Spain
France, Spain fight spreading wildfires as Europe swelters
France scrambled more water-bombing planes and hundreds more firefighters to combat spreading wildfires that were being fed Monday by hot swirling winds from a searing heat wave broiling much of Europe. In Spain, two people have been killed in blazes there.
With winds changing direction, authorities in southwestern France announced plans to evacuate more towns and move out 3,500 people at risk of finding themselves in the path of the raging flames.
Three additional water-dropping planes were joining six others already making repeated runs over the flames and dense clouds of smoke, the Interior Ministry said Sunday night.
It said more than 200 reinforcements were also being added to the 1,500-strong force of firefighters battling night and day to contain the blazes through the Gironde region’s tinder-dry pine forests that are also sending burning embers into the air, further spreading the flames.
Read: Wildfire rages in Bordeaux; fire pilot killed in Portugal
Spain reported a second fatality in two days as it battled wildfires. The body of a 69-year-old sheep farmer was found Monday in the same hilly area where a 62-year-old firefighter died a day earlier when he was trapped by flames in the northwestern Zamora province. More than 30 forest fires around Spain have forced the evacuation of thousands of people and blackened 220 square kilometers (85 square miles) of forest and scrub.
In both France and Spain, fierce heat is fueling blazes. Forecasters warned of temperatures above 40 C (104 F) for Monday. Climate change is making such life-threatening extremes less of a rarity.
“I left my country under fire, literally under fire,” Teresa Ribera, Spain’s minister for ecological transition, said as she attended talks on climate change in Berlin on Monday.
She warned of “terrifying prospects still for the days to come” — after more than 10 days of temperatures over 40 C (104 F), cooling only moderately at night.
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Heat waves and drought tied to climate change have made wildfires harder to fight. Scientists say climate change will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
According to Spain’s Carlos III Institute, which records daily temperature-related fatalities, 237 deaths were attributed to high temperatures from July 10-14. That was compared to 25 temperature-related deaths the previous week.
The heat wave in Spain is forecast to ease on Tuesday, but the respite will be brief as temperatures rise again on Wednesday, especially in the tinder-dry western Extremadura region.
In Portugal, much cooler weather Monday helped fire crews make progress against blazes. More than 600 firefighters were attending four major fires in northern Portugal.
Fires scorch France, Spain; temperature-related deaths soar
Firefighters battled wildfires raging out of control in France and Spain on Sunday as Europe wilted under an unusually extreme heat wave that authorities in Madrid blamed for hundreds of deaths.
Two huge blazes that have consumed pine forests for six days in southwestern France have forced the evacuation of some 14,000 people, and led authorities shut down access to Europe’s tallest sand dune, the much-visited Dune du Pilat. Water-dropping planes zig-zagged the area, as flames lapped at the edge of a farm field, and smoke blanketed the skyline above a mass of singed trees, in images shared by firefighters.
In Spain, firefighters supported by military brigades tried to stamp out over 30 fires consuming forests spread across the country. Spain’s National Defense Department said that “the majority” of its fire-fighting aircraft have been deployed to reach the blazes, many of which are in rugged, hilly terrain that is difficult for ground crews to access.
Drought conditions in the Iberian Peninsula have made it particularly susceptible to wildfires — some caused by lightning, others by accident, and even some intentionally set — after a mass of hot air blew up from Africa.
Fire season has hit parts of Europe earlier than usual this year after a dry, hot spring that the European Union has attributed to climate change. Some countries are experiencing extended droughts, while many are sweltering in heat waves.
So far, there have been no fire-related deaths in France or Spain. In Portugal, a pilot of a firefighting plane died when his aircraft crashed on Friday.
But as temperatures remain unusually high, heat-related deaths have soared. In Spain's second heat wave of the summer, many areas have repeatedly seen peaks of 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). According to Spain’s Carlos III Institute, which records temperature-related fatalities daily, 360 deaths were attributed to high temperatures from July 10 to 15. That was compared with 27 temperature-related deaths the previous six days.
The death of a street cleaner after he suffered heat stroke while working has led Madrid's town hall to give its street cleaners the option to work in the evenings to avoid the worst spells of the day.
About half of France was under a heat wave warning Sunday, with scorching temperatures expected to climb higher on Monday. The government has stepped up efforts to protect people in nursing homes, the homeless and other vulnerable populations after a vicious heat wave and poor planning led to nearly 15,000 deaths in 2003, especially among the elderly.
Meanwhile, the fire in La Teste-de-Buch, in the Bordeaux area, has forced 10,000 people to flee at a time when many flock to the nearby Atlantic coast area for vacation. The Gironde regional government said on Sunday afternoon that “the situation remains very unfavorable" due to gusting winds that helped fan more flare-ups overnight.
Wildfires scorch parts of Europe amid extreme heat wave
A spate of wildfires is scorching parts of Europe, with firefighters battling blazes in Portugal, Spain, Croatia and southern France on Wednesday amid an unusual heat wave that authorities are linking to climate change.
In Portugal, Civil Protection commander André Fernandes said multiple fires have caused the evacuation of more than 600 people. About 120 people needed medical treatment, with two people — one civilian and one firefighter — suffering serious injuries, Fernandes said.
Water-dumping planes helped 1,300 firefighters combat the worst of the blazes in the nation’s central area, while another 1,000 worked to bring other fires under control.
The European heat wave is also sparking flames in Spain and France — and in Turkey at the other end of the Mediterranean.
More than 800 firefighters battled two wildfires in the region outside Bordeaux in southwest France, according to the regional emergency service. The fires began Tuesday near the towns of Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch, and firefighters hadn’t been able to contain them by Wednesday morning.
About 6,500 people have been evacuated from campgrounds and villages in the forested area. The number of injuries is unclear. The two fires have destroyed more than 1,800 hectares (4,400 acres) of terrain. Images from firefighters showed flames racing through thickets of trees and grassland, fanned by strong winds, and smoke blackening the horizon.
Read: Massive mangrove forestry planned to protect wildlife and expand forest coverage
The regional administration banned activity in forested areas at risk. Several regions in southern France are on fire alert because of hot, dry weather and high winds. Wildfires swept through the Gard region in southeast France last week.
Portugal has long experienced fatal forest fires. In 2017, wildfires killed more than 100 people. No one has died from a wildfire since then as Portugal improved its forest management and firefighting strategies.
Last year, Portugal recorded its lowest number of wildfires since 2011. But a mass of hot and dry air blown in by African winds are driving temperatures in the Iberian Peninsula beyond their usual highs.
The Atlantic country, which has been on alert of wildfires since last week, is sweltering under a spike in temperatures that is forecast to send thermometers in the central Alentejo region to 46 C (115 F) on Wednesday and Thursday. Authorities said that 96% of the country was classified at the end of June as being in either “extreme” or “severe” drought.
More than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) had been consumed alone in the district of Leiria, just north of Lisbon, Mayor Goncalo Lopes told Portuguese state broadcaster RTP.
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, who canceled a trip abroad to deal with the emergency, said that better care of woodlands and abandoned farmland was key to protecting them.
“In 2017, the country realized that having enough firefighters is essential, but it is not enough,” Costa said. “We have to get to the root of the problem … The abandonment of property and its non-management is one of the biggest risk factors for forest fires.”
Neighboring Spain hit highs of 43 C (109.4 F) in several southern cities on Tuesday. Over 400 people were evacuated Tuesday because of a wildfire that has consumed 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) in western Spain.
Fuelled by strong winds, fires raged along Croatia’s Adriatic Sea coast as well, with the most dramatic situation reported near the town of Sibenik, where water-dropping planes and dozens of firefighters struggled to contain the flames that briefly engulfed some cars and a church tower. Regional N1 television reported that some residents evacuated the area in rubber boats. Fires were also reported near the coastal town of Zadar.
Firefighter Boris Dukić told state HRT television that “it’s hell, we don’t know where to go first.”
European Union officials issued a warning last week that climate change is behind the extremely dry and hot summer so far on the continent, urging local authorities to brace for wildfires.
Cayetano Torres, spokesman for Spain’s national weather forecaster, said that the “unusual” heat wave and lack of rainfall in recent months has created ideal circumstances for fires.
“These are perfect conditions for the propagation of fires, which when you add to that some wind, you have have guaranteed propagation,” he said.
In southwestern Turkey, a blaze erupted close to the village of Mesudiye, near the Aegean Sea resort of Datca, and was moving toward homes in the area, according to the provincial governor’s office. It said at least nine water-dropping helicopters and five planes were deployed to battle the fire.
Last summer, blazes that were fed by strong winds and scorching temperatures tore through forests in Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean regions. The wildfires, which killed at least eight people and countless animals, were described as the worst in Turkey’s history.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government came under sharp criticism for its inadequate response and preparedness to fight large-scale wildfires, including a lack of modern firefighting planes.
Barcelona reaches deal to sign Raphinha; Dembélé staying
Barcelona announced Wednesday it has reached a deal to sign Leeds playmaker Raphinha and will also keep France forward Ousmane Dembélé at the club.
The agreement to sign Brazil international Raphinha was pending the 25-year-old winger passing a medical. Leeds also confirmed it had reached an agreement in principle with Barcelona.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta also said the club is keeping Dembélé, who is expected to have his contract extended until the end of 2024. Dembélé performed well this past season after refusing to leave on a loan.
Read: Barcelona stuns Madrid 4-0 at Bernabéu to end losing streak
Laporta did not answer questions on whether Barcelona was still trying to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich. Laporta said recently that Barcelona had made an offer for the striker.
The Catalan club has been recovering after enduring a dire financial situation prompted by the pandemic with past club officials also blamed for poor administration.
Financial details of the Raphinha transfer were not immediately disclosed, but local media said Barcelona would pay nearly 60 million euros ($60 million) plus add-ons.
Barcelona called Raphinha a player who is “excellent in one on ones, with taking on defenders a key part of his game.” It called him a “difference-maker.”
Raphinha made his debut with Brazil's national team last year and is set to make the squad for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Read: Barcelona edges Sevilla to move into 2nd in Spanish league
Raphinha moved from Brazil to Europe early in his career, joining Portuguese club Vitória Guimarães before moving to Sporting Lisbon for 6.5 million euros in 2018.
He went to Rennes for 21 million euros in 2019, then joined Leeds a year later and quickly became a key player in Marcelo Bielsa's squad.
TRINCÃO TO SPORTING
Barcelona said it sent Portuguese forward Francisco Trincão on a one-year loan deal to Sporting Lisbon. The deal includes an option for Sporting to keep the 22-year-old player.
Trincão joined Barcelona from Braga in 2020 but struggled to make an impact, scoring three goals and earning two assists in 42 matches before being loaned to Wolverhampton last season.
Deaths rise to 23 from mass attempt to enter Spanish enclave
The number of people who were killed after they tried to scale a border fence between Morocco and a Spanish enclave in North Africa rose to 23 Saturday as human rights organizations in Spain and Morocco called on both countries to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Moroccan authorities said the individuals died as a result of a “stampede” of people who attempted Friday to climb the iron fence that separates the city of Melilla and Morocco. In a statement, Morocco’s Interior Ministry said 76 civilians were injured along with 140 Moroccan security officers.
The ministry initially reported five deaths. Local authorities cited by Morocco’s official Television 2M updated the number to 18 on Saturday and then reported that the death toll had climbed to 23. The Moroccan Human Rights Association reported 27 dead, but the figure could not immediately be confirmed.
Two members of Morocco's security forces and 33 migrants who were injured during the border breach were being treated at hospitals in the Moroccan cities of Nador and Oujda, MAP said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Saturday condemned what he described as a “violent assault” and an “attack on the territorial integrity” of Spain. Spanish officials said 49 Civil Guards sustained minor injuries.
“If there is anyone responsible for everything that appears to have taken place at that border, it is the mafias that traffic in human beings,” Sánchez said.
His remarks came as the Moroccan Human Rights Association shared videos on social media that appeared to show dozens of migrants lying on the ground, many of them motionless and a few bleeding, as Moroccan security forces stood over them.
“They were left there without help for hours, which increased the number of deaths,” the human rights group said on Twitter. It called for a “comprehensive” investigation.
In another of the association’s videos, a Moroccan security officer appeared to use a baton to strike a person lying on the ground.
In a statement released late Friday, Amnesty International expressed its “deep concern” over the events at the border.
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“Although the migrants may have acted violently in their attempt to enter Melilla, when it comes to border control, not everything goes," said Esteban Beltrán, the director of Amnesty International Spain. "The human rights of migrants and refugees must be respected and situations like that seen cannot happen again.”
Five rights organizations in Morocco and APDHA, a human rights group based in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, also called for inquiries.
The International Organization for Migration and U.N. refugee agency UNHCR also weighed in with a statement that expressed “profound sadness and concern” over what happened at the Morocco-Melilla border.
“IOM and UNHCR urge all authorities to prioritize the safety of migrants and refugees, refrain from the excessive use of force and uphold their human rights,” the organizations said.
In a statement published Saturday, the Spanish Commission for Refugees, CEAR, decried what it described as “the indiscriminate use of violence to manage migration and control borders" and expressed concerns that the violence had prevented people who were eligible for international protection from reaching Spanish soil.
The Catholic Church in the southern Spanish city of Malaga also expressed its dismay over the events. “Both Morocco and Spain have chosen to eliminate human dignity on our borders, maintaining that the arrival of migrants must be avoided at all costs and forgetting the lives that are torn apart along the way,” it said in a statement penned by a delegation of the diocese that focuses on migration in Malaga and Melilla.
A spokesperson for the Spanish government’s office in Melilla said that around 2,000 people had attempted to make it across the border fence but were stopped by Spanish Civil Guard Police and Moroccan forces on either side of the border fence. A total 133 migrants made it across the border.
The mass crossing attempt was the first since Spain and Morocco mended relations after a year-long dispute related to Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1976. The thaw in relations came after Spain backed Morocco’s plan to grant more autonomy to the territory, a reversal of its previous support for a U.N.-backed referendum on the status of Western Sahara.
Spain, Germany battle wildfires amid unusual heat wave
Firefighters in Spain and Germany struggled to contain wildfires on Sunday amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe for this time of year.
The worst damage in Spain has been in the northwest province of Zamora, where over 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) have been consumed, regional authorities said, while German officials said that residents of three villages near Berlin were ordered to leave their homes because of an approaching wildfire Sunday.
Also read: Northern Arizona watches winds as Western wildfires blaze
Spanish authorities said that after three days of high temperatures, high winds and low humidity, some respite came with dropping temperatures Sunday morning. That allowed for about 650 firefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft to establish a perimeter around the fire that started in Zamora’s Sierra de la Culebra. Authorities warned there was still danger that an unfavorable shift in weather could revive the blaze that caused the evacuation of 18 villages.
Spain has been on alert for an outbreak of intense wildfires as the country swelters under record temperatures at many points in the country for June. Experts link the abnormally hot period for Europe to climate change. Thermometers have risen above 40 C (104 F) in many Spanish cities throughout the week — temperatures usually expected in August.
A lack of rainfall this year combined with gusting winds have produced the conditions for the fires.
Authorities said that gusting winds of up 70 kph (43 mph) that changed course erratically, combined with temperatures near 40 C, made it very tough for crews.
“The fire was able to cross a reservoir some 500 meters wide and reach the other side, to give you an idea of the difficulties we faced,” Juan Suárez-Quiñones, an official for Castilla y León region, told Spanish state television TVE.
The fire in Zamora was started by a strike from an electrical storm on Wednesday, authorities said. The spreading fire caused the high-speed train service from Madrid to Spain’s northwest to be cut on Saturday. It was reestablished on Sunday morning.
Military firefighting units have been deployed in Zamora, Navarra and Lleida.
There have been no reports of lives lost, but the flames reached the outskirts of some villages both in Zamora and in Navarra. Videos shot by passengers in cars showed flames licking the sides of roads. In other villages, residents looked on in despair as black plumes rose from nearby hills.
In central-north Navarra, authorities have evacuated some 15 small villages as a precaution, as the high temperatures in the area are not expected to drop until Wednesday.
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They also asked farmers to stop using heavy machinery that could unintentionally spark a fire.
“The situation remains delicate. We have various active fires due to the extremely high temperatures and high winds,” Navarra regional vice-president Javier Remírez told TVE.
Remírez said that some villages had seen some buildings damaged on their outskirts.
Some wild animals had to be evacuated from an animal park in Navarra and taken to a bull ring for safe keeping, authorities said.
Wildfires were also active in three parts of northeast Catalonia: in Lleida, in Tarragona and in a nature park in Garaf, just south of Barcelona.
Firefighters said that 2,700 hectares (6,600 acres) were scorched in Lleida. They added that they have responded to over 200 different wildfires just in Catalonia over the past week.
Germany has also seen numerous wildfires in recent days following a period of intense heat and little rain. The country’s national weather agency said the mercury reached 39.2 C (102.6 F) in the eastern cities of Dresden and Cottbus on Sunday.
Strong winds have been fanning a blaze near the town of Treuenbrietzen, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Berlin, prompting officials to order three villages evacuated Sunday.
About 600 people in Frohnsdorf, Tiefenbrunnen and Klausdorf were told to immediately seek shelter at a community center.
“This is not a drill,” town officials tweeted.
More than 1,400 firefighters, soldiers and civil defense experts were deployed to tackle the blaze, which also affected a former military training area known to be contaminated with ammunition.
Officials expressed hope late Sunday that thunderstorms moving in from the west would help put out the fires.
Portugal loses to Swiss in Nations League, Spain tops group
Portugal left Cristiano Ronaldo at home and lost its unbeaten record in 2022 and the lead of its Nations League group on Sunday.
A goal after 57 seconds by Switzerland forward Haris Seferović was enough for a 1-0 win in Geneva despite late pressure by Portugal including two scoring chances for 39-year-old captain Pepe playing as an emergency forward.
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Portugal’s slip, after letting Ronaldo skip the last game of a long season, let Spain take first place in Group 2 with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in top-tier League A.
Goals midway through each half from Carlos Soler and Pablo Sarabia lifted Spain one point clear of Portugal after four rounds. The last two rounds will be played in September.
Portugal had gone unbeaten in five games this year starting with two wins in its World Cup qualifying playoffs in March and including a 4-0 rout of the Swiss last weekend.
The Swiss had gone in the other direction with a five-match winless run since qualifying for the World Cup ahead of group rival Italy in November.
Portugal barely had time to miss Ronaldo, or touch the ball much, when falling behind within one minute. A quick series of passes linked by Xherdan Shaqiri lined up right back Silvan Widmer for a dangerous cross.
It found Seferović, who plays in Portugal for Benfica, to guide a header into the far bottom corner of the net.
Shaqiri was preparing to take a penalty kick 10 minutes later, after his cross struck the hand of left-back Nuno Mendes, but a video review found a foul in the center circle in the buildup.
Starting on the bench after a tiring season in England and the Champions League, Bernardo Silva and Diogo Jota were sent on after an hour and within seconds Silva lashed a shot that was punched clear by Swiss goalkeeper Jonas Omlin.
Omlin impressed with eight saves though almost gifted Silva a goal in the 67th. His misjudged pass from the goalmouth rebounded off the Portugal forward close enough to the ’keeper that he could dive on the loose ball.
LEAGUE B
Erling Haaland made it a 42-goal season tally in all competitions by scoring another double against Sweden to lead Norway to a 3-2 win over its Nordic rival.
The striker, who recently signed for Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, also netted twice against Sweden last Sunday in a 2-1 win for Norway in the first of the teams' double-header this month in League B.
A week later in Oslo, Haaland darted in front of a defender to head home his first goal in the 10th minute and converted a penalty early in the second half to make it 2-0.
The 21-year-old star now has 20 goals in 21 senior international appearances with 13 of them scored this season. Haaland also tallied 29 for Dortmund.
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Emil Forsberg curled a shot into the top corner to reduce the deficit for Sweden, only for Haaland to curl over a cross that was met with a far-post header by Alexander Sørloth.
Sweden's second goal, from Viktor Gyökeres, came in the fifth and final minute of stoppage time.
Norway leads Group 4 on 10 points, three points clear of Serbia which wasted a two-goal, first-half lead in Slovenia to draw 2-2.
LEAGUES C AND D
A Bulgaria team whose bus was involved in a road accident crash soon after arriving in Georgia drew 0-0 in Tbilisi.
Midfielder Todor Nedelev underwent a successful operation for a head injury sustained in the crash on Friday.
Georgia leads the third-tier Group 4 by three points from North Macedonia which beat last-place Gibraltar 4-0.
Group 2 leader Greece beat second-place Kosovo 2-0 to give coach Guy Poyet's team a six-point lead in the standings.
Northern Ireland and Cyprus stayed winless in the group and each has two points after their 2-2 draw in Belfast. Defender Jonny Evans leveled for the hosts deep in stoppage time.
In League D, Malta beat San Marino 1-0.
Messi nets 5 for Argentina for 1st time, overtakes Puskas
Lionel Messi scored five goals for Argentina for the first time in a 5-0 rout of Estonia in a friendly match in Spain on Sunday, becoming the fourth-highest scorer for a national team in men's soccer.
Messi scored twice in the first half, including from a penalty kick, and three times after the interval to reach 86 international goals. He moved past the 84 goals of former Hungary great Ferenc Puskas.
Also read: Messi inspires Argentina to 3-0 Finalissima win over Italy
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with 117 goals — including two on Sunday as Portugal routed Switzerland 4-0 in the Nations League — followed by Iran's Ali Daei with 109 and Mokhtar Dahari of Malaysia with 89.
Messi had never scored five times before for Argentina at senior level. He scored five goals with Barcelona in a 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 of the 2011-12 Champions League.
The 34-year-old Messi had two assists last week when Argentina defeated Italy 3-0 in the first Finalissima meeting of the South American and European champions. He last year helped Argentina win the Copa América for his first major title with the national team.
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Argentina is unbeaten in its last 33 matches.
The match was played at Osasuna's stadium.
Spain can help Bangladesh modernize its agro-processing sector: Envoy
Bangladesh can use Spanish experience and technological know- how in improving its agro-processing sector as Spain holds the first position in producing agricultural products and in agro-processing business, said Spanish Ambassador to Bangladesh Francisco de Asis Benites Salas.
Ambassador Francisco said this when he met President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Rizwan Rahman on Monday at the DCCI Building in the capital.
The Spanish Ambassador also proposed the use of their experience and knowledge in preserving the historic and heritage sites in Bangladesh which will help the country attract more tourists from home and abroad.
Also read: Agro-Tech Startups in Bangladesh: Tech revolution in Agriculture Sector
Rizwan Rahman told the envoy that the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Spain was $2.37 billion in FY2019-20, of which Bangladesh’s export and import was $2.19 billion and $177.98 million respectively.
He said export from Bangladesh to Spain is heavily concentrated on its RMG products, but Bangladeshi footwear, carpet and floor covering, jute goods, bicycle, plastic, consumer goods, dairy products also have huge potential to be exported to Spain.
The DCCI President urged Spanish entrepreneurs to invest in infrastructure, railways, healthcare, agro machineries and agro-product processing, tourism, IT & ITES, automotive and APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) sectors of Bangladesh.
Ambassador Francisco mentioned that Bangladesh has made tremendous economic success in recent years to become a role model for the rest of the world.
Also read: Agro revolution to be seen in saline areas: Dr Razzaque
He said that there is a huge scope to improve bilateral trade between the two countries as Spanish entrepreneurs can invest in tourism, infrastructure, railways, healthcare and automotive sectors in Bangladesh.
DCCI Senior Vice President N K A Mobin, FCS Vice President Monowar Hossain and Commercial Counselor of Spanish Embassy Francisco Javier Yepes were also present at the meeting.
La Palma's volcanic eruption is going strong 3 weeks later
Three weeks since its eruption upended the lives of thousands, the volcano on Spain’s La Palma island is still spewing out endless streams of lava with no signs of ceasing.
Authorities on Sunday monitored a new stream of molten rock that has added to the destruction of over 1,100 buildings. Anything in the path of the lava — homes, farms, swimming pools and industrial buildings in the largely agricultural area — has been consumed.
The collapse Saturday of part of the volcanic cone sent a flood of bright red lava pouring down from the Cumbre Vieja ridge that initially cracked open on Sept. 19. The fast-flowing stream carried away huge chunks of lava that had already hardened. An industrial park was soon engulfed.
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“We cannot say that we expect the eruption that began 21 days ago to end anytime soon,” said Julio Pérez, the regional minister for security on the Canary Islands.
La Palma is part of Spain’s Canary Islands, an Atlantic Ocean archipelago off northwest Africa whose economy depends on the cultivation of the Canary plantain and tourism.
The new rivers of lava have not forced the evacuation of any more residents since they are all so staying within the exclusion zone that authorities have created. Some 6,000 residents were promptly evacuated after the initial eruption.
Government experts estimated that the largest of the lava flows measures 1.5 km (.9 miles) at its widest point, while the delta of new land being formed where lava is flowing into the Atlantic has reached a surface of 34 hectares (84 acres).
The scientific committee advising the government said that if the delta continues to grow outwards into the sea, parts of it could break off. That would generate explosions, gas emissions and large waves, committee spokeswoman José María Blanco said, but should not represent a danger to those outside the no-go zone.
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The Canary Islands' tourism industry was already hard hit by the pandemic, and officials were urging tourists not to keep staying away.
“This eruption is impacting a part of the island, but La Palma is still a safe place and can offer a lot to those who visit,” said Mariano Hernández, the island’s leading authority.
The last eruption on La Palma 50 years ago lasted just over three weeks. The last eruption on all the Canary Islands occurred underwater off the coast of El Hierro island in 2011 and lasted five months.