High wind pushed fires through hillside scrub and pine forests parched by extreme heat outside Athens on Monday, forcing thousands to flee seaside resorts, closing motorways and gutting holiday homes.
At least six seaside communities in Greece received evacuation orders as two major wildfires edged closer to summer resort towns and gusts of wind hit 70kph.
The army, police special forces and volunteer rescuers moved retirees from their homes, rescued horses from a stable and helped monks to flee a monastery threatened by the flames.
Before nightfall, water-dropping planes and helicopters tackled the flames near Lagonisi, about 40km south-east of the capital.
The second large wildfire broke out in a wooded area near the resort town of Loutraki, about 90km west of Athens, where a children's summer camp and rehabilitation centre for seniors were evacuated, local officials said.
Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said the strong and changeable winds and mountain terrain in which both fires broke out were slowing firefighters.
“The conditions are changing constantly and this has to be matched by our response. We have ordered multiple evacuations,” Mr Artopios said.
Those evacuated gathered along the coast or were put up in schools and hotels, while coast guard vessels were sent to smoke-heavy beachfronts to assist if needed.
On a visit to Brussels, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the risk posed by wildfires this month as “extremely difficult” to deal with.
“We have always had wildfires and we always will have them," Mr Mitsotakis said.
"But with the effects of the climate crisis, we are experiencing fires with increasing intensity."
He was in Belgium for talks between leaders from the EU and Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Greater Athens and much of southern Greece were on the second highest level of alert for wildfires on Monday and Tuesday, after a four-day heatwave that eased over the weekend.
More high temperatures are expected later in the week.
Residents and visitors in areas affected by the two fires received mobile phone alerts from the Civil Protection Ministry.
Loutraki Mayor Giorgos Gionis said municipal workers were also assisting seniors in moving to safety, adding that the operation had been impeded by cuts to mobile phone reception.
Local officials said homes had been destroyed and badly damaged in both fires.
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Cartlow: $13.4m
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imVentures: $100m
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The%20specs
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Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Background: Chemical Weapons
The specs
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- Power: 640hp
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The%20specs
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- Brentford v Arsenal
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FIGHT%20CARD
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U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
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1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
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F1 2020 calendar
March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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3.
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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