Thousands more tourists had to be evacuated from Greek islands on Monday as wildfires triggered a major rescue mission in Rhodes and Corfu.
Major airlines have cancelled flights to Rhodes and have put on extra planes to bring stranded holidaymakers home.
In 24 hours, 162 fires were reported across Greece, fanned by high winds and extreme heat.
“We are at war,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told members of parliament on Monday. “The climate crisis is already here.”
Wildfires raged in Rhodes for a seventh day and blazes broke out in Corfu.
The fires, which have swept down from the mountains towards Rhodes' south-western coastal resort towns, have affected 20,000 people. In Corfu, 2,500 people have also been forced to flee from similar fires.
Firefighters from across the EU have been drafted in to help.
Terrified tourists have spoken of their ordeal at being forced to flee from their hotels.
Kelly Squirrel, a transport administrator from the UK, said police had ordered people from her hotel on Rhodes to evacuate.
"We had to keep walking," she said. "So we walked for about six hours in the heat."
German tourist Daniel-Cladin Schmidt, 42, had to cover his face due to the smoke as he and his young family were forced to walk for hours to reach safety.
"We are exhausted and traumatised," he said. "There were thousands of people, the buses couldn't pass, we had to walk for more than two hours.
"We couldn't breathe, we just covered our faces and moved forward."
Many tourists have been forced to seek refuge in gyms, schools and hotel conference centres.
Claire Jones and her husband Paul, both 36, were celebrating their honeymoon when they were evacuated on Saturday by coach from the Village Rhodes Beach Resort near Lardos.
“It was really quite traumatic driving to where we went because you could see everyone fleeing their hotels, and people were walking along the beaches, walking along the roads, and they had babies and small children," she said.
Police said 16,000 people had been transported from the fires and they had been forced to evacuate 3,000 by sea. Others had to flee by road or use their own transport after being told to leave the area.
Oxana Neb, 50, said the evacuation had been "very bad".
"We stayed in the hotel until the end and fire came from all sides," she said.
She joined other guests running to the beach, eventually abandoning her suitcases on the way, she said.
Questions have been raised about the response to the disaster and on Monday the British government was forced to defend itself for not discouraging its citizens from travelling to Rhodes after it sent a Foreign Office team to help holidaymakers.
“Our advice is focused on the safety of British nationals and enabling people to make an informed decision about the situation on the ground," the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
“The current situation is impacting on a limited area in Rhodes and while it’s right to keep it under review and it’s possible that the advice may change, we do not want to act out of proportion to the situation on the ground.”
He said there were no plans for the RAF's involvement to help people leave.
However, Jet2 announced on Monday it was putting on more flights to evacuate stranded holidaymakers.
Mr Mitsotakis warned parliament that the nation is facing "another three difficult days ahead" before high temperatures are forecast to ease.
British Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said those with plans to visit the Greek islands can still go.
"There will certainly be a change in the [Foreign Office travel advice] should it be required and we watch this on an hourly basis if not on a more frequent basis,” he said.
He said it is estimated up to 10,000 British tourists are still on Rhodes and that the Foreign Office has deployed an emergency response team.
Airline reactions amid crisis
Budget airline easyJet has set up two rescue flights with 421 seats on Monday, with another on Tuesday. This comes in addition to its nine scheduled flights to the Greek island.
A spokeswoman for easyJet said the company was doing all it can to assist its customers in Rhodes and those scheduled to travel to or from the island could change their travel dates free of charge until Saturday.
Jet2 and Tui have called off all scheduled flights and holiday plans to the island for the coming week. However, empty planes will be sent to Rhodes to help with the evacuation.
British Airways' flights to Rhodes continue on schedule.
Several other flights from airlines including Ryanair were scheduled to arrive from Greece at various UK airports on Monday afternoon.
Helen Tonks described the decision by airlines to continue their usual service as “inexcusable and negligent – putting profit before safety”.
Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kafalogianni described the situation on the island as “not alarming”.
“It’s particularly important to stress that only 10-15 per cent of the Rhodes island is affected,” she said.
One of the UK's leading climate scientists Sir David King, former UK chief scientific adviser and chairman of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, said tourists planning trips to the Mediterranean should see the Greek wildfires as a “big, big warning”, with climate change set to fuel more severe blazes in future.
He said tourists needed to take care in the heat.
“If you are in one of these very warm areas and you haven’t got air conditioning indoors, you could suffer terribly – many people will die from heat stress," he said.
“There’s no coincidence at all that climate change has driven these higher temperatures, and the higher temperatures are causing the fires that are spreading."
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 1
Kane (50')
Newcastle United 0
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 – Group 1 (PA) $65,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic – Listed (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,600m
8.15pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy – Group 3 (TB) $195,000 (T) 2,810m
8.50pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (T) 2,000m
9.25pm: Meydan Challenge – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,400m
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
WE%20NO%20LONGER%20PREFER%20MOUNTAINS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Inas%20Halabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENijmeh%20Hamdan%2C%20Kamal%20Kayouf%2C%20Sheikh%20Najib%20Alou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
Hurricanes 31-31 Lions
Wellington Hurricanes:
Tries: Gibbins, Laumape, Goosen, Fifita tries, Barrett
Conversions: Barrett (4)
Penalties: Barrett
British & Irish Lions:
Tries: Seymour (2), North
Conversions: Biggar (2)
Penalties: Biggar (4)
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".
Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
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The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
The UN General Assembly President in quotes:
YEMEN: “The developments we have seen are promising. We really hope that the parties are going to respect the agreed ceasefire. I think that the sense of really having the political will to have a peace process is vital. There is a little bit of hope and the role that the UN has played is very important.”
PALESTINE: “There is no easy fix. We need to find the political will and comply with the resolutions that we have agreed upon.”
OMAN: “It is a very important country in our system. They have a very important role to play in terms of the balance and peace process of that particular part of the world, in that their position is neutral. That is why it is very important to have a dialogue with the Omani authorities.”
REFORM OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL: “This is complicated and it requires time. It is dependent on the effort that members want to put into the process. It is a process that has been going on for 25 years. That process is slow but the issue is huge. I really hope we will see some progress during my tenure.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
MATCH INFO
Serie A
Juventus v Fiorentina, Saturday, 8pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
