ATHENS: Firefighters were battling a series of wildfires near the Greek capital Athens on Sunday afternoon, as the country braces for another scorching summer.
Greece faces a tough wildfire season after its warmest winter and earliest heatwave on record, with temperatures hitting 44°C (111°F).
Two large wildfires were raging in Attica Sunday afternoon, with residents told to evacuate from eight areas near the capital.
Some 140 firefighters, with teams of forest commandos, 39 vehicles, eight helicopters and nine aircrafts were working to control the flames in Keratea, south of Athens.
Ertnews channel reported that at least four houses were completely destroyed.
“The situation is very difficult, as strong winds continue to blow, they have not subsided and the outbreaks are many,” the mayor of Lavreotiki, Dimitris Loukas, told Athens News Agency.
“We are fighting a great battle.”
He warned that “the wind is very strong and is constantly creating outbreaks.”
However he said that the nearby military air base was not currently in danger from the flames.
It came a day after another wildfire had erupted in the same area, sparking evacuation orders but was later successfully controlled.
North of Athens, another blaze ignited in the suburb of Stamata and authorities have sent emergency messages for inhabitants to evacuate.
Fire brigade spokesman Vasileios Vathrakogiannis said it was “the most difficult day of the year so far for the Fire Brigade.”A fire also broke out Sunday in an industrial zone in Ritsona, near the island of Evia.
Black smoke has filled the sky above Ritsona after the fire started in a recycling factory, burning various flammable materials that were in the grounds around it, including tires and mattresses.
Firefighters are positioned along the old Ritsona national road and are fighting to prevent the flames from spreading beyond the recycling plant to other factories in the area.
The fire is also near a refugee center, but the Athens News Agency reported that this was not believed to be in danger.
Separately, a large wildfire broke out on Serifos island on Saturday afternoon, but was also brought under control by firefighters early Sunday.
“All of southwestern Serifos has burned. We are talking about an area where the fire stopped at the sea,” Serifos mayor Konstantinos Revintis told MEGA TV.
The fire caused damage to houses, cottages, warehouses and chapels, according to the mayor.
The Fire Danger Forecast Map issued for Sunday by the Civil Protection Ministry predicted a very high category 4 risk of fire for Attica, the Peloponnese, Crete, the North and South Aegean Regions, and central Greece.
A wildfire ignited Saturday afternoon in the area of Mount Parnitha-- known as “the lungs of Athens” — was controlled Saturday evening with the help of reinforcements from other regions as well as volunteer firefighters.
More than forty wildfires erupted across Saturday in Greece with wind speeds exceeding 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour, according to fire brigade sources.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Greeks to brace for a difficult wildfire season in his weekly Facebook post on Sunday.
“The difficult times are still ahead of us. Our effort is continuous. In this effort, our allies are new tools that build a new culture of prevention and responsibility,” he said.
Greece fights dozens of wildfires in ‘most difficult day of year’
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Greece fights dozens of wildfires in ‘most difficult day of year’
- Dozens of firefighters with 15 fire engines battled to contain the fire, backed up by a water-carrying helicopter
- The wildfire, which at one point had raged across 15 kilometers, damaged holiday homes and storehouses
Russia says it destroys five Ukraine’s SU-27 jet fighters at Myrhorod airfield
- Russia is targeting Ukrainian airfields just as Kyiv prepares to receive the first US-designed F-16s which Moscow has vowed to destroy
The ministry published footage of the attack which showed smoke and flames rising from an airfield.
“As a result of the Russian strike, five active SU-27 multi-purpose fighters were destroyed and two were damaged,” the ministry said.
Russia is targeting Ukrainian airfields just as Kyiv prepares to receive the first US-designed F-16s which Moscow has vowed to destroy.
China coast guard says Philippine ships’ presence at Sabina Shoal violated China’s sovereignty
- China Coast Guard says it followed and monitored the Philippine supply mission to Sabina Shoal
BEIJING: The China Coast Guard said the Philippines on Monday dispatched three vessels to resupply a Philippine coast guard vessel (9701) “illegally” stranded on a reef in the South China Sea that Beijing claimed as part of its territory.
In a statement on Tuesday, the China Coast Guard said it had followed and monitored the supply mission to Sabina Shoal, and that the vessels’ presence at the reef had “violated” China’s territory sovereignty and “undermined” peace and stability in the South China Sea.
Ukraine’s defense minister to hold talks with Austin, Pentagon says
- The US is the largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine in war against Russia
- President Joe Biden’s administration has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will hold talks with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington on Tuesday on firming up military cooperation between the two countries, the Pentagon said on Monday.
“Secretary Austin and Minister Umerov will discuss bilateral defense cooperation, regional security issues and ways to strengthen the defense partnership between the United States and Ukraine,” Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said at a press briefing, according to a transcript on the US Department of Defense website.
The talks come after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his plea to Kyiv’s allies over the weekend for more weapons after a Russian air strike in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region killed seven people.
The US is the largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine in the war that Russia launched against its smaller neighbor with a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
President Joe Biden’s administration has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022.
Last week, the administration said it would provide Ukraine with $150 million worth of weapons and ammunition, including HAWK air defense interceptors and 155 mm artillery munitions
“The sooner the world helps us deal with the Russian combat aircraft launching these bombs, the sooner we can strike – justifiably strike – at Russian military infrastructure, military airfields, the closer we will be to peace,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address over the weekend.
But after two years of Kyiv’s asking allies for F-16 fighter jets to help it fight Russian forces, the planes are yet to arrive.
Singh declined to answer at the briefing when Ukraine would start receiving the jets, but said that the training of Ukrainian pilots on how to operate the planes is “ongoing.”
North Korea brags of new missile with ‘super-large warhead’
- Pyongyang’s claim quickly disputed by South Korean officials and experts
- Monday’s test involved the Hwasongpho-11 Da-4.5 missile, which can carry a 4.5 tonne-class warhead
SEOUL: North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying “a super-large warhead,” a claim quickly disputed by South Korean officials and experts who speculate the North likely fabricated a successful test to conceal a botched launch.
It’s the second time that South Korea has questioned North Korea’s claim on the development of new weapons in recent days, as the rivals are locked in heightened animosities over the North’s testing activities.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said that Monday’s test involved the Hwasongpho-11 Da-4.5 missile, which can carry a 4.5 tonne-class warhead. It said the test was meant to verify the weapon’s flight stability and hit accuracy at the maximum range of 500 kilometers and the minimum range of 90 kilometers.
The test apparently refers to the two ballistic missile launches that South Korea said North Korea performed Monday.
Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon said at a briefing later Tuesday that the second North Korean missile was found to have fallen on an uninhabited area near Pyongyang, the North’s capital. He said he could find few previous test-launches by North Korea that have aimed at ground target sites.
“Regarding the North Korean assessment, we’re weighing a possibility of deception,” Lee said.
The South Korean military has said the second North Korean missile possibly traveled abnormally during the initial stage of its flight. It said if the missile exploded, its debris would likely have scattered on the ground.
The KCNA dispatch didn’t say from where it launched the new missile and where it landed. Unlike previous weapons tests, North Korea also didn’t publicize any photos of Monday’s test. The fact that it tested both the missile’s maximum and minimum ranges suggested North Korea performed two launches.
KCNA, citing North Korea’s Missile Administration, reported that North Korea will test-fire the missile again later in July to verify the performances of its simulated warhead at the medium range of 250 kilometers.
Some experts say test-firing missiles at ground targets could be related to efforts to test how powerful warheads are to destroy underground bunkers and structures.
But Shin Jongwoo, a Seoul-based military expert, said the fact that North Korea hasn’t disclosed any photos on the launches means that it’s highly likely the North is trying to deceive the outsiders to cover up Monday’s failed launches. He said North Korea likely launched an existing missile on Monday, not the new missile at it claimed.
Yang Uk, an analyst at Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said that Monday’s tests reflected North Korea’s push to acquire a variety of conventional weapons. But he also said if North Korea truly succeeded in hitting a ground target, it probably would have already published related images to brag about its achievements as it’s done in the past.
Since 2022, North Korea has sharply accelerated weapons testing activities to enlarge its arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons designed to strike key sites in the mainland United States, South Korea and Japan. The North Korea-claimed ranges of the newly tested missile imply it targets South Korea. Experts say North Korea would ultimately want to use an expanded nuclear arsenal to increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the US.
Monday’s missiles test came a day after North Korea vowed “offensive and overwhelming” responses to a new US military drill with South Korea and Japan. Five days before that test, on June 26, North Korea launched what it called a new multiwarhead missile in the first known test of a developmental weapon aimed at penetrating its rivals’ missile defenses. North Korea said the launch was successful, but South Korea dismissed the North’s claim as deception to cover up a failed launch.
Firefighters battle wildfires on 2 Greek islands as premier warns of a dangerous summer
- Greece saw 52 wildfires breaking out in the previous 24-hour period, 44 of which were tackled in the early stages
ATHENS: Firefighters battled wildfires that broke out on the eastern Aegean islands of Chios and Kos Monday and injured five people, as Greece’s prime minister warned of a dangerous summer ahead and said the public’s help was essential in limiting the impact of wildfires.
Emergency services issued evacuation orders for those in the Metohi area of western Chios on Monday morning, urging them to head to a nearby beach. By the evening, more than 140 firefighters, along with eight teams of firefighters specializing in wildfires, seven water-dropping planes and three helicopters were fighting the blaze.
Fire department spokesman Vasilis Vathrakoyiannis said two firefighters had been lightly injured, while dozens more firefighters were heading to the island by boat from the nearby island of Lesbos and from Athens. State-run ERT television later reported that another two firefighters and a volunteer had suffered non life-threatening burns.
“The situation remains difficult in Chios, and all Civil Protection forces will make great efforts to limit it,” Vathrakoyiannis said during an evening briefing.
Another fire broke out further to the south in the Aegean, on the resort island of Kos, and by late Monday had forced the evacuation of several people, including tourists from hotels, as a precaution. That blaze was being tackled by more than 100 firefighters, including reinforcements sent from Athens, as well as six water-dropping planes and two helicopters, Vathrakoyiannis added.
In total, Greece saw 52 wildfires breaking out in the previous 24-hour period, 44 of which were tackled in the early stages, Vathrakoyiannis said. Authorities were still battling a total of eight fires by Monday evening.
The blazes come a day after the fire department managed to tame two large forest fires near Athens that had been fanned by strong winds.
“We have had an exceptionally difficult June regarding weather conditions, with high levels of drought and unusually strong winds for this season,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Monday during a Cabinet meeting. This year’s summer, he said, “is predicted to be particularly dangerous” for wildfires.
Mitsotakis said the use of drones as part of an early warning system for wildfires had been particularly useful this year and credited better coordination between authorities and volunteer firefighters for limiting the extent of fire damage so far.
“We are entering the tough core of the anti-fire period, and this will certainly not be won without the help of the public as well, particularly in the field of prevention,” Mitsotakis said.
Hot, dry weather combined with strong winds helped fan fires in both Greece and Turkiye last month. This year’s summer is expected to be particularly prone to blazes following a particularly mild, dry winter. Last year, extensive wildfires in Greece killed more than 20 people.
