Hotels and homes evacuated on Greek island of Crete as wildfire burns out of control

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Updated 03 July 2025
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Hotels and homes evacuated on Greek island of Crete as wildfire burns out of control

Hotels and homes evacuated on Greek island of Crete as wildfire burns out of control
  • Homes were reported damaged as flames swept through hillside forests, fanned by strong winds
  • As fires crested ridgelines and edged toward residential areas, the blaze sent clouds of ash into the night sky

ATHENS, Greece: A fast-moving wildfire whipped by gale-force winds burned through the night and into Thursday on Greece’s southern island of Crete, prompting the evacuation of more than 1,500 people from hotels and homes.

The fire department said 230 firefighters backed up by 10 water-dropping aircraft were battling the flames, which have burned through forest and farmland in Crete’s Ierapetra area on the island’s southern coast. Two people were evacuated by boat overnight, while six private boats were on standby in case further evacuations by sea became necessary, the coast guard said.

Homes were reported damaged as flames swept through hillside forests, fanned by strong winds.

“It’s a very difficult situation. The fire is very hard to contain. Right now, they cannot contain it,” Nektarios Papadakis, a civil protection official at the regional authority, told The Associated Press overnight.

“The tourists who were moved out are all okay. They have been taken to an indoor basketball arena and hotels in other regions of the island,” he said.

The Fire Service and a civil protection agency issued mobile phone alerts for the evacuations and appealed to residents not to return to try to save their property.

As fires crested ridgelines and edged toward residential areas, the blaze sent clouds of ash into the night sky, illuminated by the headlights of emergency vehicles and water trucks that lined the coastal road near the resorts of Ferma and Achlia on the southeast of Crete.

Several residents were treated for breathing difficulties, officials said, but there were no immediate reports of serious injuries.

Crete is one of Greece’s most popular destinations for both foreign and domestic tourists.

The risk of wildfires remained very high across Crete and parts of southern Greece Thursday, according to a daily bulletin issued by the Fire Service.

Wildfires are frequent in the country during its hot, dry summers, and the fire department has already tackled dozens across Greece so far this year.

In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 died, including some who drowned while trying to swim away from the flames.


UN: Over 11 million refugees risk losing aid because of funding cuts

UN: Over 11 million refugees risk losing aid because of funding cuts
Updated 7 sec ago
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UN: Over 11 million refugees risk losing aid because of funding cuts

UN: Over 11 million refugees risk losing aid because of funding cuts
  • Agency highlights deadly confluence of factors pummeling millions of refugees and displaced people globally
  • UN refugee agency has said it needs $10.6 billion to assist the world’s refugees this year

GENEVA: Massive cuts to humanitarian budgets risk leaving more than 11 million refugees without desperately needed aid, the United Nations warned Friday.

That corresponds to a full third of the number reached last year by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

In a new report, the agency highlighted a deadly confluence of factors pummeling millions of refugees and displaced people globally: “rising displacement, shrinking funding and political apathy.”

“We are right now facing a deadly cocktail,” UNHCR’s head of external relations, Dominique Hyde, told reporters in Geneva.

“We are incredibly concerned for refugees and displaced populations around the world.”

Dramatic aid cuts by the United States and other countries have left UNHCR and other aid organizations facing gaping shortfalls.

UNHCR has said it needs $10.6 billion to assist the world’s refugees this year, but so far it has received just 23 percent of that amount.

As a result, the agency said it was seeing $1.4 billion of essential programs being cut or put on hold.

The impact, Hyde cautioned, risks being that “up to 11.6 million refugees and people forced to flee are losing access to humanitarian assistance provided by UNHCR.”

The agency said families were being forced to choose between feeding their children, buying medicines and paying rent.

Malnutrition is especially severe for refugees fleeing war-ravaged Sudan, where the UN has been forced to reduce food rations and nutrition screening, she said, decrying the “devastating impact for children who have fled to Chad.”

The cuts have also forced UNHCR to pause the movement of new arrivals from border areas to safer locations in Chad and South Sudan, “leaving thousands stranded in remote locations,” the agency said.

Health and education services for refugees are also being scaled back worldwide.

In camps in Bangladesh hosting nearly a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, education programs for some 230,000 children risk being suspended.

UNHCR also said its entire health program in Lebanon was at risk of being shuttered by the end of the year.

Funding for aid programs is not the only issue.

Last month, UNHCR announced it would need to cut 3,500 staff – nearly a third of its workforce worldwide – amid the budget shortfall.


UK MPs demand government respond to ICJ Israel ruling

UK MPs demand government respond to ICJ Israel ruling
Updated 13 min 19 sec ago
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UK MPs demand government respond to ICJ Israel ruling

UK MPs demand government respond to ICJ Israel ruling
  • In letter, they remind PM that Britain has not issued its position on ‘groundbreaking’ statement from year ago
  • 16 organizations also demand govt action to halt UK complicity in Israeli violations of Palestinian rights

LONDON: A group of 112 MPs has written to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer asking for the government to publish its response to the International Court of Justice’s advisory ruling on Israel’s occupation from July 19, 2024.

The letter, also addressed to Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Attorney General Lord Hermer, demanded that the government issue its reply to the ruling immediately, and “address the unlawful situation occurring in the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories), as well its own obligations under international law.”

Calling the ICJ judgement “groundbreaking,” the letter said it “made crystal clear determinations” that Israel’s “presence in the OPT, including Gaza, is unlawful and its policies and practices are incompatible with international law.”

It added that the opinion declared that “all Israeli settlements are illegal and must be withdrawn immediately,” that “Israel owes full reparation for all damage of its illegal acts since 1967,” and that “other states are obliged to not provide any sort of aid or assistance that maintains Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT, referring to Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.”

Signatories include former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson Lord Soames, and three bishops of the Church of England.

They reminded the government that the Foreign Office stated in the aftermath of the ruling’s release that it would consider the matter “carefully before responding,” and that: “The UK respects the independence of the ICJ ... The UK is strongly opposed to the expansion of illegal settlements and rising settler violence.”

The letter continued that the ICJ’s ruling established the “unlawfulness” of Israel’s actions as fact, and that the UK has a “legal duty to ensure that the government and British entities take all necessary steps to ensure that we are not complicit with this unlawful situation.

“This is particularly pertinent given the seriousness of the situation, the continued and increasing Israeli violations of international law, as well as the increase in illegal settlements.”

It added: “Between November 2023 — October 2024, Israel established 57 new settlements and outposts. However, the UK needs to not just denounce the rise in settlements but the mere existence of them, as regards the ICJ advisory opinion.

“The failure of the government to publish its response on the advisory opinion and address the unlawful situation occurring in the OPT, as well its own obligations under international law to avoid complicity, needs to be rectified.”

So far, beyond the Foreign Office’s pledge to respond, the government’s only comment on the matter has been an Oct. 22 statement that: “The UK does not disagree with the central findings of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.”

Sixteen organizations, including the Council for Arab-British Understanding, have also written to the government demanding action to halt any UK complicity in Israeli violations of Palestinian rights.

Caabu Director Chris Doyle said: “It is an utter nonsense that a year on from this historic advisory opinion that the government has not issued its formal response.

“Sources have told Caabu that the legal response was drafted months ago. It is also not that complex a legal document based on many previous legal opinions. 

“What it highlights is the government’s continued aversion to hold Israel to account, its failure to uphold international law and respect these international judicial institutions as it claims it does.”

On Wednesday, Lammy appeared in front of the International Development Select Committee, where he was asked why the government had yet to respond to the ICJ ruling.

“It’s an 83-page opinion,” Lammy replied, “so it’s right that the lawyers that you’d expect within government assist and do the work that you’d expect them to do.”


Four pro-Palestinian activists face 2027 trial over UK military base break-in

Four pro-Palestinian activists face 2027 trial over UK military base break-in
Updated 56 min 28 sec ago
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Four pro-Palestinian activists face 2027 trial over UK military base break-in

Four pro-Palestinian activists face 2027 trial over UK military base break-in
  • The four are accused of breaking into a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire in central England on June 20 and spraying red paint over two Voyager aircraft
  • Police previously said the action had caused £7 million ($9.4 million) worth of damage to two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton

LONDON: Four pro-Palestinian activists will stand trial in 2027 charged with breaking into a British military air base and damaging two planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.

The four are accused of breaking into a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire in central England on June 20 and spraying red paint over two Voyager aircraft used for refueling and transport. Campaign group Palestine Action said it was behind the incident.

Lewie Chiaramello, 22, Jony Cink, 24, Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, and Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, appeared for a hearing at London’s Old Bailey court on Friday ahead of a trial due to start in January 2027.

They are charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the interests or safety of the UK and conspiracy to commit criminal damage. None of the defendants were asked to enter a plea at Friday’s brief hearing.

Police previously said the action had caused £7 million ($9.4 million) worth of damage to two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.

British lawmakers voted to proscribe Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation earlier this month. The group has condemned the decision as “authoritarian” and a challenge to the ban will be heard at London’s High Court on Monday.


EU eases Schengen visa rules for Turks; envoy urges further moves

EU eases Schengen visa rules for Turks; envoy urges further moves
Updated 59 min ago
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EU eases Schengen visa rules for Turks; envoy urges further moves

EU eases Schengen visa rules for Turks; envoy urges further moves
  • Ambassador Thomas Hans Ossowski said the new rules would help address Turks’ complaints over long bureaucratic processes, but warned it was not enough to permanently solve the problems

ANKARA: The European Union has eased rules for Turks to use its open-border Schengen area, the bloc’s ambassador to Ankara said on Friday, calling for the urgent revival of negotiations on visa-free travel for Turks.

For years, Turks have complained about the EU’s visa system. The EU has said the processes — managed by accredited visa agencies — have been slow due to the high number of applications and that it is discussing possible workarounds with Ankara.

Ambassador Thomas Hans Ossowski said the new rules would help address Turks’ complaints over long bureaucratic processes, but warned it was not enough to permanently solve the problems.

“It will be much easier and much faster for Turkish citizens,” Ossowski told reporters in Ankara, referring to the European Commission’s new decision, in effect since July 15, simplifying the path to multiple-entry visas for Turks.

Turks who previously used visas correctly will be eligible for a six-month visa as early as their second application, followed by one-year, three-year and five-year multiple-entry visas.

Turkiye has been an EU membership candidate since 1999 but its accession process has been frozen for years over issues ranging from human rights to democratic backsliding. There have recently been signs of increased engagement and economic cooperation.

Ossowski said the EU had for more than a decade offered Turkiye the prospect of visa-free travel and stressed the need to return to the liberalization process.

“Every other candidate country has visa-free travel except Turkiye,” he said. “It is urgent to re-engage in this process of visa-free travel in the Schengen space and the EU,” he added.

The Commission is ready to restart formal negotiations after the summer and work with Ankara on fulfilling the six remaining benchmarks required by the visa liberalization roadmap, he said.

“We are ready, the Commission is ready to work closely with Turkish authorities,” he said.


China issues safety warning for its nationals studying in the Philippines

China issues safety warning for its nationals studying in the Philippines
Updated 18 July 2025
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China issues safety warning for its nationals studying in the Philippines

China issues safety warning for its nationals studying in the Philippines
  • Chinese students told to increase their safety awareness should they choose to study in the Philippines
  • Relations between the governments of China and the Philippines are particularly tense due to disputes

BEIJING: China’s Education Ministry issued a safety warning for Chinese students in the Philippines after what it said were a series of criminal incidents targeting them.

The brief warning Friday did not identify any specific incidents but told students to increase their safety awareness should they choose to study in the Philippines. The number of Chinese students in the country was not given but enrolments have fallen to just a few hundred in recent years, according to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post.

Relations between the governments of China and the Philippines are particularly tense due to disputes over maritime claims in the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety. China has used water cannons and other non-lethal shipboard deterrents to drive off Philippine fishing boats.

Undersecretary Claire Castro of the Presidential Communications Office said on Friday that China has the right to issue such an advisory but underscored that the crime rate in the Philippines has been falling and “safety and security in the Philippines, we can say, have been improving as far as we are concerned.”

Police response to public concerns over crime has been fast. Crimes sparked by Chinese online gambling have declined or have been eradicated and many Chinese suspects have been deported by the Philippines, Castro told a daily news briefing.

In February a 14-year-old Chinese student was kidnapped in Manila by a Chinese-led gang, which killed his driver and cut off the student’s finger in a bid to force his parents to pay a huge ransom. The Philippine interior secretary said the student’s family and the Chinese leader of the kidnappers were allegedly former operators of lucrative online gambling outfits.

Politically, China has dismissed a UN-backed court decision in The Hague that ruled out most of China’s claims in the South China Sea and has expressed resentment over close ties between the US and Manila.

China often disrupts cultural and economic ties to register their discontent over actions by foreign governments.

In April, China issued a similar warning about the risk to Chinese students in the United States.