LISBON: Deadly wildfires in central and northern Portugal have pushed emergency services to the limit and much-needed reinforcements will arrive on Wednesday from Spain and Morocco, the civil protection authority said.
At least seven people have died due to the blazes in the Aveiro and Viseu districts, with dozens of houses destroyed and tens of thousands of hectares of forest and scrubland consumed. Authorities have mobilized more than 5,000 firefighters.
Duarte Costa told CNN Portugal late on Tuesday that a specialized emergencies team of 230 Spanish military personnel would be deployed in the central Viseu district, where huge blazes are “of great concern at the moment.”
Morocco is sending up to four heavy water-bombing aircraft that should also arrive in Portugal on Wednesday, he added.
Spain, Italy and France have already sent two water-bombing aircraft each after the Portuguese government on Monday requested help under the EU civil protection mechanism.
“We are in a stressful situation, at the limit of our capabilities, and that is why we are asking for help from the European mechanism, Spain and Morocco,” Costa said, adding that the reinforcements would allow for some rotation of exhausted Portuguese firefighters and aircraft maintenance.
The government has declared a state of calamity in all municipalities affected by the wildfires, allowing civil protection agents to access private property.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said a government team would coordinate the provision of “the most immediate and urgent support” to those who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
At least some of the dozens of fires across Portugal have been caused by arsonists, prompted by possible commercial interest, spite or criminal negligence, he said, vowing to “spare no effort in repressive action” against such crimes.
Portugal’s national guard, or GNR, said in a statement they had arrested seven people since Saturday suspected of arson in the districts of Leiria, Castelo Branco, Porto and Braga.
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Beset by wildfires, Portugal gets help from Spain, Morocco
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Beset by wildfires, Portugal gets help from Spain, Morocco
‘New progress’ on North Korea possible in coming days, Seoul official says
- Senior official says Seoul has made considerable efforts to bring North Korea to dialogue
- Trump administration has decided to lift sanctions for humanitarian aid projects to North Korea
SEOUL: A senior South Korean official said Friday “new progress” on North Korea could come within days, with a local report saying the Trump administration has decided to approve humanitarian sanctions exemptions for Pyongyang.
In a meeting with reporters in the United States, the senior official said Seoul has made considerable efforts to bring North Korea to dialogue.
“There could be some new progress in the coming days” on North Korea, the government official said on condition of anonymity.
Washington has long demanded that Pyongyang give up its banned nuclear weapons program, with the country under successive rounds of UN sanctions over it.
The South Korean senior official’s comments came while addressing US President Donald Trump’s scheduled trip to China in April.
Trump last year made repeated overtures to Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un during his barnstorming tour of Asia, saying he was “100 percent” open to a meeting and even bucking decades of US policy by conceding that North Korea was “sort of a nuclear power.”
North Korea did not respond to Trump’s offer, and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons.
South Korea’s daily Dong-A Ilbo reported on Friday, citing Seoul’s unnamed government sources, that the Trump administration has decided to lift sanctions for humanitarian aid projects to North Korea, at the UN Security Council’s 1718 Committee.
Analysts say the move would allow South Korea’s NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance — such as nutritional supplements, medical equipment and water purification systems — to North Korea, an improverished state that has struggled to provide for its people.
Trump met North Korea’s Kim three times. The US leader once famously declared they were “in love” during his first term, in efforts to reach a denuclearization deal.
But since a summit in Hanoi in 2019 fell through over differences about what Pyongyang would get in return for giving up its nuclear weapons, no progress has been made between the two countries.
Seoul and Washington earlier this week reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea’s “complete denuclearization” and cooperation on Seoul’s nuclear-powered submarine plan, a move that has previously drawn an angry response from Pyongyang.
North Korea is set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party soon, its first in five years.
Ahead of that conclave, Kim ordered the “expansion” and modernization of the country’s missile production.
In a meeting with reporters in the United States, the senior official said Seoul has made considerable efforts to bring North Korea to dialogue.
“There could be some new progress in the coming days” on North Korea, the government official said on condition of anonymity.
Washington has long demanded that Pyongyang give up its banned nuclear weapons program, with the country under successive rounds of UN sanctions over it.
The South Korean senior official’s comments came while addressing US President Donald Trump’s scheduled trip to China in April.
Trump last year made repeated overtures to Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un during his barnstorming tour of Asia, saying he was “100 percent” open to a meeting and even bucking decades of US policy by conceding that North Korea was “sort of a nuclear power.”
North Korea did not respond to Trump’s offer, and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons.
South Korea’s daily Dong-A Ilbo reported on Friday, citing Seoul’s unnamed government sources, that the Trump administration has decided to lift sanctions for humanitarian aid projects to North Korea, at the UN Security Council’s 1718 Committee.
Analysts say the move would allow South Korea’s NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance — such as nutritional supplements, medical equipment and water purification systems — to North Korea, an improverished state that has struggled to provide for its people.
Trump met North Korea’s Kim three times. The US leader once famously declared they were “in love” during his first term, in efforts to reach a denuclearization deal.
But since a summit in Hanoi in 2019 fell through over differences about what Pyongyang would get in return for giving up its nuclear weapons, no progress has been made between the two countries.
Seoul and Washington earlier this week reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea’s “complete denuclearization” and cooperation on Seoul’s nuclear-powered submarine plan, a move that has previously drawn an angry response from Pyongyang.
North Korea is set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party soon, its first in five years.
Ahead of that conclave, Kim ordered the “expansion” and modernization of the country’s missile production.
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