- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
Spain's Canary Isles battle 'most complex fire' in 40 years
The huge wildfire ravaging the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife that has burnt through more than 2,600 hectares of land is the "most complex" blaze to hit the Canary Islands in four decades, the regional government said Thursday.
The fire, which broke out late on Tuesday, has been raging through a forested area with steep ravines in the northeastern part of the island which is part of the Spanish archipelago that lies off the coast of northwestern Africa.
So far, the blaze, which has a perimeter of 30 kilometres (19 miles), has destroyed more than 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres), affecting some 7,600 people, many of whom were evacuated, the authorities said in a morning update.
Early on Thursday, people were evacuated from 10 small villages and hamlets in the area, they said, while also ordering residents to remain in their homes as a precautionary measure in La Esperanza, some five kilometres from the island's northern airport, Tenerife Norte.
There was no immediate reports of flights being affected.
"It's been a very difficult night... this is probably the most complex fire we've ever had in the Canary Islands in at least the past 40 years," Fernando Clavijo, regional head of the seven-island archipelago, told reporters.
"The extreme heat and weather conditions... is making the work harder," he added.
More than 250 firefighters backed by 17 aerial resources, have been drafted to tackle the fire, and troops from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) who regularly help efforts to stamp out some of the most dangerous blazes have also been mobilised.
"A new detachment of UME troops will arrive during the afternoon," he said, with the defence ministry saying it would raise the number of troops sent to Tenerife to more than 200.
"We are facing a fire the likes of which we've never seen before in the Canary Islands," meteorologist Vicky Palma, pointing to the vast column of smoke from a fire which by Thursday morning had been spreading for 34 hours.
The local authorities have cut off roads leading to the mountains on the northeastern part of the island.
"We ask that the population respect these road closures," said Montserrat Roman, head of the archipelago's civil protection service.
The fire broke out after the islands were hit by a heat wave that has left many areas tinder dry.
As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have warned heat waves will become more frequent and intense, with a much wider impact.
In 2022, which was a particularly bad year for wildfires in Europe, Spain was the worst-hit nation with nearly 500 blazes that destroyed more than 300,000 hectares, according to figures from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
So far this year, more than 71,000 hectares have been ravaged by fire in Spain, which is one of the European countries most vulnerable to climate change.
D.Cunningha--AMWN