Large wildfire ravages forest in northern Greece as 8 villages are evacuated
Athens (AP): Greek authorities on Saturday evacuated eight villages near the northeastern border with Turkiye, where a large summer wildfire was burning out of control, whipped on by high winds.
The fire service said more than 130 firefighters, assisted by 14 water-dropping planes and three helicopters, were struggling to contain the blaze and reinforcements were being sent from other parts of the country. The forest fire broke out early Saturday near the village of Melia, east of the town of Alexandroupolis.
There were no immediate reports of injuries to firefighters or residents, but authorities said some houses suffered damages in two of the evacuated villages.
Earlier, a section of a major highway in the area was closed down due to heavy smoke drifting across it.
Residents of Alexandroupolis were also advised to keep their windows closed due to smoke blown over the town from the fire.
Another smaller wildfire was burning outside Thessaloniki, in the north, the second-largest city in Greece. Earlier, firefighters brought under control a blaze on the western island of Cephalonia.
The fire service has issued a high wildfire alert for the weekend.
Last month, deadly wildfires caused havoc in central Greece, and forced the evacuation of some 20,000 tourists on the resort island of Rhodes. Shortly later, two air force pilots were killed when their water-dropping plane crashed while diving low to tackle a blaze on the island of Evia.
European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.
🔥GREECE WILDFIRES🔥
— {Matt} $XRPatriot (@matttttt187) August 20, 2023
📍EVROS
🚨URGENT – Greece: Devastating wildfires in Evros -
There is a very high risk of fire (risk category 4) for Saturday for the region of Evros and the island of Samothraki, according to the Fire Risk Forecast Map issued by the General Secretariat… pic.twitter.com/5hKSil3pby
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Xi, Trump reach series of new common understandings: China's foreign ministry
Beijing (PTI): Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump had an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning the two countries and the world, and reached a series of new common understandings, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.
Xi and Trump, who is on a three-day visit to China, met twice on Thursday and discussed a range of bilateral and global issues.
Trump is due to leave on Friday after a luncheon meeting with Xi.
Summing up the outcomes of Trump’s visit to Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the two presidents had an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning the two countries and the world and reached a series of new common understandings.
They agreed on a new vision of building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability to provide strategic guidance for bilateral relations over the next three years and beyond.
The two presidents also agreed to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-US relations, and bring more peace, prosperity and progress to the world, said a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson.
Trump visited China at the invitation of Xi.
The two presidents are meeting in person again for the first time since their Busan meeting last October, and it is the first visit to China by a US president in nine years, the statement said.
On Thursday, President Xi held a welcome ceremony and a banquet for Trump, held talks and visited the Temple of Heaven with him.
VIDEO | Beijing: On second day of bilateral talks, US President Donald Trump (@POTUS) thanks Chinese President Xi Jinping for 'incredible' China trip.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 15, 2026
Trump says, "Thank you very much. This has been an incredible visit. I think a lot of good has come of it. We've made some… pic.twitter.com/7A7lbEzLdC
