EU records worst fires since 2006
Europe is experiencing its worst forest fires this year since records began in 2006.
The European Commission's statement showed that France and Spain are among the countries most affected by fires this year.
"This year, France has already lost twice as much land to forest fires compared to 2021, Spain more than three times," according to EU figures.
"Five different countries have appealed to other EU countries for help since the beginning of the summer to fight the fires," according to the commission.
This led to nearly 370 firefighters, 29 aircraft and eight helicopters being deployed across Europe to respond to emergencies.
In addition, 150 firefighters from Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, France, Finland and Norway are supporting the locals, Greece in July and August. After particularly devastating fire seasons in recent years, the EU has worked to improve its capacities to respond to large fires faster and across borders.
UN chief warns damaging Zaporizhia plant would be "suicide"
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his concern about the fighting near the Zaporizhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine and that any possible damage to the plant would be suicidal.
Guterres made the statement during a meeting with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Lviv.
Turkish leader Erdogan expressed the same concerns as Guterres, saying he was worried about the risk of another Chernobyl-like disaster.
