Child under 5 dies of measles in Ontario: PHO
A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.
A wildfire whipped on by strong winds triggered a series of massive explosions Thursday at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece, while firefighters worked to tame multiple blazes in the country.
There were no injuries at the depot, which had been evacuated before the explosions, and by late Thursday the fire was no longer active. The Greek air force said that F-16 fighter jets at a nearby base were moved to another facility as a precaution, but that the base had not been under any immediate threat.
Fires have raged across parts of Greece during three successive Mediterranean heat waves in the past two weeks, leaving five people dead, including two firefighting pilots, and triggering a huge weekend evacuation of tourists on the island of Rhodes.
The fire in the Volos area of central Greece's Magnissia region reached the ammunition storage facility about 6 kilometres north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media reported that bombs and ammunition for Greek F-16 fighters were stored at the site.
The large explosions shattered windows on houses in a surrounding area, but the Greek fire service said no severe injuries were reported in nearby villages, which also were evacuated as a precaution.
Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered evacuated in the Volos-Nea Anchialos area.
"Despite their superhuman efforts, our forces were unable to stop the blaze," he said.
Artopios said the Volos area blaze was the most dangerous of the 124 wildfires the fire service had to deal with Thursday.
The wildfire burned on three fronts and forced a section of Greece's busiest highway to close for several hours, while national rail services passing through the area were delayed.
State ERT television showed residents and visitors in the coastal village of Anchialos, some 4 kilometres (2 1/2 miles) from the blast site, being evacuated by sea, while others were leaving in cars and buses. The coast guard said more than a hundred residents were taken in small private boats to the city of Volos.
The Nea Anchialos air base is some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the city, where loud blasts could be heard.
Water-dropping helicopters and a ground crew scrambled early Thursday to a separate wildfire in Kifissia, just north of Athens, which was quickly put out.
Greek firefighters also battled flames for a 10 successive day on Rhodes, where officials said the blazes were largely contained. Flare-ups were reported on the island of Evia.
The World Meteorological Organization, a U.N. body, and a European Union climate change service reported Thursday that temperatures during the first three weeks of July set a new global heat record.
As Southern Europe fights extreme heat and wildfires, parts of central Europe have been hit with winter conditions. Subfreezing temperatures, frost and snow have been reported in the Tatra Mountains, which run through Poland and Slovakia.
In Italy, firefighters battled brush fires in the southern mainland regions of Calabria and Puglia, as well as the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, helped by temperatures dropping by about 13 degrees Celsius (by about 23 degrees Fahrenheit) into the low- and mid-30s C (high 80s F).
Flames forced the evacuation of bathers on a popular stretch of the southern Adriatic coast near the town of Ugento in Puglia, Italian media said.
Since Sunday, firefighters have fought more than 3,200 wildfires in southern Italy, nearly half of them in Sicily and almost 900 of them in Puglia, Italy's national firefighters corps said on Thursday evening.
"Without doubt, we can see that all across the Mediterranean the climate crisis is here, and it's affecting us all more strongly than perhaps even scientists had warned us about," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday during a meeting with Greece's president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Wildfire carbon emissions for July in Greece were the highest by a huge margin -- totalling over 1 metric megatons and doubling the previous record -- since record-keeping started 20 years ago, according to the EU agency that analyzes satellite data, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
"Unfortunately, it is not all that surprising, given the extreme conditions in the region," said Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at the agency. "The observed intensity and estimated emissions show how unusual the scale of the fires has been for July relative to the last 20 years of data."
In Athens, senior members of the armed forces paid tribute to the two pilots killed when a firefighting plane crashed this week, at a ceremony held at the Defence Ministry.
Capt. Christos Moulas and Lt. Pericles Stephanidis died during a low-altitude water drop on the island of Evia. Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said they had shown "self-denial in the line of duty."
"Greece today is in mourning. Their memories will live on," Dendias said.
Mitsotakis attended the funeral service for Stephanidis in northern Greece Thursday, while President Sakellaropoulou was expected at the service for Moulas on the island of Crete on Friday.
------
Gatopoulos reported from Athens. Associated Press writers Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, and Venessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.
------
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP's climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
The Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, insisting on having the final say in whether the events are worthy of popular devotion.
Thousands of residents fled Fort McMurray this week, fearing a repeat of the 2016 wildfire that forced out the entire community and torched more than 2,400 homes.
Countless people seek emergency care for back pain, muscle strains and similar injuries resulting from “moving wrong” during mundane, everyday tasks such as bending over to tie shoes, lifting objects or doing household chores.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
French police shot and killed a man armed with a knife and a metal bar who is suspected of having set fire to a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen early on Friday, the latest apparent act in a storm of antisemitism roiling France amid the Israel-Hamas war.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.