ATHENS: Firefighters battled on Wednesday to extinguish the remnants of a wildfire near Athens that killed a woman, torched buildings, devoured woodland and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
Most of the fronts had eased three days after the inferno had first taken hold, but officials warned against complacency as firefighters were still battling sporadic flare-ups.
“It is a vast area and forces are trying to ensure day and night that there won’t be any rekindlings,” Nikos Lavranos, head of the Greek federation of fire service employees, told Reuters.
Government inspectors were assessing damaged buildings and state infrastructure on Wednesday. Some fire-stricken residents returned to their scorched properties, hoping to find some belongings amidst the debris, while others were trying to overcome the shock.
State TV ERT said that some fire-stricken areas were still suffering from power cuts.
“The fire started very far from here... and in no time it burned everything,” said 78-year old Giannis Tsiminis as he took stock of the damage he had suffered.
“All the air condition units are burned, as well as the window shades, the insect screens and the window glasses are broken. And a big power generator that I had, it also burned.” .
Hundreds of firefighters assisted by dozens of aircraft have been tackling the blaze since Sunday as it barrelled from a forest off the town of Varnavas, 35 km (22 miles) from the capital, into Athens’ northern suburbs.
Greece’s National Observatory said the fire had damaged around 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of land. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.
Greece is on high fire alert until Thursday, with temperatures forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) raising concern about possible flare ups. Winds are also expected to pick up on Thursday.
Wildfires have been a common feature of Greek summers for years, but climate change has brought hotter weather and less rain, heightening the risk.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the military airport of Elefsina to thank firefighing aircraft pilots.
“This is an effort we all make during a great climate cris is,” he said. “We must constantly improve.”
Mitsotakis also said that Greece would need to wait another three years before the arrival of seven firefighting aircraft it has purchased from Canada.
The conservative government, which has announced compensation and relief measures for those impacted by the disaster, has been criticized by opposition parties over the current number of firefighters and the aircraft it deployed for the latest blaze.
The country, which has recently tightened penalties for arson, has dealt with over 3,500 fires since May, a nearly 50 percent increase from the same period in 2023 when it recorded 2,300 blazes, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said.
Sunday’s fire broke rapidly across several fronts reaching within hours the seaside area of Nea Makri and areas around the historic town of Marathon.
By Tuesday, it had reached suburbs on the slopes of Mount of Penteli, which is considered one of Athens’ last green lungs.
A woman was found dead inside a burned business in the suburb of Vrilissia, about 10 km from central Athens, on Monday.
Some experts said the fire had managed to spread so fast because of a phenomenon called spotting, where wind whirls transfer burning matter across long distances. That led to the constant creation of new fronts which later merged.
“That is more evident in recent years. Conditions have changed and it’s becoming more usual,” Lavranos said.
Greece tackles last of wildfire near Athens, assesses damage
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Greece tackles last of wildfire near Athens, assesses damage
- Government inspectors were assessing damaged buildings and state infrastructure on Wednesday
- Some fire-stricken residents returned to their scorched properties, hoping to find some belongings amidst the debris
Uruguay’s center-left Orsi leads presidential runoff, exit polls say
MONTEVIDEO: Early exit polls in Uruguay’s presidential election indicated on Sunday that the center-left opposition candidate Yamandu Orsi is ahead of his conservative rival Alvaro Delgado in a closely fought second-round race that promises to be a photo finish.
Orsi had secured 49.5 percent of the vote, according to an exit poll from Cifra, followed by 45.9 percent for Delgado for the ruling coalition. Equipos Consultores also predicted an Orsi win with 49.0 percent of the vote and 46.6 percent for Delgado.
Romanian leftist PM and hard-right candidate in a tie after initial presidential election round, partial results show
- Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance at risk
- Hard-right Georgescu has questioned NATO commitment to collective defense
BUCHAREST: A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu appeared in dead heat after the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, partial tallies showed, in a shock result threatening Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.
After nearly 90 percent of votes were counted, Calin Georgescu, 62, was at 22 percent, while Ciolacu had 21.7 percent. However, ballots from the sizeable Romanian diaspora, which are not included in the main tally, showed a center-right politician, Elena Lasconi, 52, first with 33.4 percent and Georgescu second.
Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that gives him or her control over defense spending — likely to be a difficult issue as Bucharest comes under pressure to uphold NATO spending goals during Donald Trump’s second term as US president while trying to reduce a heavy fiscal deficit.
Lasconi told supporters after exit polls were released giving her a small lead over Georgescu, with Ciolacu in first place, that she was optimistic about making the runoff. “But as you can see, the results are very tight, let us wait until tomorrow’s results to rejoice.”
Campaigning focused largely on the soaring cost of living, with Romania having the EU’s biggest share of people at risk of poverty.
Georgescu is a former prominent member of the hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians party.
In 2021 he has called NATO’s ballistic missile defense shield in the Romanian town of Deveselu a “shame of diplomacy” and said the North Atlantic alliance will not protect any of its members should they be attacked by Russia.
Lasconi, a former journalist, joined the Save Romania Union (USR) in 2018 and became party head this year. She believes in raising defense spending and helping Ukraine, and surveys suggest she would beat Ciolacu in a runoff.
Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and since Russia attacked Kyiv in 2022, it has enabled the export of millions of tons of grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta and provided military aid, including the donation of a Patriot air defense battery.
“It will be a tight run-off, with the Social Democrat leader more vulnerable to negative campaigning due to him being an incumbent PM,” said political commentator Radu Magdin.
Somalia says 24 people have died after 2 boats capsized in the Indian Ocean
- A delegation led by the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia is scheduled to travel to Madagascar on Monday to investigate the incident and coordinate efforts to help survivors
MOGADISHU, Somalia: Twenty-four people died after two boats capsized off the Madagascar coast in the Indian Ocean, Somalia’s government said Sunday.
Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said 46 people were rescued.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure the survivors are brought back home safely and provided with the necessary care,” he said.
Most of the passengers were young Somalis, and their intended destination remains unclear. Many young Somalis embark every year on dangerous journeys in search of better opportunities abroad.
A delegation led by the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia is scheduled to travel to Madagascar on Monday to investigate the incident and coordinate efforts to help survivors.
Fiqi also said Sunday that Somalia’s ambassador to Morocco will look into a separate report of Somali youth stranded on Morocco’s coastline. It is not clear when the Morocco incident took place and Fiqi did not provide details.
The UN migration agency has in the past raised concern over rising cases of irregular migration from the Horn of Africa countries as people flee from conflict and drought.
In April, 38 migrants died and 22 others were rescued from a shipwreck off Djibouti on a popular route to Yemen. Most of those rescued were of Somali and Ethiopian nationalities.
‘It wasn’t just about me’: Imam honored for unity efforts after UK race riots
- Three children were killed, and 10 others — eight of whom were children — were injured in an attack in Southport
- In days following attack, crowds gathered to demonstrate outside Liverpool mosque
LONDON: A Muslim leader in the UK has been recognized for his efforts to foster unity after embracing protesters outside Liverpool’s Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in the wake of a knife attack in the northern English town of Southport in July.
Three children were killed, and 10 others — eight of whom were children — were injured in the attack.
Axel Rudakubana was detained and charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and possession of a bladed article.
In the days following the attack, crowds gathered to demonstrate outside the mosque in Liverpool after misinformation was spread online about the knife attack suspect.
Imam Adam Kelwick described how he approached protesters outside the mosque once tensions had eased, offering food, handshakes, and conversations.
Photographs of the peaceful exchanges, which included sharing food and even hugs, went viral, symbolizing a moment of reconciliation.
After receiving the Most Impactful Imam accolade at the British Beacon Mosque Awards, Kelwick said: “It wasn’t just about me. I’m dedicating this award to the people of Liverpool, who really came together during difficult times.”
He added: “Some of the most vocal protesters, after everyone else had gone, came inside the mosque for a little tour.”
The imam praised Liverpool’s residents for their unity.
“For those who knew better than to blame a whole religion for the evil actions of one person, for those who came to defend our mosque, and even for those who protested but later reflected and opened their hearts,” he said.
Kelwick, also a humanitarian aid worker and long-time volunteer, expressed gratitude for the award, which recognizes the contributions of mosques and leaders across the UK.
India mosque survey sparks clashes, two dead
- Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to Babri mosque
LUCKNOW: Indian Muslim protesters clashed with police Sunday with at least two people killed in riots sparked by a survey investigating if a 17th-century mosque was built on a Hindu temple.
“Two persons were confirmed dead,” Pawan Kumar, a police officer in Sambhal in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, told AFP, adding that 16 police officers were “seriously injured” during the clashes.
The Press Trust of India news agency quoted officials saying three people had died.
Hindu activist groups have laid claim to several mosques they say were built over Hindu temples during the Muslim Mughal empire centuries ago.
Street battles broke out when a team of surveyors entered the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on orders from a local court, after a petition from a Hindu priest claiming it was built on the site of a Hindu temple.
Protesters on Sunday hurled rocks at police, who fired tear gas canisters to clear the crowd.
Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in the northern city of Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to the centuries-old Babri mosque.
That mosque was torn down in 1992 in a campaign spearheaded by members of Modi’s party, sparking sectarian riots that killed 2,000 people nationwide, most of them Muslims.
Some Hindu campaigners see an ideological patron in Modi.
Calls for India to more closely align the country’s officially secular political system with its majority Hindu faith have rapidly grown louder since Modi was swept to office in 2014, making the country’s roughly 210-million-strong Muslim minority increasingly anxious about their future.
