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world news Dialuna 18 Juli 2022

Fires scorch France, Spain; temperature-related deaths soar

(AP) — Firefighters bat- while many are sweltering in people in nursing homes, the
tled wildfires raging out heat waves. homeless and other vulnera-
of control in France and ble populations after a vicious
Spain on Sunday as Eu- So far, there have been no heat wave and poor planning
rope wilted under an un- fire-related deaths in France led to nearly 15,000 deaths in
usually extreme heat wave or Spain. In Portugal, a pilot 2003, especially among the
that authorities in Madrid of a firefighting plane died elderly.
blamed for hundreds of when his aircraft crashed on
deaths. Friday. Meanwhile, the fire in La Tes-
te-de-Buch has forced 10,000
Two huge blazes, which have But as temperatures re- people to flee at a time when
consumed pine forests for six mained unusually high, many flock to the nearby At-
days in southwestern France, heat-related deaths soared. lantic coast area for vacation.
have forced the evacuation of In Spain’s second heat wave And authorities shut down
some 14,000 people. Water- of the summer, many areas access to Europe’s tallest sand
dropping planes zig-zagged have repeatedly seen peaks of dune, the Dune du Pilat.
the area near Bordeaux, as 43 degrees Celsius (109 de-
flames lapped at the edge grees Fahrenheit). According The Gironde regional gov- People who were forced to on radio France-Bleu.
of a farm field, and smoke to Spain’s Carlos III Institute, ernment said Sunday after- flee shared worries about
blanketed the skyline above which records temperature- noon that “the situation re- their abandoned homes with Some of the most worrisome
a mass of singed trees, in im- related fatalities daily, 360 mains very unfavorable” due local media, and local offi- blazes in Spain are concen-
ages shared by firefighters. deaths were attributed to to gusting winds that helped cials organized special trips trated in the western regions
high temperatures from July fan more flare-ups overnight. for some to fetch pets they of Extremadura and Castilla
In Spain, firefighters support- 10 to 15. That was compared had left behind in the rush to y León. Images of plumes
ed by military brigades tried with 27 temperature-related “The emergency services get to safety. of dark smoke rising above
to stamp out over 30 fires deaths the previous six days. are prioritizing protecting wooded hills that have been
consuming forests spread the population, preserving Overall, more than 100 baked under the sun have
across the country. Spain’s The death of a street cleaner sensitive areas and limiting square kilometers (40 square become common in several
National Defense Depart- after he suffered heat stroke the progression of the fire,” miles) of land have burned in scarcely populated rural ar-
ment said that “the majority” while working led Madrid’s authorities said, without ad- the two fires. eas.
of its fire-fighting aircraft town hall to give its street dressing when they might be
have been deployed to reach cleaners the option to work able to bring it under control. Emergency officials warned Drought conditions in the
the blazes, many of which are in the evenings. that high temperatures and Iberian Peninsula have made
in rugged, hilly terrain that is A second fire near the town winds Sunday and Monday it particularly susceptible to
difficult for ground crews to Almost all of Spain was un- of Landiras has forced au- would complicate efforts to wildfires. Since last Octo-
access. der alert for high tempera- thorities to evacuate 4,100 stop the fires from spreading ber, Spain has accumulated
tures for another day Sun- people this week. Authorities further. 25% less rainfall than is con-
Fire season has hit parts of day, while there was a heat said that one flank has been sidered normal — and some
Europe earlier than usual this wave warnings for about half brought under control by the “We have to stay very prudent areas have received as much
year after a dry, hot spring of France, where scorching dumping of white sand along and very humble, because the as 75% less than normal, the
that the European Union has temperatures were expected a two-kilometer (1.2-mile) day will be very hot. We have National Security Depart-
attributed to climate change. to climb higher on Monday. stretch. Another flank, how- no favorable weather win- ment said.
Some countries are also expe- The French government has ever, remains unchecked. dow,” regional fire official
riencing extended droughts, stepped up efforts to protect Eric Florensan said Sunday

Candidates for UK leader seek to woo right wing before vote

(AP) — The candidates when another contender will 180,000 Conservative Party icy to end the requirement showing in a television de-
to become the next Brit- drop out. members. for trans people to obtain a bate Friday, and led a poll of
ish prime minister bur- medical diagnosis of gender party members by the Con-
nished their right-wing Even though the eventual Writing in Britain’s Sunday dysphoria before they could servativeHome website on
credentials Sunday, as winner will automatically Telegraph newspaper, the legally change gender when Sunday.
they looked to remain in become prime minister, the former Treasury chief Rishi she was equalities minister in
the race to succeed Boris contenders must appeal to a Sunak, who is the frontrun- Theresa May’s government. She would be the first Black
Johnson. narrow constituency of party ner among Conservative prime minister and, at 42, the
members, who tend to be lawmakers, pledged to tear She told the BBC’s Sunday youngest in more than 250
Many of the five remaining whiter, older and more right- up European Union laws as Morning program that she years.
hopefuls highlighted issues wing than the general public. Britain beds down its posi- had managed a consultation
linked to Brexit and immi- The candidates face a series tion outside the bloc. with health care profession- Despite her background, she
gration as they attempted of votes from lawmakers this als but no policy had been has made immigration con-
to woo fellow Conservative week, who will narrow down Appealing to the pro-Brexit developed while she was in trol a key pillar of her politi-
lawmakers ahead of a third the field to two, before facing party vote, Sunak wrote that the job. cal pitch, pledging Sunday to
round of voting on Monday, a runoff among an estimated he will have “scrapped or re- “do whatever it takes to deal
formed all of the EU law, red Despite the demographics of with the small boats issue.”
tape and bureaucracy that is the members, the race to suc- More than 14,000 migrants
still on our statute book and ceed Johnson has been called have made the 20-mile jour-
slowing economic growth” the most diverse for a British ney to Britain across the Eng-
by the time of the next elec- prime minister. Sunak and lish channel from France so
tion if he becomes the next Kemi Badenoch, a former far this year.
prime minister. equalities minister, are both
non-white, while three of the Liz Truss, the foreign secre-
Meanwhile, Trade Minister remaining five contenders tary, is touting her interna-
Penny Mordaunt, who be- are women. tional experience, as Britain’s
came a surprise frontrunner top diplomat and a former
and bookmaker favorite last Badenoch, whose parents are trade secretary, and is vow-
week, was forced to chal- from Nigeria, remains little ing to take a tough line with
lenge accusations that she known. But she has seen the European Union in post-
had pushed through a pol- her star rise after her public Brexit trade spats.