International
Portugal, Spain struggle to control forest fires
AFP
Firefighters in Spain and Portugal were battling on Wednesday to control multiple forest fires across the Iberian Peninsula with blazes in the Serra da Estrela park resuming just days after being brought under control.
Strong winds have been hampering attempts to combat the spread of the fire, one of 195 that have ravaged some 92,000 hectares of land across Portugal this year amid record temperatures.
The fire in the UNESCO-designated park restarted Tuesday after being brought under control five days earlier, and is estimated to have already consumed around 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres) of land.
More than 1,200 firefighters remained on the ground in response to the threat backed up by eight fire-fighting aircraft.
Authorities had declared some 90 percent of the park under control by midday, but fire crews are now working to “consolidate” the blaze, fire brigade commander Miguel Cruz said at a briefing.
A firefighter involved in tackling a separate blaze in central Caldas da Rainha died of a heart attack, officials said.
July proved to be Portugal’s hottest in nearly a century, with the country battling its worst forest fires since 2017 when around 100 lives were lost.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is contributing to extreme weather events, including wildfires and heatwaves.
Neighbouring Spain has also been battling a wave of forest fires in recent weeks following soaring temperatures there.
The eastern Valencia region is struggling with two major blazes, one in Bejis, 70 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of Valencia city, which began Monday and has grown rapidly. It burnt up 10,000 hectares of land and forced the evacuation of 1,500 people, regional officials say.
But the weather offered some respite some 200 kilometres further south when a storm broke over the Vall de Ebo where hundreds more firefighters have been tackling another major blaze since Saturday.
As rain and hail pummelled the area where the flames have devastated more than 11,000 hectares, all 30 aerial firefighting teams were grounded, although it raised hopes the wet weather could dampen the surging flames.
– Portugal’s largest conservation area –
In Portugal, the Serra da Estrela fire started on August 6 outside the central town of Covilha with authorities deploying 390 fire engines and 14 planes and helicopters in efforts to control it.
Firefighters, who hope to keep the fire from spreading further before temperatures rise again on Friday, have thrown a 160-kilometre cordon around the area.
Residents in Orjais village in the foothills of the mountain range helped fight back the flames which came dangerously close to their homes.
“It was chaos”, Fatima Cardoso, 62, told AFP.
Authorities are concerned about the impact of the fire on wildlife, as Serra da Estrela is Portugal’s largest natural conservation area known for its diverse wildlife, including wildcats and lizards.
“We have not yet reached the end of this critical period for fires,” Interior Minister Jose Luis Carneiro warned after meeting with meteorologists.
The upcoming heatwave is forecast to last into September, which Carneiro said was set to be drier and hotter than usual.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
International
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Seven inmates were killed and eleven others injured in a violent riot and clash inside a penitentiary in the Mexican state of Veracruz, local authorities reported on Sunday.
The disturbance began on Saturday afternoon at the Social Reintegration Center in the port city of Tuxpan, in northern Veracruz, when inmates staged a protest over extortion and assaults allegedly carried out by members of the criminal group known as Grupo Sombra.
The protesting prisoners clashed with another group of inmates and set fires inside and outside the facility, seizing control of the prison for more than 12 hours.
During the takeover, the rioters released several videos, including one showing four prisoners —believed to be members of Grupo Sombra— accusing them of being behind the violence and extortion inside the prison.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that elements of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and local police forces managed to enter the prison and regain control. The state’s Public Security Secretariat confirmed that around 9:00 a.m. local time a coordinated operation restored full order and reestablished control of the facility.
Authorities also reported that the fires set by inmates were fully extinguished.
Official figures confirmed the “tragic” deaths of seven inmates and injuries to eleven people, who are now receiving medical treatment in various regional hospitals.
This is the second deadliest riot in Veracruz in the past eight years. In 2018, a violent uprising at the La Toma medium-security prison left seven people dead (six police officers and one unidentified man) and at least 22 injured (15 officers and seven inmates).
The riot follows the kidnapping and killing of retired teacher and taxi driver Irma Hernández, a case that shocked the entire country and was attributed to Grupo Sombra. Images of Hernández kneeling, surrounded by armed men in the municipality of Álamo, sparked nationwide outrage. She was murdered after refusing to pay extortion demands from the criminal organization.
Despite these incidents, Veracruz has not seen a spike in the daily homicide average. In fact, there has been a 1.6% decrease in homicides in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
In 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported 3,094 incidents in Mexican prisons —an 18.5% increase from the previous year— resulting in 100 deaths and 892 injuries.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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