ATHENS: Several dozen Romanian and Bulgarian firefighters took up their posts in Greece on Saturday, the first members of a European force being deployed to the country to provide backup in case of major wildfires during the summer.
More than 200 firefighters and equipment from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania, Norway and Finland will be on standby during the hottest months of July and August in Greece, where a spate of wildfires caused devastation last summer.
A group of 28 Romanian firefighters with eight vehicles, and 16 firefighters from Bulgaria with four vehicles, were the first to arrive for the two-month mission, financed and coordinated under the European Union’s civil protection mechanism.
“We thank you very much for coming to help us during a difficult summer for our country, and for proving that European solidarity is not just theoretical, it’s real,” Greek Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides said on Saturday as he welcomed the members of the Romanian mission in Athens.
“When things get tough, you will be side by side with our Greek firefighters so we can save lives and property.”
The Bulgarian firefighters have been stationed in Larissa, in central Greece.
Last summer’s wildfires ravaged about 300,000 acres (121,000 hectares) of forest and bushland in different parts of Greece as the country experienced its worst heatwave in 30 years.
Following sharp criticism of its response to the fires, the Greek government set up a new civil protection ministry and promised to boost firefighting capacities.
In Greece’s worst wildfire disaster, 102 people were killed when a blaze tore through the seaside town of Mati and nearby areas close to Athens during the summer of 2018.
Foreign firefighters arrive in Greece for summer wildfire season
https://arab.news/6nrjk
Foreign firefighters arrive in Greece for summer wildfire season
- More than 200 firefighters and equipment from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania, Norway and Finland will be on standby
- The Bulgarian firefighters have been stationed in Larissa, in central Greece
G.Bissau opposition leader summoned by military court: sources
- Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup
BISSAU: Guinea-Bissau’s main opposition leader has been summoned to appear before a military court over alleged links to multiple coup plots, judicial and military sources told AFP.
The junta has imprisoned senior politicians after overthrowing president Umaro Sissoco Embalo and seizing power in November, just days after presidential elections.
Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup.
SPEEDREAD
• Domingos Simoes Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, a source said.
• Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since independence.
• Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption.
He was freed late last month but was placed under house arrest because of separate investigations into alleged financial crimes.
He will be questioned on Friday for his “alleged involvement in a coup attempt,” a source close to the military court told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“There are a lot of suspicions hanging over him regarding his alleged involvement in several subversive actions,” a senior officer said.
Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, the same source added.
Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since independence.
Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption and drug smuggling.
