Police officers help firefighters extinguish a fire in Thrakomakedones, near Mount Parnitha, north of Athens. Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP
Police officers help firefighters extinguish a fire in Thrakomakedones, near Mount Parnitha, north of Athens. Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP
Police officers help firefighters extinguish a fire in Thrakomakedones, near Mount Parnitha, north of Athens. Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP
Police officers help firefighters extinguish a fire in Thrakomakedones, near Mount Parnitha, north of Athens. Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP

Hundreds moved as bushfires rage across Greece for fifth day


Nicky Harley
  • English
  • Arabic

Hundreds of people have been moved from Greece after fires raged for a fifth day in a row.

Ferries took people from the island of Evia, east of Athens, on Saturday.

The fire on Mount Parnitha, on the outskirts of Athens, has forced thousands of people out since late Thursday, with emergency crews facing winds and high temperatures as they battle to contain the blazes.

Bushfires have erupted in many parts of the country amid Greece's worst heatwave in more than 30 years, tearing through tens of thousands of acres of forestland, destroying homes and businesses and killing animals.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called it a "nightmarish summer" and said the government's priority "has been, first and foremost, to protect human lives".

The government planned to reimburse people affected by the fires and would designate the burned land as areas for reforestation, he said.

More than 1,000 firefighters, including reinforcements from Cyprus, France and Israel, have been deployed to fight the fires.

Blazes on Evia, Greece's second biggest island, are scattered from one end on the Gulf of Euboea across to the other, facing the Aegean Sea.

A helicopter drops water onto a forest fire near Malakasa, north of Athens. (Photo by Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP)
A helicopter drops water onto a forest fire near Malakasa, north of Athens. (Photo by Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP)

Hundreds of people, including many elderly residents, were taken by ferry late on Friday from the town of Limni on Evia as flames reached the shore.

Authorities have battled more than 400 wildfires across Greece in the past 24 hours, with the biggest fronts still burning in the north of Athens, Evia and areas in the Peloponnese, including Mani, Messinia and ancient Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games.

Massive fires have also been burning across Turkey, Italy and Russia.

In Turkey, eight people have been killed and dozens more taken to hospitals during 10 days of fire.

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New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Kamindu Mendis bio

Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis

Born: September 30, 1998

Age: 20 years and 26 days

Nationality: Sri Lankan

Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team

Batting style: Left-hander

Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Fixture: Liechtenstein v Italy, Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)

TV: Match is shown on BeIN Sports

WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS

England v New Zealand (Saturday, 12pm)

Wales v South Africa (Sunday, 1pm)

Results

Stage 4

1. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma 04:16:13

2. Gaviria (COL) UAE Team Emirates

3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe

4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal

General Classification:

1. Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott        16:46:15

2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates         0:01:07

3. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team          0:01:35

4. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ         0:01:40

5. Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS

Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)

SPEC SHEET

Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD  dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz

Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core

Memory: 8/12GB RAM

Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB

Platform: Android 12

Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW

Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps

Front camera: 40MP f/2.2

Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare

Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC

I/O: USB-C

SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano

Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red

Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE

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Four tips to secure IoT networks

Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:

- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version

- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number

- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently

- Always create a different guest network for visitors

Updated: August 07, 2021, 1:19 PM