- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- Is he serious? Trump stirs unease with Panama, Greenland ploys
- England captain Stokes to miss three months with torn hamstring
- Support grows for Blake Lively over smear campaign claim
- Canada records 50,000 opioid overdose deaths since 2016
- Jordanian, Qatari envoys hold talks with Syria's new leader
- France's second woman premier makes surprise frontline return
- France's Macron announces fourth government of the year
- Netanyahu tells Israel parliament 'some progress' on Gaza hostage deal
- Guatemalan authorities recover minors taken by sect members
- Germany's far-right AfD holds march after Christmas market attack
- Serie A basement club Monza fire coach Nesta
- Mozambique top court confirms ruling party disputed win
- Syrian medics say were coerced into false chemical attack testimony
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- London toy 'shop' window where nothing is for sale
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Accused killer of US insurance CEO pleads not guilty to 'terrorist' murder
- Global stock markets mostly higher
- Not for sale. Greenland shrugs off Trump's new push
- Acid complicates search after deadly Brazil bridge collapse
- Norwegian Haugan dazzles in men's World Cup slalom win
- Arsenal's Saka out for 'many weeks' with hamstring injury
- Mali singer Traore child custody case postponed
- France mourns Mayotte victims amid uncertainy over government
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- African players in Europe: Salah leads Golden Boot race after brace
- German far-right AfD to march in city hit by Christmas market attack
- Ireland centre Henshaw signs IRFU contract extension
- Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates
- Clock ticks down on France government nomination
- Mozambique on edge as judges rule on disputed election
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
Fires near Athens under control as new blazes rage in Greece
Forest fires that raged near Athens over the weekend have been brought under control, firefighters said Monday, but fresh blazes sprang up elsewhere as authorities warned of a difficult fire season ahead.
Fanned by strong winds of up to 70 kilometres (43 miles) per hour and dry conditions, two fires broke out Sunday in the seaside resort of Keratea, east of Athens, and the wooded suburb of Stamata.
Authorities evacuated residents and a 45-year-old man died of cardiac arrest while trying to flee the flames in Stamata, police said.
The flames destroyed several houses and cars.
By Monday, firefighters had brought most of the flames under control, said fire department spokesperson Vasilis Vathrakogiannis.
"The fires were contained by firefighters, supported on Sunday by water bombers and helicopters, who fought in very dangerous conditions," he said.
He added that the easing of the winds had helped control most of the fires across the country.
A wildfire that ignited Saturday afternoon in the area of Mount Parnitha -- known as "the lungs of Athens" -- was brought under control Saturday evening with the help of reinforcements from other regions as well as volunteer firefighters.
But more fires were igniting, with the Greek fire brigade recording 52 new blazes on Monday.
The worst of the fires was raging on the Aegean island of Chios, where 142 firefighters, seven planes and three helicopters were deployed to try put out the flames, Vathrakogiannis said.
Two firefighters were lightly injured in the operation, he added.
On the island of Kos, popular with foreign tourists, more than 100 firefighters and eight aircraft were deployed to battle another blaze.
Authorities there called on residents and visitors to evacuate several areas threatened by flames.
The island's mayor, Theodosis Nikitaras, said on Facebook that public buildings could accommodate residents and visitors fleeing the fires.
Greece, a tourist hotspot, faces a tough wildfire season after its warmest winter and earliest heatwave on record, with temperatures hitting 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) in June.
Praising the fire service's work, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the Mount Parnitha and Stamata blazes had burnt fewer than 100 hectares (247 acres).
But he warned that the Mediterranean country had "now entered the heart of the fire season", calling on Greeks to do their bit to prevent blazes.
"The fight against fires will continue... it will certainly not be won without the help of citizens," Mitsotakis told a cabinet meeting.
Scientists warn that fossil fuel emissions caused by humans are worsening the length and intensity of heatwaves around the world.
Rising temperatures are leading to extended wildfire seasons and increasing the area burnt by the blazes, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
P.Sousa--PC