Month: August 2023

Spaniards erupted in joy after La Roja won the Women’s World Cup on Sunday, with some following coach Jorge Vilda’s call to take to the streets and celebrate Spain’s first major soccer title in more than a decade.  Fans in Madrid, Barcelona and around the country cheered when the final whistle blew in Australia following Spain’s 1-0 win over England to clinch the women’s world title for the first time.  The women’s triumph came 13 years after the men’s national team won its only World Cup title in South Africa. The men’s team also won the 2008 and 2012 European …

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The swimming leg of a triathlon test event ahead of next year’s Olympic Games in Paris was canceled on Sunday due to poor water quality in the River Seine, the third such decision this month.  “Water quality tests … do not provide the necessary guarantees to properly hold the swimming event,” organizers said in a statement.  The mixed relay triathlon test event was switched to a duathlon format as was the case on Saturday for the Para triathlon event.  Organizers also canceled the Open Water Swimming World Cup in Paris this month after heavy rainfall caused the water quality in …

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The Netherlands and Denmark announced Sunday they will give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. During a visit to the Netherlands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the “historic” announcement making Denmark and the Netherlands the first countries to donate F-16 jets to Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia. “It makes me proud that Denmark, together with the Netherlands, will donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine’s fight for freedom against Russia and its senseless aggression,” Zelenskyy said after his visit to a Dutch air base with Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Zelenskyy said that the F-16s will be an important motivation for his country’s forces …

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Greek authorities Sunday evacuated another five villages near the northeastern border with Turkey where a large summer wildfire that has already destroyed several homes over the weekend drew dangerously close. There were no reports of serious injuries to firefighters or residents from the forest blaze near the town of Alexandroupolis, that forced the evacuation of another eight villages Saturday. Strong winds whipped on the flames, and civil protection authorities warned of an “extreme” fire risk Monday in the region around the capital, Athens, and other parts of southern Greece. Some 200 firefighters, assisted by 16 water-dropping aircraft, volunteers and police, …

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The British defense ministry said Sunday in its daily report about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that Ukraine is striking deep inside Russia and the leadership of Russia’s Aerospace Forces is “highly likely” being pressured to improve its defenses over western Russia.    The ministry said Russian President Vladimir Putin “almost certainly” invaded Ukraine believing that it “would have little direct effect on Russians.”  Uncrewed aerial vehicles are regularly hitting Moscow, the ministry’s report said.    There have been “increasing reports” of SA-5 GAMMON missiles hitting Russia. The ministry said the 7.5-ton Soviet-era GAMMON had been retired from Ukraine’s defense inventory …

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A wildfire on the Spanish island of Tenerife that has forced thousands of people to flee their homes remained out of control on Sunday, despite a slight improvement in weather conditions during the night. Orange flames lit up the night sky from Saturday into Sunday on hillsides just above the lights of inhabited areas, while thick black smoke billowed high into the air. Late on Saturday, emergency services said the fire was now affecting 10 towns, although 11 had been evacuated as a precaution. No major tourist areas have been affected. It covered an area of over 8,000 hectares (20,000 …

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Large wildfires are ravaging northeastern Greece near the border with Turkey. Local authorities have evacuated residents from eight villages where out-of-control flames have reportedly damaged homes and other property. So far, no deaths or injuries have been reported.   Strong winds have fueled the fires by the village of Melia east of the city of Alexandroupolis, scorching farmland.   More than 130 firefighters, 14 water-dropping planes and three helicopters are struggling to contain the blaze while reinforcements arrived from other parts of Greece.  Earlier, Greek Fire Service spokesperson Yiannis Artopoios said the wildfires, that broke out Saturday, were “strong, aggressive …

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Firefighters battling a vast wildfire on Tenerife are facing another difficult night after severe weather conditions worsened the blaze, forcing thousands to flee their homes on the Spanish holiday island, regional officials said.  The huge blaze that broke out late Tuesday in a mountainous northeastern area of the island quickly morphed into the Canary Islands’ biggest-ever fire.  “It is a devastating fire … a fire on a completely different scale, a scale that the Canary Islands has never experienced before,” said Rosa Davila, head of the government of Tenerife.  So far the blaze, which now has a perimeter of 70 …

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An “abnormal situation” occurred at Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft Saturday as it was preparing to transfer to its pre-landing orbit, Russia’s national space agency Roskosmos said.  The Russian spacecraft is scheduled to land on the south pole of the moon Monday, part of a big power race to explore a part of the moon that scientists think might hold frozen water and precious elements.  “During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters,” Roskosmos said in a short statement.  Specialists are analyzing the situation, it …

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