Child Dies in Fire at Greek Refugee Camp

FILE - Refugees and migrants make their way in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.
FILE - Refugees and migrants make their way in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.
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Child Dies in Fire at Greek Refugee Camp

FILE - Refugees and migrants make their way in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.
FILE - Refugees and migrants make their way in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.

A child has been found dead following a fire Tuesday evening at a refugee camp north of Athens, the fire service said.

The child was not breathing by the time firefighters arrived at the camp at Thiva, 54 kilometers from the Greek capital.

Eight firefighters and four fire engines were needed to bring the fire under control.

According to initial reports, police had to intervene when asylum seekers blocked their access to the building that had caught fire. It is not known what started the blaze.

It was the latest in a series of fires at migrant camps in different parts of Greece.

In winter, many migrants resort to wood fires to keep warm because of the lack of proper heating in the tented camps, which regularly leads to accidents.

Campaigners have repeatedly warned about the plight of those forced to stay in the migrant camps across the country in winter weather.



WHO Chief to Cut Costs, Reset Priorities after US Exit, Document Shows

UN's World Health Organisation (WHO) boxes wait to be loaded into a UAE plane headed to Egypt's El-Arish airport on January 24, 2025 at an airport in Dubai, as part of a humanitarian mission organized by the United Arab Emirates to deliver humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Fadel Senna / AFP)
UN's World Health Organisation (WHO) boxes wait to be loaded into a UAE plane headed to Egypt's El-Arish airport on January 24, 2025 at an airport in Dubai, as part of a humanitarian mission organized by the United Arab Emirates to deliver humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Fadel Senna / AFP)
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WHO Chief to Cut Costs, Reset Priorities after US Exit, Document Shows

UN's World Health Organisation (WHO) boxes wait to be loaded into a UAE plane headed to Egypt's El-Arish airport on January 24, 2025 at an airport in Dubai, as part of a humanitarian mission organized by the United Arab Emirates to deliver humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Fadel Senna / AFP)
UN's World Health Organisation (WHO) boxes wait to be loaded into a UAE plane headed to Egypt's El-Arish airport on January 24, 2025 at an airport in Dubai, as part of a humanitarian mission organized by the United Arab Emirates to deliver humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Fadel Senna / AFP)

The World Health Organization will cut costs and review which health programs to prioritize after the US announced its exit, its chief told staff in an internal memo seen by Reuters.
US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal on the first day of his second term on Monday, alleging that the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
"This announcement has made our financial situation more acute...," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a memo to staff dated Jan. 23. It said that the agency planned to significantly reduce travel expenditure and halt recruitment as part of a series of cost-saving measures.
A WHO spokesperson confirmed the memo was authentic but declined to comment further.
The United Nations confirmed on Thursday that the US was due to withdraw from the WHO on Jan. 22, 2026.
The United States is by far the WHO's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. WHO's most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.