iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Time is running out, Antonio Guterres told the 15-member Security Council
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Portugal asks Europe for help as wildfires rage
More than 800 firefighters were battling fire in Aveiro district, where police shut motorways and evacuated several villages
Image used for illustrative purpose only. AFP File Photo
Portugal asked for more fire-fighting planes on Monday as at least 15 blazes raged in central and northern regions, including one that burned houses on the outskirts of the town of Albergaria-a-Velha.
More than 800 firefighters were battling that fire and three others in the northwestern Aveiro district, where police shut motorways - including a stretch of the main highway between the capital Lisbon and Porto - and evacuated several villages.
Thick smoke from the fires, that were stoked by strong winds and high temperatures, blanketed the area.
Authorities said they had deployed eight water-bombing aircraft in that district.
The government requested more aircraft from the European Commission under the EU civil protection mechanism known as RescEU.
Albergaria-a-Velha Mayor Antonio Loureiro told Lusa news agency the fire had burned down two houses and was raging in the industrial and residential perimeter of the town of some 25,000 people.
In total, officials said 1,500 firefighters were engaged across the country where temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius over the weekend and were expected to stay high on Monday and Tuesday.
Portugal and neighbouring Spain have recorded fewer fires than usual after a rainy start to the year. But both remain vulnerable to the increasingly hot and dry conditions that scientists have blamed on global warming.
More news from World
Ukraine now spends roughly half of its state budget — or about $40 billion — on defence
The advance of Moscow's forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia's vast superiority in men and materiel
Teams of enumerators accompanied by soldiers and armed police went door to door in Yangon to fill in the 68-question survey
The debate is likely the final one of the 2024 presidential campaign, potentially giving it some extra weight ahead of the November 5 election
Taal is one of the world's smallest active volcanoes and some of its previous eruptions have impacted the capital and air travel
The 207 to 121 vote was largely a repeat of the Conservatives' failed attempt last week to trigger snap elections
Reporters say they are frequently rounded up for covering attacks by militant groups or writing about the discrimination of women