- 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
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
- Pogacar emulates icon Coppi with fourth straight Il Lombardia triumph
- UN warns against 'catastrophic' regional conflict
- New Zealand crush Ineos Britannia in America's Cup opener
- Djokovic to face Sinner in blockbuster Shanghai Masters final
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
Experts blame poor govt preparation for Greek fires' devastation
While the Greek government has been quick to blame global warming for the summer's devastating wildfires, some experts argue that poor planning is at least as much to blame.
The European Commission has said that the blaze in the Dadia national park, which has been burning for two weeks now, is the largest on record in Europe.
That and other deadly fires across Greece were expected to consume more than 150,000 hectares (370,600 acres) of land, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament this week.
And the flames have so far claimed 26 lives.
"Is the climate crisis the alibi for everything?" said Mitsotakis. "No, it is not an alibi -- but it is part of the interpretation," he insisted.
Climate change is a theme the government has touched on repeatedly in the context of the wildfires but, as Mitsotakis appeared to at least implicitly acknowledge, it is not the whole story.
This year's fires are certainly stronger than those of previous years because of climate change, said Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos, head of Forest Protection and the Wildland Fire Science Lab at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
But that does not fully explain the extent of the damage, he told AFP, pointing out that 10 percent of the country's woodlands had gone up in smoke since 2007.
- 'Better planning needed' -
"Better planning in the fight against fires is needed, as well as better cooperation between the fire services and the specialists in geomorphology of wooded zones," Dimitrakopoulos argued -- geomorphology being the scientific study of the form or shape of the land.
Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the National Observatory of Athens, made a similar point, arguing that the emphasis should be on adequate measures to prevent forest fires.
But the recurring problem, he said, was the dysfunctional relationship between the state and scientific bodies.
"The scientific tools exist and can help detect and prepare for difficult climatological conditions," he said -- such as the extreme drought that has struck the Evros region near the border with Turkey and other regions.
Opposition politicians took a similar line during a fierce parliamentary debate Thursday.
They accused the government of having been too slow to put preventative measures in place and of poor coordination between the various government agencies concerned.
- An international problem -
Mitsotakis, hitting back, referred to the growing climate crisis, the summer's extended heatwave in Greece and the hot dry winds that had fuelled the fires.
And he pointed out that Greece was far from being the only country to suffer such massive wildfires, pointing to similar disasters this summer in Canada, Spain and the United States.
"Even those countries that have a greater financial capacity than Greece" were unable to cope with the fires, he argued.
He also announced he would be recruiting more firefighters and buying equipment such as drones to help monitor such disasters.
He had sharp words too for "certain scientists" who, he said, saw fit to publish their data on the wildfires in the news media -- such as the extent of the terrain burnt -- when the research that might have put the figures in context had not been completed.
But the National Observatory of Athens was having none of that, hitting back in a statement issued Friday.
"In a democracy and in the era of published data at the European and international level, science and the national research centres are obliged to inform society of the results of their activities and the natural conditions that affect the lives of citizens," it said.
P.Martin--AMWN