More than 40 people have died in wildfires that have engulfed swaths of land in nine Mediterranean countries, destroying homes, livelihoods and forests. Thousands of firefighters worked to contain the blazes as searing temperatures scorched parts of Greece, Italy, Spain, Gran Canaria, Portugal, Turkey, Croatia and France, as well as Algeria and Tunisia. Authorities ordered the fresh evacuations of several communities in central Greece on Wednesday as they battled new fronts in the fires that have been spreading for 10 days. High winds hampered firefighting efforts, and combined with the heatwave, they created a “perfect storm” that allowed flames to spread. Sixty-one wildfires erupted across Greece in just 24 hours, the fire brigade said, with the worst outbreaks near the central town of Velestino, where officials ordered precautionary evacuations. Follow our live coverage of the wildfires and heatwave here But as Athens recorded 40C and northern Turkey 43C, there were hopes the mercury may now have peaked. The entire island of Rhodes, where more than 20,000 holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee at the weekend, was put into a state of emergency. At least seven people have been killed in Italy, which suffered extreme heat in the south and violent storms in the north, and in Algeria, 34 people including 10 soldiers have been killed by flames or smoke in recent days. Those fires also spread to forests in Tunisia, where some cities recorded 49C this week. On the island of Sicily, two elderly people were found dead in a home consumed by flames near Palermo airport, which had been closed temporarily because of encroaching flames, according to news reports. Another woman died after fires prevented an ambulance from reaching her home. Homes and hotels were also evacuated in the Italian regions of Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria. It comes after two Greek pilots were killed in a crash during a low-altitude water drop on Tuesday. The wildfires have released record greenhouse gas emissions this month, the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) said. The megaton of carbon was nearly double the previous record, set in 2007. Fire crews have been battling more than 500 fires for almost two weeks. Several people have been arrested or fined for accidentally starting fires, but scientists and EU officials say the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires is down to the climate crisis. Without human-induced climate change, wildfires would have been extremely rare, according to World Weather Attribution, a global team of scientists. On Rhodes, a nature reserve was damaged, and fires also burned in Vati and Gennadi. “The fires have started again,” a fire official told The Independent. “A little wind and the fire returns … that’s the problem.” Dozens of firefighters were trying to tame a firefront in the south. Greece’s civil protection agency extended its state of emergency to the whole of Rhodes for six months “to deal with emergencies and manage the consequences of catastrophic forestry fire”, minister Vasilis Papageorgiou said. In the sleepy town of Malonas, volunteers ventured out again to try to keep the fires at bay – having fought back the flames as they approached the night before. “We have no energy, we have no power – not enough to stop this ... We are waiting for the wind to calm down to try again tonight to finish the job, but it is very difficult because after 10 days everyone is very tired,” said a volunteer named Panos. However, a “level 5” alert on Crete on Tuesday was dropped to level 4 on Wednesday, and one fire official said the wildfires that had raged across Greece for more than a week abated on Wednesday. The Greek government tried to contain damage to the reputation of its tourism industry. Tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni stressed that wildfires had affected only a small part of the island. A fire brigade spokesperson, Ioannis Artopoios, said tackling the fires was a significant financial burden for Greece, with firefighting on Rhodes alone costing about €7.5m (£6.4m) so far. In Italy, the government was meeting to declare a state of emergency in regions worst hit and introduce a furlough scheme for workers most exposed to the heatwave. The country’s firefighters said they had battled nearly 1,400 fires between Sunday and Tuesday, including 650 in Sicily and 390 in Calabria, where a bedridden 98-year-old man was killed as flames consumed his home. Planes were also trying to douse the flames on the hills around Palermo on Wednesday. In Croatia, water-dropping planes and more than 100 firefighters held back a blaze before it reached houses in the walled town of Dubrovnik. In Portugal, more than 500 firefighters tackled a blaze near Lisbon. Around 90 people were forced to leave their homes, along with 800 animals taken from farms under threat. Read More Where are the wildfires? The nine affected countries mapped Greece wildfires: What is the Fire Weather Index and which areas could face wildfires in the future?

Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales will quit his post after being roundly condemned by the football world and beyond for forcibly kissing a Spain player on the mouth following the Women's World...

By David Lawder NEW YORK U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she trusts the leaders

STRAFFAN, Ireland (AP) — Vincent Norrman gave Sweden two straight wins on the European tour when he shot 7-under 65 to capture the Irish Open title on Sunday as Rory McIlroy faltered in the final round by hitting into the water on three holes.

A family of four and their three dogs were found shot dead in their home in a Chicago suburb – with the killer or killers now at large. The bodies of Alberto Rolon, Zoraida Bartolomei and their two children were found on Sunday after family members asked police to carry out a welfare check, Romeoville Police Deputy Chief Chris Burne said in a press conference on Monday. Police said that relatives had become concerned when one of the adults failed to turn up for work at 6am on Sunday morning and then didn’t respond to phone calls throughout the day. Officers carried out a welfare check at around 8.43pm at the family’s home on the residential 500 block of Concord Avenue in Romeoville. When police arrived at the home, the four family members were dead from gunshot wounds. Three dogs were also found shot dead inside the home. The names and ages of the children have not yet been released. In a statement, police said that the killings are believed to have happened between 9pm on Saturday evening and 5am on Sunday morning. Deputy Chief Burne said that investigators had ruled out a murder-suicide, with the perpetrator or perpetrator unknown at this time. “We do not believe the offender is among the victims,” he said during the press conference. “It is not a murder-suicide.” Despite concerns that the killer is out there, police said they do not feel the need to lock down the area. “Due to the timeframe that has gone by – more than 18 hours from the time we were contacted – we are not asking anybody to shelter in place, we are not actively looking for anybody in the area,” said Deputy Chief Burne. Currently, no further information about the killer is known, with locals voicing concerns that such a tragedy could unfold in what they thought was a peaceful residential area. Lynn Phillips, who lives one door down from the family’s home, told The Chicago Sun Times that it was “devastating”. “I’ve been crying on and off all day. It was a mom and dad and a couple of kids. The parents would be outside working the yard, and we’d wave hi and bye, that kind of thing. Nothing unusual. We all keep to ourselves,” the neighbour said. Cristina Ibarra, who has lived in the residential community for three years, told the paper that it is very unusual for police to even patrol the area because the streets are usually so quiet. “It’s sad because it’s your neighborhood and it’s usually quiet, and then this happens,” Ms Ibarra said. “It’s very sad.” Police said that the investigation is in the early stages, so further details will not yet be released due to the sensitivity of the case. Read More Former NFL player Sergio Brown missing; mother's body was found near suburban Chicago creek Owner of day care where toddler died of suspected fentanyl exposure dubbed ‘depraved’ in court hearing Delphi murders suspect makes bombshell claim that victims were ‘sacrificed’ by white nationalist cult

Debate raged on social media over whether or not Steelers DB Joey Porter Jr. got away with holding Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Speculation that the Bank of Japan will make some kind of policy move this month continues to build

Former Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher is up for taking up residency in Sin City and he loves the idea of living "in the hotel that you play at".

Mauricio Pochettino defends Moises Caicedo after his difficult Chelsea debut against West Ham.

Conor McGregor sent the Miami Heat mascot to the hospital in a bizarre promotional shoot gone wrong. The former UFC champion made an appearance at the NBA Finals in Miami where the Heat took on the Denver Nuggets. During the third-quarter stoppage, McGregor went head-to-head with the Heat mascot to promote his new product, a pain relief spray. The footage saw the fighter punch the mascot, before hitting him again. McGregor then used the heat spray on Bernie the mascot while he was knocked out on the floor, and who didn't get up immediately. The man behind the mascot was taken to a nearby hospital, according to The Athletic. The Heat said on Saturday (10 June) that the mascot received pain relief and rested at home. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The footage soon went viral across social media, with many concerned for the man's well-being. "I don't see the humor in this at all," one Twitter user wrote. "Looked like assault to me." Another added: "I really hope that the performer is okay, there’s no real way to brace your neck in costumes like that. Wouldn’t be shocked if they had a concussion." Meanwhile, one sports fan wrote: "Adding insult to injury, this is more entertaining than the actual NBA finals." Dana White has since responded to the incident, saying: "What’s up with mascots wanting to get punched in the face by professional fighters? What do you expect? "What are those mascot things made out of? Unless you’re like the Golden Knights mascot... I’m assuming it’s a metal helmet... I wouldn’t have professional fighters punch me in the face if I was a mascot." He added: "It doesn’t seem like the brightest thing in the world." McGregor hasn't fought professionally since July 2021, after suffering a leg injury to Dustin Poirier. His last fighting victory came in January 2020. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Vivek Ramaswamy has charged back into Iowa after his attention-grabbing performance in the first Republican presidential debate

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 26, 2023--