Wildfires driven by strong winds spread across several parts of Greece on Saturday, including areas near Athens. Large-scale firefighting efforts and emergency evacuations were underway as wildfire conditions also deteriorated in parts of Spain and France.
Villages in France and Spain have been destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and holiday accommodation.
Blazes fed by gale-force winds flared up across Greece, which until recent days had experienced fewer heatwaves and a relatively quiet fire season.
In France, a fire in the mountainous southeastern department of Var, which had been brought under control three days ago, flared up again on Friday.
Nearly 2,500 people were evacuated overnight, with firefighters bringing in reinforcements on Saturday when winds were expected to strengthen and complicate efforts to control the blaze.
Spain continued to battle several wildfire hotspots on Saturday, two days after the government declared the end of a national emergency caused by huge fires in the country's central provinces.
Conditions worsened in the northern province of León, where a new blaze broke out on Friday night.
In the eastern province of Castellon, the Vall d'Uixo fire was stabilised on its seventh day after burning nearly 10,000 hectares, allowing all evacuated residents to return. Police said they suspected arson after finding two separate ignition points.
Major fires in the central areas of Madrid and Ávila, which burned more than 70,000 hectares, were stabilised, though a new outbreak near the San Juan reservoir was extinguished on Friday.
Greek authorities issued emergency alerts for several areas for Saturday and warned of extreme wildfire risk in the regions of Attica and Evia.
More than 300 firefighters, 92 firefighting trucks, heavy machinery and aircraft have continued to battle a conflagration in the region of Boeotia, where more than 200 people from the town of Agios Vasileios, about 80 kilometres northwest of Athens, had to be evacuated by sea.
Firefighting operations also continued overnight in the regions of Argolida and Arta.
In Austria, the country's Agency for Health and Food Safety reported a record 395 heat-related deaths for the month of June.
Earlier this week, the UK said an estimated 2,877 authorities people in Britain had died from heat-related causes so far this year while France reported 5,764 excess deaths in the country.
Yemen's Houthi-run maritime coordination body on Saturday denied reports that it planned to charge commercial ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strai...
Wildfires driven by strong winds spread across several parts of Greece on Saturday, including areas near Athens. Large-scale firefighting efforts and ...
Kyrgyzstan is emerging as one of Central Asia’s most captivating destinations, offering visitors everything from the Tien Shan mountains and Lake Is...
Ukraine targeted a warehouse belonging to Russia’s largest retailer, Wildberries, and an oil refinery overnight, while Moscow said its forces struck a ship carrying military cargo in the Black Sea.
The U.S. military said it completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran, a two-hour operation that hit dozens of targets. Washington described the strikes as a "powerful response" to Iranian missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East a day earlier.
Iran’s army said it targeted U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait with drone attacks. Tehran said the operations were carried out in retaliation for recent U.S. strikes.
Thousands of migrants have crossed into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco, overwhelming border security and prompting local authorities to call for a national emergency and military deployment.
AnewZ travelled across northeastern Syria, where the scars of more than a decade of war remain visible but many believe the country has entered a new chapter.
FIFA's plan to sell a piece of its business empire to outside investors has collapsed following an open revolt by soccer officials worldwide and a major rift among top FIFA executives, the New York Post reported on Friday.
Russia pounded Ukraine's capital Kyiv with ballistic missiles on Saturday, killing at least nine people and wounding 28 others, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 1st of August, covering the latest developments.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States has not agreed to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors.
Spain said it had reversed an unprecedented surge of migrants into its North African enclave of Ceuta, with most of the approximately 50,000 people who crossed the border by land and sea already having returned voluntarily.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment