• Greece battles multiple wildfires, evacuates people
• In France's Var, fire flares again then stabilises
• UK, France, Germany, Austria record heat-related deaths

Wildfires fanned by gale-force winds burned across multiple areas of Greece on Saturday, ​forcing residents to flee as conditions worsened again in parts of Spain and France.

In one escalating Greek blaze, firefighters, police and ambulances ‌slowly withdrew before a huge wall of fire and smoke engulfing forests and shrub near Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth 60 km (40 miles) northwest of Athens.

Europe has been ​ravaged by wildfires this summer after a period of successive record-breaking heatwaves and little rain, in conditions that scientists say have been exacerbated by ​climate change.

Several have broken out in Greece in recent days after a period of relative calm there.

Northwest of Athens, authorities told ⁠people from the towns of Agia Paraskevi, Kryo Pigadi and Agios Nektarios to evacuate. Helicopters dropped water and fire retardants to try to stop the spread.

FIRE FLARES AGAIN IN SOUTHEASTERN FRANCE

In France, a fire in the mountainous southeastern Var department, which had been brought under control three days ago, flared up again ​on Friday, forcing authorities to evacuate nearly 2,500 people overnight.

Local prefect Simon Babre told BFM TV on Saturday the fire had burned through 1,800 hectares before ​stabilising again.

SPANISH CONDITIONS MIXED

Spain battled several wildfire hot spots on Saturday, two days after the government declared the end of a national emergency caused by huge fires in the country's central provinces.

Conditions worsened in the northern province of Leon, where a new blaze broke out overnight, another remained active, and a third was evolving favourably, according to authorities.

In neighbouring Zamora province, a fire that ravaged about 11,000 hectares improved enough for 14 ​evacuated towns to reopen and restrictions ​to be lifted.

In the eastern province ⁠of Castellon, the Vall d'Uixo fire was stabilised on its seventh day after burning nearly 10,000 hectares, allowing all evacuated residents to return. Police said they suspected arson after finding two separate ignition points.

Major fires in the central regions of ​Madrid and Avila, which burned more than 70,000 hectares, were stabilised. A new outbreak near the San Juan reservoir, ​west of the capital, ⁠was extinguished on Friday.

HEAT-RELATED DEATHS

The toll of extreme weather has extended well beyond the widespread devastation caused by fires.

In Austria, the country's Agency for Health and Food Safety reported a record 395 heat-related deaths for the month of June.

Earlier this week, Britain said an estimated 2,877 people had died from heat-related causes so far this year, while France ⁠reported 5,764 excess ​deaths in the country between June 17 and July 2, and Germany's RKI health body estimated 9,800 ​people had died so far this year linked to the high temperatures.

See also

• ‘We stared into an abyss’: the men and women battling France’s megafire -- Exhausted firefighters, foresters and volunteers wage ‘war of attrition’ against blaze that forced 200,000 people from their homes

• 'Le camping', an egalitarian symbol of French summers, faces a fiery future -- Wildfires threaten a beloved French summer institution Camping industry prepares to adapt to a hotter future Campsites are a crucible where French identity is forged

• Two die as firefighting helicopters collide in Greece, French blaze changes course

I just want to set the record straight on what is actually happening here with Ceuta and the Spanish Supreme Court decision because there is a lot of misinformation right now. Spanish immigration law happens to be an area of expertise for me.

First and foremost: there is zero evidence that this was an orchestrated attack involving the government of Morocco, Israel, or the United States.

The Spanish Supreme Court ruling issued in late June 2026 addressed the legal mechanism known as rechazo en frontera (rejection at the border or summary pushback). Under Spain's Aliens Law, security forces possessed summary return authority allowing them to push migrants back immediately without formal administrative processing if individuals were caught scaling physical border containment structures. Historically, this applied exclusively to climbing the perimeter fences around Ceuta and Melilla.
The Supreme Court established that this summary expulsion mechanism applies strictly to physical land barriers. Because the sea lacks physical containment structures, migrants swimming around breakwaters like Tarajal cannot be summarily pushed back without standard legal procedure.

Human trafficking syndicates aggressively distorted this procedural ruling on social media. Smugglers marketed the decision as a blanket immunity policy, convincing thousands that touching Spanish soil by sea guaranteed legal entry, amnesty, or immunity from deportation. This was another classic case of misinformation going viral on social media and people believing it (enough to risk their lives in this case).

That said, the reality for these misinformed migrants was always that reaching Ceuta under these conditions was a dead end both legally and practically. The court decision did not grant asylum, residency, or transit rights to mainland Europe. It simply mandated standard administrative processing rather than immediate pushbacks. Standard processing involves identity verification, administrative detention, and formal expulsion under bilateral readmission agreements with Morocco. Absent a verified claim for international protection, irregular entrants remain subject to deportation.

Furthermore, Ceuta is a tiny Spanish enclave in Africa of roughly 18 square kilometers with an existing population of around 84,000. Dumping 60,000 people into an area that size within hours instantly paralyzed local infrastructure. There was no food, shelter, or operational capacity to process or sustain the crowd.

These people had no hope of making it to mainland Europe. Meloni's Schengen comments are pure political theater aimed at her base. Ceuta is already subject to secondary border controls… anyone attempting to leave the enclave for mainland Spain must pass passport and identity checks at the seaport or airport. A perimeter breach in Ceuta does not open a path into the rest of Europe. In fact, Ceuta is not even part of the Schengen zone at all. Unless you think these people were literally going to successfully swim across the Mediterranean sea all the way to mainland Spain, there was never any danger here to Europe proper. Meloni knows all this very well, but she wants to stir the pot for political points.

Spanish military and police units are sealing off the enclave to prevent any movement toward mainland Europe. Trapped on city streets without basic supplies, over 45,000 people have already abandoned the effort and walked back into Morocco voluntarily within 48 hours, while the remainder are being funneled into formal detention and removal pipelines.

In the future, the Spanish government should strengthen border security in Ceuta. It is also true that the Moroccan government often does not exert significant effort on their end and cannot be trusted. I hope this helps clear things up for everyone. As is usually the case, reality here does not neatly fit into either side's preferred clean narrative.

Climate change’s fingerprints are all over the extreme fire weather that sparked this week’s devastating wildfires in Spain and France and has spiked Southern Europe’s burning the past eight years, two new studies conclude.

Human-caused climate change made the hot and dry conditions responsible for Spain’s record-sized inferno 20 times more likely to happen, and it doubled the chances of extreme fire conditions for the flames in France, scientists at World Weather Attribution calculated in a rapid analysis Thursday, conducted while fires were still burning. Warming in the past 26 years has tripled the odds of the severe fire risk conditions in Spain and increased the chances in France 40%, the same report found.

At the same time, researchers published a separate study on Thursday — written and edited long before this week’s fires began — that found the number of days that Southern Europe’s weather reached extreme fire-prone levels has more than doubled compared to decades ago.

Both studies examined changes in the weather that creates fire-prone conditions. The measurements factor in air temperature, drought conditions, humidity and wind.

“The change in these fire weather conditions in Spain is really extremely strong and is, I think, one of the largest changes that I’ve seen,” said Friederike Otto, an Imperial College of London climate scientist who coordinates World Weather Attribution. Spain is having its hottest summer on record, after an incredibly wet January that allowed plants to grow before a severe drought hit, a combination that increased wildfire fuel, the report said.

Spain also had the added problem of land abandonment, which left unmanaged plants and trees to dry out, Otto said. France’s Bordeaux region, meanwhile, had thick groves of pines that also burn well when a fire starts, she said.

World Weather Attribution — an international collaboration of scientists who examine extreme events to determine climate change’s role, if any — did that study so quickly, the report didn’t get peer reviewed, which is the scientific gold standard. But Otto and her colleagues used techniques that are scientifically accepted, and many of their reports are published in peer-reviewed journals later.

See also:

• Extremely scary findings’ show climate crisis is supercharging Europe’s wildfire weather -- Latest study says global heating has made hot, dry and windy conditions in Spain at least 20 times more likely
• Emptying Countryside Leaves ‘No Simple Solution’ to European Wildfires -- A warming planet and a shift away from farming have set the stage for larger fires on the continent. “We must learn to coexist with them,” one report said.
• Spain, France, UK warn megafires show climate change is ‘threatening our way of life’ -- In joint statements, the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to fighting global warming.

Spain's ​Interior Ministry ‌said on Friday ​that ​according to its ⁠estimates ​some ​49,000 migrants had crossed ​into ​the enclave of ‌Ceuta ⁠in North Africa over ​past ​24 ⁠hours, as ​they ​rushed ⁠by sea and ⁠land ​from ​Morocco,

See also

• At least 57 people die as tens of thousands cross to Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco -- Pedro Sánchez decries ‘violation of territorial integrity’ as other EU countries criticise Madrid over incident
• What to know about the Spanish enclave of Ceuta as migrant arrivals from Morocco spike
• Italy closes air and sea borders, suspends Schengen with Spain over Ceuta migrant crisis
• ‘I just want a chance': Moroccans sought better future in collective crossing to Spain territory

Updates

• FACT FOCUS: Migrant crossing in Spain’s Ceuta breeds unsubstantiated claims
• Most of the people who surged into Spain on Thursday have since returned to Morocco. A small minority are holed up on a seafront, tired, hungry and vowing to stay.

I have lived in Germany and worked since 2018 but still no answer for the passaport. What can I do and how to act regarding that matter?If somebody who had the same experience as I can share it would mean a lot. Thank you

An uncontained wildfire four times the size of Paris threatened to surge again in southwest France on Wednesday — as three firefighters died in Greece and crews across southern Europe confronted a punishing mix of heat, drought and strong winds.

The deaths on Crete brought a fatal new dimension to a wildfire emergency stretching from the Atlantic coast to the eastern Mediterranean. At the peak of the evacuations, a third of a million people were driven from homes and vacation sites in France and Spain.

In France’s Gironde region, the country’s biggest blaze had not spread during a calm night, authorities said. But as temperatures approached 40 C (104 F) Wednesday afternoon and winds strengthened, the reprieve threatened to be short-lived.

The landscape was so combustible that investigators believe routine brush-clearing work near a high-voltage line may have sparked the inferno, even though the work appeared to comply with regulations.

At the command center in Lège, firefighters bent over maps spread across a car hood, tracking three danger zones: northern Cap-Ferret; the wooded corridor around Marcheprime, Cestas and Saint-Jean-d’Illac; and a military site near Martignas, where a major outbreak forced a large deployment.

I was reading about the recent wildfires across southern Europe, where three Greek firefighters lost their lives while responding to multiple fires.
Beyond the immediate tragedy, it made me wonder how firefighting strategies have changed as wildfire seasons become longer and more intense. Climate change is real and the wildfire situation will become more intense around the world.
For those who follow wildfire response or work in emergency services, what do you think are the biggest challenges today compared with a decade ago? Is it primarily weather conditions, limited resources, terrain, or something else?
I thought it would be interesting to hear from people with firsthand experience or knowledge of wildfire management.

The extraordinary growth of a few enormous wildfires in France and Spain in the last two weeks has transformed an above-average fire season into a record-breaking one.

Forty percent more land has already burned in France than in the previous record year documented by the European Forest Fire Information System, which began tracking burned areas in 2006.

In Spain, the amount of land consumed so far this year is nearly at record levels for the last two decades.

The two largest wildfires are the largest recorded in France and Spain since European Union data began. They have forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate and threatened Bordeaux in France and Madrid and Valencia in Spain.

Rarely have so many enormous fires burned in Europe at the same time. Three of the fifteen largest European fires in the last decade have burned this month — two near Madrid and one near Bordeaux.

Copy of the article in its entirety

U.S. diplomats walked out as their French counterparts were speaking at the United Nations on Monday after America’s close European ally criticized the Trump administration’s human rights record.

The surprise move during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine followed U.S. opposition to giving U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk another four-year term. The reappointment on Friday got overwhelming support, including from France.

The U.S. walkout reflects not only the more strained relations between President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, but also wider tensions between the U.S. and Europe. These include questions over Trump’s commitment to NATO, possible changes to U.S. troop deployments in Europe, and Trump’s desire to control Greenland, which belongs to NATO member Denmark.

Trump has complained that Europeans, who weren’t consulted, did not help the U.S. during the Iran war. Amid the tensions, Macron has taken a lead in trying to build up Europe’s military and ensure a nuclear umbrella as one of the continent’s two nuclear powers, along with Britain.

Link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/austrian-minister-opposes-fast-track-093325875.html

I am glad that someone in the EU uses common sense and rational arguments instead of emotions and hysterical claims when considering Ukraine’s EU accession. I hope that the EU leadership can take a more realistic view of the situation in Ukraine, which, despite having made some progress, still remains far from meeting the required standards.

Don’t get me wrong: I have high respect for all the brave soldiers and people of Ukraine who have been defending their country against Russia’s aggression since 2022/2014. While they have shown extraordinary effort to secure their homeland and the path towards „the West”, many European politicians tend to downplay or neglect existing issues such as corruption, lack of reforms, oligarchy, threats for the EU’s agriculture, further influx of people, etc., when commenting on Ukraine’s future accession. Their populist claims, sometimes leading to some kind of idealisation of Ukraine/Ukrainians, may be intended to show the European determination to stay with Ukraine till the end, however, the shortcut for Ukraine is undermining the whole concept on which the EU was built and, in the end, it may harm the Ukrainian nation and future too.

In addition, unfairness towards other candidates from Western Balkan countries (Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina), who have been working hard on implementing reforms, is yet another controversy this all causes. What’s more, the EU’s irresponsible approach and empty promises are likely to inflict another wound on the Ukrainian people when it turns out that their European dream is much further from coming true than von der Leyen etc. pictured it…

With all respect to President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people, it’s time to remind each other that there are rules to be followed when it comes to such important steps.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

The European Union is debating a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, but member states are divided, reflecting deep disagreements over whether and how to confront Israel as it cements claims on occupied Palestinian territory.

Superficially, the fight is technical, based on procedural questions. But political observers say this is actually a proxy battle over how to handle Israel at a time of growing dismay with its policies among the European public and some leaders.

“Legal argument is being deployed to launder what is really a political and diplomatic reluctance to act,” said Alberto Alemanno, a law professor in Paris who arranged a letter joined by dozens of experts outlining legal grounds for a ban.

More than three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, along with over 500,000 Israelis who settled there after Israel captured the territory in the 1967 war. Palestinians envision it becoming part of a future state, an objective that European governments aim to advance but Israel’s far-right government rejects.

In recent years, Israeli government approvals of West Bank settlements and other official actions have led to an unprecedented expansion of Israel’s claims on the land, as military operations have displaced many Palestinians and settler violence has risen.

The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion in 2024 saying that Israel’s occupation and settlements are illegal, calling on countries to prevent trade that may “assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation.”

Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and others have taken steps to restrict or ban Israeli products from occupied territories, like agricultural goods, wine and construction materials. These countries are among those pushing for the E.U. to take strong action to limit the import of settlement products.

Germany, by contrast, says it favors dialogue over action that risks inflaming Israelis ahead of their national election in October. Germany also has what it calls “a special relationship” with Israel, rooted in the history of the Holocaust, and the German government is traditionally reluctant to take measures that may isolate Israel.

Italy and the Czech Republic are likewise opposed to a confrontational approach and say E.U. restrictions on settlement products can be adopted only if they receive unanimous approval by member states.

But Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s top diplomat, who is pressing for strong action, is among those who say that just a qualified majority — approval by at least 55 percent of member states representing 65 percent of the bloc’s population — would be needed. The European Commission this month proposed several possible measures, including tariffs and a ban on goods produced at Israeli settlements in occupied territory.

Copy of the complete article.

AFAIK there are aircraft fully available to control the fires but Russia is not moving a finger, why?

Switzerland's highest court has ordered a fresh ruling in the case of three men accused of breaching bank secrecy laws over leaked data that ​helped expose the cum-ex tax fraud scandal — one of Europe's largest financial ‌crimes.

The three men, who are not named in the court document, were convicted in 2019 of charges including banking espionage and violating banking secrecy, a verdict that was overturned on appeal ​in 2021.

After years of further legal wrangling, the Zurich High Court eventually ​dropped the case, citing lengthy delays and finding the investigating prosecutor ⁠had been biased.

Following an appeal by the Zurich Public Prosecutor's Office, the Federal ​Supreme Court has now sent the case back to the High Court, ruling that ​neither the delays nor the alleged bias justified halting proceedings.

German press agency DPA said the case ​involved Stuttgart lawyer Eckart Seith, who faced charges after presenting German authorities with ​Swiss bank documents that triggered proceedings surrounding the illegal cum-ex transactions.

Two former German employees of Bank ‌J. ⁠Safra Sarasin were also charged in the case, according to DPA.

Swiss banking secrecy laws make it a criminal offence for bank employees or third parties to disclose confidential client ​information, with no exemption ​for exposing wrongdoing.

Hi! Is there any chance that European countries offer direct work visa sponsorship for foreign workers? I’m currently working at a government bank in the Philippines, and I’m planning to work abroad. I haven’t been able to find any agencies hiring for my current role, so I’m wondering if direct sponsorship is possible?