ATHENS: A woman has died in hospital taking the death toll from Greece’s worst wildfires to 88, many of them children, officials said Saturday.
The unnamed woman in her 40’s had been in hospital since fire ravaged the seaside village of Mati, east of the capital Athens, on Monday.
The Health Ministry said a dozen other people remained in hospital with serious injuries.
Forensics experts have faced a difficult task trying to identify the bodies of those who perished, many completely charred.
A private detective employed by one family which lost three children and their grandparents told reporters Friday night that nine year-old twins Sophia and Vassiliki had been identified.
They were found wrapped in the embrace of their grandparents among 26 bodies outside a villa near the sea at Mati.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Friday he assumed “political responsibility” for the tragedy as a bitter debate raged over who was to blame.
The opposition earlier accused the government of refusing to take responsibility after it said arson was suspected.
Officials citing information from satellite maps have said that 13 fires broke out Monday at the same time across the Attica region.
At a cabinet meeting broadcast live, Tsipras said he wanted “to assume completely before the great Greek people the political responsibility for this tragedy.”
“I believe that is what the prime minister and the government should do,” he added.
The government has come in for strong criticism over its response to the disaster despite a 40-million-euro relief fund.
Experts have said that a mix of poor urban planning, including a lack of proper access routes and the construction of too many buildings next to combustible forest areas, contributed to what were Europe’s worst wildfires this century.
The fires struck coastal villages popular with holidaymakers and burned with such ferocity that most people fled to the safety of the sea with just the clothes on their backs.
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Death toll climbs to 88 from Greek wildfires
Death toll climbs to 88 from Greek wildfires
- A woman has died in hospital taking the death toll from Greece’s worst wildfires to 88
- The Health Ministry said a dozen other people remained in hospital with serious injuries
Campaigning starts for Bangladesh’s first national election after Hasina’s ouster
DHAKA: Campaigning began Thursday for Bangladesh’s first national elections since the 2024 uprising that ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The major political parties held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere ahead of Feb. 12 election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history as it follows Hasina’s ouster and is being held under an interim government with voters also deciding on proposed political reforms.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, but questions were raised after his administration banned Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have historically dominated the country’s electorate.
There are also concerns about the country’s law and order situation, but the government says they will keep the voting peaceful.
Yunus assumed office three days after Hasina left the country for India on Aug. 5, 2024, following the deaths of hundreds of protesters and others in a violent crackdown.
With the Awami League excluded from the election, a 10-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, is seeking to expand its influence. Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. A new party formed by student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, or NCP, is also part of the alliance.
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. His party has drawn strong support rooted in the political legacy of his mother, who died last month. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last month after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Rahman launched his campaign in the northeastern city of Sylhet with an address to thousands of supporters at a rally Thursday. He is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.
In Sylhet, Rahman criticized the Jamaat-e-Islami party for using religious sentiment to get votes. He said that if elected, he would uphold national sovereignty and work for women and young people.
“Now we must establish the right to vote, rebuild the nation, and make it economically self-reliant,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP began their campaigns in the capital, Dhaka.
“There are terrorism (crimes), extortion, corruption and forcible possession, (our fight) is against them to establish a just Bangladesh, and alongside to build a safe Dhaka for women and children,” said Nasiruddin Patwari, a leader of the National Citizen Party.
The election will also include a referendum on a national charter, with the interim government seeking voter support for what it describes as a new political course built on reforms. The charter was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties. The Awami League opposed the idea and several other parties declined to sign the document.
Rahman’s return has reenergized his supporters.
“Under his leadership, in the coming time we want to see a self-reliant Bangladesh and organizing this country through a democratic process,” said Ali Akbar Rajan, a BNP supporter, at Rahman’s rally in Sylhet. “He will emerge as a successful statesman, that is what we hope for,“
The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, is currently nonbinding. Supporters of the charter say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and a part of the constitution. Only Parliament can change the constitution in Bangladesh.
The interim government says the charter would bring more checks and balances to avoid authoritarian administrations, including by giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.
The major political parties held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere ahead of Feb. 12 election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history as it follows Hasina’s ouster and is being held under an interim government with voters also deciding on proposed political reforms.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, but questions were raised after his administration banned Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have historically dominated the country’s electorate.
There are also concerns about the country’s law and order situation, but the government says they will keep the voting peaceful.
Yunus assumed office three days after Hasina left the country for India on Aug. 5, 2024, following the deaths of hundreds of protesters and others in a violent crackdown.
With the Awami League excluded from the election, a 10-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, is seeking to expand its influence. Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. A new party formed by student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, or NCP, is also part of the alliance.
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. His party has drawn strong support rooted in the political legacy of his mother, who died last month. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last month after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Rahman launched his campaign in the northeastern city of Sylhet with an address to thousands of supporters at a rally Thursday. He is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.
In Sylhet, Rahman criticized the Jamaat-e-Islami party for using religious sentiment to get votes. He said that if elected, he would uphold national sovereignty and work for women and young people.
“Now we must establish the right to vote, rebuild the nation, and make it economically self-reliant,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP began their campaigns in the capital, Dhaka.
“There are terrorism (crimes), extortion, corruption and forcible possession, (our fight) is against them to establish a just Bangladesh, and alongside to build a safe Dhaka for women and children,” said Nasiruddin Patwari, a leader of the National Citizen Party.
The election will also include a referendum on a national charter, with the interim government seeking voter support for what it describes as a new political course built on reforms. The charter was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties. The Awami League opposed the idea and several other parties declined to sign the document.
Rahman’s return has reenergized his supporters.
“Under his leadership, in the coming time we want to see a self-reliant Bangladesh and organizing this country through a democratic process,” said Ali Akbar Rajan, a BNP supporter, at Rahman’s rally in Sylhet. “He will emerge as a successful statesman, that is what we hope for,“
The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, is currently nonbinding. Supporters of the charter say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and a part of the constitution. Only Parliament can change the constitution in Bangladesh.
The interim government says the charter would bring more checks and balances to avoid authoritarian administrations, including by giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.
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