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- Three firefighters die battling wildfires in Greece amid strong winds
- Tourism Kelowna advises visitors not to judge Okanagan on smoky days
- Blanche’s attorney general nomination delayed amid disputes over DOJ fund
- Trump states US will respond forcefully to Iran following missile strike
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Three firefighters die battling wildfires in Greece amid strong winds
Firefighter fatalities
Three firefighters died while combating wildfires in Greece, where 156 firefighters, supported by aerial units, are engaged in extinguishing the blaze near Rethymno.
Three firefighters died while combating wildfires in Greece, where 156 firefighters, supported by aerial units, are engaged in extinguishing the blaze near Rethymno.
Operational Scale
Efforts to combat the raging wildfire involve 156 firefighters, eight ground teams, 33 fire engines, and aerial support from four helicopters and four aircraft.
Efforts to combat the raging wildfire involve 156 firefighters, eight ground teams, 33 fire engines, and aerial support from four helicopters and four aircraft.
Official Statement
“They fell heroically in the line of duty, safeguarding the lives and property of citizens as well as the natural environment,” stated the fire service following the tragic loss of three firefighters.
“They fell heroically in the line of duty, safeguarding the lives and property of citizens as well as the natural environment,” stated the fire service following the tragic loss of three firefighters.
Three firefighters die battling wildfires in Greece
By Konstantinos Tsellos & EU News with ΑΠΕ ΜΠΕ
Published on
Three firefighters died while battling wildfires in Greece on Wednesday as gale-force winds fuelled several new blazes across the country.
According to a statement from the fire service, “they fell heroically in the line of duty, safeguarding the lives and property of citizens as well as the natural environment,” while the leadership of the Fire Service “expresses its profound sorrow and sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased.”
A total of 156 firefighters are involved in efforts to extinguish the blaze, which broke out near Rethymno around midday on Wednesday. They are supported by eight ground teams, 33 fire engines, four helicopters and four aircraft carrying out periodic aerial firefighting operations.
Water tankers and heavy machinery from the Municipality of Agios Vasileios are also supporting the Fire Service’s efforts.
Strong winds, with gusts reaching force 7 on the Beaufort scale, have fuelled the fire’s rapid spread, making conditions on the ground extremely challenging.
Evacuations underway
The evacuation of Agia Galini and the organised removal of foreign tourists are underway after a 112 emergency alert was issued because of the large wildfire in the area.
The hotel sector in Rethymno has been placed on heightened alert, with the Rethymno Hoteliers Association assessing accommodation availability to house those evacuated, if necessary.
Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), Michalis Christoforakis, a member of the Rethymno Hoteliers Association and a hotelier in Agia Galini, said the fire was not visible from the settlement at the time the evacuation began. He added that tourists and residents were following the instructions in the 112 alert, which directed them towards Tympaki, stressing that there was no panic.
Christoforakis estimated that around 2,000 tourists are currently in Agia Galini and said local hotels remain in constant contact with the relevant authorities, closely monitoring the fire and assisting wherever needed.
Earlier, the settlements of Krya Vrysi, Saktouria, Melampes, Agios Georgios, Agios Pavlos and Triopetra were evacuated following 112 emergency alerts issued to protect residents.
Meanwhile, according to the fire service, 29 people have so far been rescued from the sea off Agios Pavlos by coastguard lifeboats, with assistance from private vessels.
Speaking to ANA-MPA, Evangelia Glampedaki, deputy mayor for culture of the Municipality of Agios Vasileios, described the situation as “out of control”, adding that municipal services remain on full alert.
She said the municipality had already cancelled scheduled cultural events, as its top priority was ensuring the safety of residents and supporting firefighting operations.
The Rethymno Arson Crime Investigation Unit is investigating the cause of the fire.
Additional sources • ERTNEWS.GR
October 12, 2024
6:18 am
‘Cheer up, you caught the bad guy,’ says killer Virginia McCullough as she is arrested for murdering her parents
A woman who murdered her parents “in cold blood” before hiding them in makeshift tombs for four years told officers to “cheer up, you caught the bad guy” as she was arrested in her home.
Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her father John McCullough, 70, with prescription medication and fatally stabbed her mother Lois McCullough, 71, shortly afterwards in 2019.
She ran up large debts on credit cards in her parents’ names and after their deaths, she continued to spend their pensions until she was finally caught in 2023.
In body-worn video footage released by police, a handcuffed – and eerily calm – McCullough told officers: “I did know that this would kind of come eventually.
“It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”
She said she had slipped something into her father’s drink then put his body under a bed on the ground floor, and put her mother’s body in an upstairs wardrobe.
McCullough, having been arrested on suspicion of double murder, told an officer: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
She added: “I know I don’t seem 100% evil.”
At the police station, she told officers where a kitchen knife was, which she described as a “murder weapon”, and a hammer which she said “will still have blood on it”.
McCullough, of Pump Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday with a minimum term of 36 years at Chelmsford Crown Court, after she admitted to their murders between 17 and 20 June 2019 at an earlier hearing at the same court.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how she hid their bodies in makeshift tombs at the family home in Great Baddow in Essex, then told persistent lies to cover her tracks.
The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and frequently told doctors and relatives her parents were unwell, on holiday or away on lengthy trips.
But concerns over Mr and Mrs McCullough’s welfare were raised in September 2023 by a GP at their registered practice, and Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred these to police.
The GP had not seen the couple for some time and said Mr McCullough had failed to collect medication and attend scheduled appointments. It was found McCullough had frequently cancelled appointments, using a range of excuses to explain her father’s absence.
Police said a missing persons investigation was initially launched and McCullough lied to officers, claiming her parents were travelling and would be returning in October.
It became a murder investigation, and when officers forced entry to the house in Pump Hill on September 15 2023, McCullough confessed that her parents’ bodies were in the house and that she had killed them.
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address.
“She spent the next four years manipulating and lying to family members, medical staff, financial institutions, and the police, spending her parents’ money and accruing large debts in their name.”
She added: “This was a truly disturbing case, which has left behind it a trail of devastation, and I can only hope that the sentence passed today will help those who loved and cared for Lois and John begin to heal.”
To downplay the genocide, the israelis claim there’s only 20,000 people left in north Gaza, says
@MahaGaza
: the real number exceeds 400,000
Man of the right wing Nigel Farage taking more second jobs and freebie helicopter rides
Gosh he’ll soon be a true blue Tory at this rate
Or far far worse
The cost-of-living crisis is far from over, yet the government’s 50% increase to the bus fare cap is a political choice, adding hundreds to annual costs.
To address hardship & the climate crisis, the government must keep the £2 cap & make public transport accessible for all.
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November 23, 2024
8:25 am
Defense alliance NATO chief Mark Rutte has met US President-elect Donald Trump to discuss global security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson.
The meeting took place in Palm Beach, Florida.
During his first term as US president, 2017-2020, Trump pushed for European NATO countries to spend more on defense and described the alliance’s cost-sharing as unfair to the US.
Rutte took over as NATO chief from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg in November.
Before taking office in January, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth for the post of defense secretary, which has raised eyebrows among many allies.
Hegseth, 44, has served as an infantry captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has no senior military or government officer experience.
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
November 23, 2024
8:17 am
Multiple missiles were fired in an airstrike towards a densely populated part of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday.
The huge airstrike targeted Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood, and no prior warnings were given by the Israeli military. The largely residential area was struck last month.
At least one violent explosion was heard across the city, Reuters witnesses said, and plumes of smoke could be seen. Scenes of massive destruction at the site were shared online, including a massive crater in the ground.
“Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in Basta,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
The health ministry put the initial death toll at four, with 23 wounded. The number is expected to climb in the coming hours as search and rescue efforts continue.
It came after a long day of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been non-stop since last week.
The cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group escalated into a full-blown war in mid-September.
Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the eastern Beqaa region, and has sent ground troops across the border. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets deeper into Israel.
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