto the pitch.

Republic of Ireland midfielder Jamie McGrath said he expects the protests “will heat up over the next few months” while defender Seamus Coleman has said the issue “should have been dealt with above us”.

In February, the FAI confirmed the team will fulfil the fixtures as “Uefa regulations outline that if an association refuses to play a match then that fixture will be forfeited and further disciplinary measures may follow – including potential disqualification from the competition”.

An announcement on the issue was expected on Monday, but with the Republic of Ireland women’s crunch World Cup qualifier against France in Grenoble on Tuesday, the FAI has said it “will not be releasing a statement on any decision on this matter until after the board meeting scheduled for 11 June, due to the hugely significant game taking place on Tuesday for our women’s national team”.

It looks increasingly likely both games against Israel will now take place on neutral territory, with the FAI stressing its decision will not be swayed by outside opinions.

“The association reiterates that it is the responsibility of the board of the FAI to protect the future interests of football in Ireland,” the statement added.

“Any decision around the game is solely a matter for the association.”

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A pilot and co-pilot from the United States have died in a fiery plane crash as they attempted an emergency landing in the Dominican Republic, authorities said.

The incident occurred Sunday near the southern coastal town of La Romana, according to a statement by the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, which identified the pilot and co-pilot as U.S. citizens. It wasn’t immediately known what caused the crash. No passengers were aboard.

Major League Baseball All-Star former catcher Yadier Molina said on social media that the plane was bound for Texas to pick him up, along with family and friends.

“My condolences to the pilots and their family!” he wrote. Molina and his group were headed to Puerto Rico.

Officials said the plane had departed from Puerto Rico and landed in the Dominican Republic to refuel before heading to Texas.

The pilot and co-pilot reported an emergency shortly after taking off from the Dominican Republic, authorities said.