Wildfire in Southern Greece Leaves 2 People Dead

 Firefighters walk on a road as a wild fire rages in the village of Ano Loutro, south of Athens, on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
Firefighters walk on a road as a wild fire rages in the village of Ano Loutro, south of Athens, on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
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Wildfire in Southern Greece Leaves 2 People Dead

 Firefighters walk on a road as a wild fire rages in the village of Ano Loutro, south of Athens, on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
Firefighters walk on a road as a wild fire rages in the village of Ano Loutro, south of Athens, on September 30, 2024. (AFP)

Two people died overnight in a large wildfire burning through forestland in Greece, near a seaside resort in the country's south, authorities said.

The fire service said about 350 firefighters, assisted by 18 water-dropping aircraft, managed to largely bring the blaze near Xylokastro in the Peloponnese region under control early on Monday.

Scattered fires burned in the area, but the initial large front had been put out, officials said.

Half a dozen villages were ordered evacuated overnight as a precaution after the blaze broke out on Sunday. There was no threat to Xylokastro. The flames were fanned by very strong winds blowing through forests left tinder-dry by a warm spring and hot summer attributed to climate change.

Authorities said the two dead men were believed to be local residents who were declared missing late Sunday. No one else was reported missing. There were no immediate reports of burned homes in the affected area, located some 150 kilometers (93 miles) southwest of Greece's capital, Athens.

Another wildfire near Andravida, in the western Peloponnese was also brought under control on Monday, but firefighters remained on alert in the area for flareups, the fire service said.

Greece, like other southern European countries, is plagued by destructive wildfires every summer that have been exacerbated by global warming. Over the past few months, authorities have had to cope with more than 4,500 wildfires in countryside left parched by a protracted drought and early summer heatwaves, in what was considered the most dangerous fire season in two decades.

A big investment in extra water-bombing aircraft, warning drones and other equipment have enabled firefighters to extinguish most blazes shortly after they broke out. However, in August, a ferocious wildfire swept through the mountains north of Athens, destroying scores of homes and killing one person.

Still, authorities say this summer's expanses that have been burned are about 25% less in size than the annual average of the past 20 years.



Harris Reiterates Support for Gaza Ceasefire as Conflict Escalates

Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
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Harris Reiterates Support for Gaza Ceasefire as Conflict Escalates

Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP)

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Washington will continue to pressure Israel and other players in the Middle East to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza even as advocates say that the United States has not thus far used its leverage over its ally.

In an interview with CBS news show "60 Minutes," Harris said that diplomatic work with Israel is "an ongoing pursuit," according to a clip released on Sunday.

Harris sidestepped a question in the interview on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a "real close ally."

"I think with all due respect the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people and the answer to that question is yes," Harris said, Reuters reported.

Harris reiterated Washington's position to support Israel's right to self defense against Iran and Iran-backed militant groups like Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah.

"Now the work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles," Harris said.

"We're not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region including Arab leaders," Harris said.

Washington's occasional condemnation of Israel over the war's civilian death toll has mostly been verbal with no substantive change in policy.

Advocates say Washington has not put pressure on its ally by refusing to put an arms embargo that anti-war protesters around the United States and the world have demanded for months. Protests were also held over the weekend.

President Joe Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan for Gaza on May 31 but a deal between Israel and Hamas has not been reached due to gaps in exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and Israel's demand that it maintain presence in a corridor on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel has also been separately carrying out a military campaign in Lebanon which in recent days has killed hundreds, wounded thousands and displaced over a million.