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Groton Daily Independent
Monday, June 26, 2017 ~ Vol. 24 - No. 347 ~ 31 of 39
the reserve, told The Associated Press by phone from his home nearby.
“Donana is probably one of the most important areas for birds in all of Europe, and we just happen to
be in a nesting season for several species,” Molina said.
While Molina said the reserve’s endangered Iberian imperial eagle should not be in danger, the area in
immediate threat from the re is territory for the extremely endangered lynx.
Juan Sanchez, director of the Andalucia’s forest re prevention unit, said the ght was “in its critical
phase” due to strong winds whipping up the ames.
“Right now the re is developing how we expected. The wind is shifting, gaining strength, which is nor-
mal as we get to the afternoon,” Sanchez said. “We are managing it, but a change in the direction of the wind could alter the situation.”
Susana Diaz, the regional president of Andalusia, said no people have died in the blaze and “there’s no risk to the population” after about 1,000 were evacuated from campsites and houses near the town of Moguer, where the re started on Saturday night.
Diaz said ghting the re was proving dif cult due to hot, dry weather, with temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit), and shifting winds. Over 550 re ghters, soldiers and police of cers supported by 21 air units were combating the blaze Sunday.
“It’s still very early, but we are not ruling out the human factor” as a possible cause of the re, said Diaz.
Spain’s interior minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, said from a control post near the re that since “we are taking special measures, even though the wind is pushing the re toward (the reserve) to keep the dam- age to a minimum.”
The re comes a week after wild res killed 64 people in neighboring Portugal, which like Spain is suf- fering from a lack of rain and high temperatures.
Low turnout expected in Albanian election key to EU bid By LLAZAR SEMINI, Associated Press
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanians voted in what was expected to be low numbers Sunday in a general election that was aimed at giving the country’s two biggest political parties a chance to look past their bitter differences and work toward eventually joining the European Union.
The voting ended at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) after the Central Election Commission decided to extend vot- ing by one hour due to low turnout that was attributed to religious festivities and hot temperatures that reached 39 degrees (102 Fahrenheit.)
The decision caused chaos in some places as more people waited in line to cast ballots.
When the polls closed, the preliminary turnout from the 19 percent of stations reporting participation gures was 43.9 percent, compared to 53.5 percent four years ago. Preliminary election results are not expected until Monday.
Holding a free and fair election is key to launching EU membership talks for the nation of 2.9 million, which is already a NATO member. After earning EU candidate status in 2014, Tirana has struggled to pass important reforms vital for its bid to advance to EU — namely deeply reforming its corrupted justice system.
Eighteen political parties are running for 140 seats in parliament in Sunday’s vote. The main contenders are Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party and the opposition Democratic Party led by Lulzim Basha.
An agreement reached in May ended the three-month parliamentary boycott by the Democrats, who claimed that voting was open to manipulation. The election date was delayed a week and Rama’s Social- ists promised greater oversight on election transparency.
All main parties campaigned on a reform agenda, pledging faster economic growth, pay hikes and lower unemployment, which stands at about 14 percent.
Some 6,000 police of cers were on duty for election security, while more 300 international observers came to monitor the vote.
“We expect a better Albania and leaders to work to do what they have pledged at the campaign,” Zenel Caka, 47, said at a polling station in Tirana.