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BBC News with Eileen McHugh.
The authorities in southwest France have ordered another 55,000 people to evacuate the area around Bordeaux as devastating forest fires continue to burn. About a quarter of a million people are now said to [be] have been told to leave their homes. Several European countries say they're sending ground teams and aircraft to help. Paul Moss reports. There had been just a sliver of optimism. Reports earlier on Saturday that the wildfires devastating France might be lessening in their intensity. But now the Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has warned that conditions are turning against those trying to quell the various blazes. The next few hours, he said, would be complex and difficult. For the first time, the giant military cargo plane, the Airbus A400M, has been deployed to drop fire retardant. But other aircraft have so far failed to bring the flames under control. The prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, says firefighters are working to save lives as wildfires continue to blaze west of Madrid. He was speaking in the fire zone where more than 90,000 people have been told to leave their homes or are in lockdown. One person has been killed after a vehicle ploughed into a crowd attending a Pride parade in central Berlin. At least 17 people celebrating in Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate were injured. German police say some have life-threatening injuries. Michael Steininger is in Berlin. Police say a manhunt is underway, with officers involved in an intensive search for those who may have been involved in the incident. Sirens can be heard all over the city center and helicopters are hovering over the park. Organizers asked the public on social media and on screens at the event to leave the area in a calm and orderly fashion. A screen at Brandenburg Gate said "evacuation." Berlin's mayor, Kai Wegner, has described the incident on social media as "an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society." Senegal's president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has launched a new political party, the Republican Patriots, underlining his split from his former ally Ousmane Sonko. The two men rose to power together in 2024 when Mr. Faye was secretary-general of Mr. Sonko's Pastef party. Makuochi Okafor reports from Lagos. The launch of Mr. Faye's new party comes as several senior figures from Pastef have switched their support to the president, although the party has downplayed the impact of departures. Mr. Sonko, who is now speaker of Senegal's National Assembly, has backed constitutional changes that would prevent a sitting president from also leading a political party. Parliament has approved the proposals, but Mr. Faye has chosen to put them to a referendum. No date has been set for the vote. Both men are now turning their attention to local elections due in 2027. You're listening to the latest world news from the BBC. Ukrainian officials say Russia has launched ballistic missiles on the capital Kyiv. Explosions were heard soon after midnight local time. The city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said missile debris had caused a fire at a residential building as well as fires in two other areas. The president of Kazakhstan has told President Putin that Russia's war with Ukraine needs to end. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was speaking alongside the Russian leader at a summit meeting. "No one knows how to resolve this situation, given the entrenched positions of the parties involved. On the other hand, this is the moment with the possibility of freezing the entire conflict. This is a tactic. The procedure has been tested internationally. Because it is tragic, of course, that young people are dying, they represent the gene pool of the fraternal peoples of Russia and Ukraine." Kazakhstan is an ally of Russia and its leaders have rarely commented on the invasion of Ukraine with any criticism even rarer. Iran has claimed that one of its commercial ships was attacked by Ukraine, causing an explosion which killed one sailor and injured another. The alleged incident took place in the Caspian Sea, which is used for maritime transport between Iran and Russia. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has only said that Russian ships in the Caspian had been targeted. However, Iran's foreign ministry described what happened as an act of aggression, accusing Ukraine of wanting to expand its conflict. Brazil has reportedly denied visas for two U.S. officials who plan to scrutinize the voting process ahead of October's election. Diplomatic sources said they wanted to cast doubt on the Brazilian electoral system, a charge Washington dismissed as a baseless lie. In the election, President Lula will run against Flávio Bolsonaro, who was formally endorsed as the right-wing Liberal Party's candidate on Saturday. BBC News. |