Greek Officials Defend Wildfire Response
Voice of America
Firefighters in Greece continue to battle wildfires as officials defend their response amid unusually high temperatures and dry conditions.
“We handled an operationally unique situation, with 586 fires in eight days during the worst weather conditions we’ve seen in 40 years,” Greece’s civil protection chief Nikos Hardalias said at a Tuesday news conference. “Never was there such a combination of adverse factors in the history of the fire service.” The government has pledged $586 million in aid to help those affected by the fires, including a massive blaze on Evia island that has been burning for more than a week. More than 900 firefighters have been working to bring the Evia fire under control. Wildfires in Greece are part of a wave of fires in many countries in Europe and across the Mediterranean in Algeria.A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. FILE - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks to reporters in Colombo, July 29, 2023. FILE - A TV screen shows a report of North Korea's spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year with an image of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023.
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.