Wildfires reached the outskirts of Athens on Thursday as strong gusts of wind caused flare-ups around Greece, disrupting highway traffic and rail services.
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00:00 The wave of wildfires sweeping across Greece has claimed two more lives. The victims died
00:06 as a result of a blaze in a mountainous area near Volos in the central region of Thessaly.
00:12 The fire broke out on Wednesday, adding to the devastating blazes that have scorched
00:16 thousands of hectares on the islands of Rhodes, Corfu and Evia.
00:21 The Italian island of Sicily also continues to burn. Hundreds of hectares of forest, numerous
00:26 houses and parts of the electricity and water network have already been destroyed. Estimates
00:32 of the costs so far amount to over 60 million euros. And that's on top of an estimated 200
00:38 million euros the heatwave has cost the agricultural sector.
00:42 Beyond Europe, wildfires are also hitting northern Africa. The death toll in Algeria
00:47 has risen to 40, with several more people critically injured over the past four days.
00:52 Among the victims are dozens of military personnel. Humanitarian aid has been sent to places affected,
00:58 including Beja, one of the city's hardest hit by the fires.
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