International News
Deadly Wildfires Rage Across Spain As Record Area Of Land Burnt
Thousands of firefighters backed by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft on Monday battled over 20 major wildfires raging across western Spain, where officials say a record area of land has already been burnt.
Spain and neighbouring Portugal have been particularly affected by forest fires fuelled by heatwaves and drought blamed on climate change that have hit southern Europe.
Two firefighters were killed on Sunday — one in each country, both in road accidents — taking the death toll to two in Portugal and four in Spain.
Spain’s civil protection chief Virginia Barcones told public television TVE that 23 blazes were classified as “operational level two”, meaning they pose a direct threat to nearby communities.
The fires, now entering their second week, are concentrated in the western regions of Castile and Leon, Galicia and Extremadura, where thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.
Residents said they were frustrated with what they regarded as poor preparation and limited resources.
“No one’s shown up here, nobody,” Patricia Vila, 42, told AFPTV in the village of Vilamartin de Valdeorras in Ourense province of Galicia.
“Not a single damn helicopter, not one plane, has come to drop water and cool things down a bit.”
‘Fire Everywhere’
Signs of the fires were everywhere in the province, from ashen forests and blackened soil to destroyed homes, with thick smoke forcing people to wear masks.
Firefighters battled the flames as locals in just shorts and T-shirts used water from hoses and buckets to try to stop the spread.
More than 343,000 hectares (848,000 acres) of land — the equivalent of nearly half a million football pitches — have been destroyed this year in Spain, setting a new national record, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
The previous record of 306,000 hectares was set in the same period three years ago.
Spain is being helped with firefighting aircraft from France, Italy, Slovakia and the Netherlands, while Portugal is receiving air support from Sweden and Morocco.
But the size and severity of the fires and the intensity of the smoke — visible from space — were making “airborne action” difficult,” Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles told TVE.
“It’s a very difficult, very complicated situation,” she added.
Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes since the wildfires began last week.
“We had to run away because the fire was coming in from everywhere—everywhere, above us, below us, all around,” said Isidoro, 83, in Vilamartin de Valdeorras.
‘At War’
Across the border in Portugal, some 2,000 firefighters were deployed across the north and centre of the country on Monday, with about half of them concentrated in the town of Arganil.
Some 216,000 hectares of land have been destroyed across Portugal since the start of the year.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the country had endured 24 days of weather conditions of “unprecedented severity” with high temperature and strong winds.
“We are at war, and we must triumph in this fight,” he added.
Officials in both countries expressed hope that the weather would turn to help tackle the fires.
Spain’s meteorological agency said the heatwave, which has seen temperatures hit 45C in parts of the country, was coming to an end.
Officials in Castile and Leon said a firefighter died on Sunday night when the water truck he was driving flipped over on a steep forest road and down a slope, days after two other volunteer firefighters were killed in the region.
A Romanian employee of a riding school north of Madrid lost his life trying to protect horses from the fire.
In Portugal, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said a firefighter died on Sunday in a traffic accident that left two colleagues seriously injured.
A former mayor in the eastern town of Guarda died on Friday while trying to tackle a fire.
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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