Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said wildfires that ripped through the outskirts of Athens and other parts of Greece this month underlined the need for radical shifts in behaviour to tackle global warming.

Everything needed to change in order to minimise the effects of the climate crisis, he told parliament on Wednesday during a debate on the wildfires and criticism of the government’s response to them.

Dealing with the crisis “is forcing us to change everything; the way we produce agricultural products, how we move around, how we generate energy and the way we build our homes,” he said.

READ MORE: Mitsotakis asks locals to conserve power as Greece battles fires and ‘worst heatwave since 1987’.

Part of a succession of blazes that struck southern Europe during a summer heatwave, the Greek fires scorched more than a quarter million acres of pine forest, with the island of Evia and areas of the Peloponnese, including near the archaeological site of the ancient Olympics, also hit.

Mitsotakis told lawmakers an earlier public apology for the disaster was also a call for action to become better at tackling such phenomena.

“We were called to put out 1,279 wildfires … the majority were tackled in the beginning but some got away. Preparedness was not adequate,” he said.

Defending the response of the fire brigade and civil protection services, he reiterated that his government’s top priority was to save lives.

READ MORE: Greek government defends response as Evia wildfires burn for eighth day.

During August, Greece recorded its hottest temperatures since 1987.

Mitsotakis, who has approved a 500-million-euro ($587 million) aid budget for Evia and the Attica region around Athens, said the protracted heatwave had turned forests into powder kegs.

“It is wrong to say that wildfires are only put out from the air. We cannot have a helicopter above every home,” he said, but pledged to increase aerial firefighting capacities and set up a force able to operate efficiently inside forests.

READ MORE: Australian helicopters arrive in Athens and prepare to fight wildfires across Greece.

Source: Reuters.

The delayed 16th Summer Paralympics kicked off its opening ceremony in the National Stadium in Tokyo on Tuesday. 

President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Andrew Parsons told athletes they were the “best of humanity”. 

“I cannot believe we are finally here. Many doubted this day would happen,” said Parsons in his Opening Ceremony speech.

“Many thought it impossible. But thanks to the efforts of many, the most transformative sport event on Earth is about to begin.” 

”We want to change the entire world.”

The opening ceremony was based around the theme of ‘We Have Wings’ to raise awareness of the courage of Paralympians who are trying to spread their wings “no matter which way the wind blows”. 

The countries were led out by six athletes of the Paralympic Refugee Team. 

Volunteers and athletes carried cherry blossom-inspired torches to ignite the first-ever hydrogen-fuelled cauldron at the Games. 

The flame was left roaring as the ceremony was brought to a close.

Meanwhile, protestors outside the stadium jostled with police as the ceremony took place. 

Tokyo will remain in a state of emergency until September 12 as the city records surging cases of COVID-19. 

Over the next 13 days, there will be 1,617 medals awarded across 539 events in 22 sports. 

Around 1,500 from 162 nations are taking part, with the IPC estimating that 4.25 billion people will tune in during the Games. 

At least 39 Greek athletes are competing across eight different sports in the Games – with Greeks over-representing in the swimming pool. 

Source: CNN, Greek Herald

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has criticised a decision by Cyprus’s government to rescind his expired passport on Tuesday. 

Cyprus’ government announced on Monday that it would cancel or refuse to renew passports held by some Turkish Cypriot officials involved in a breakaway administration in northern Cyprus. 

“The decision by the Greek Cypriot side to revoke some of the passports of the Turkish Cypriots is another proof that the ‘Republic of Cyprus’ has been transformed into an entirely Greek Cypriot state and that respect is not being shown to the legitimate rights of the Turkish Cypriot side in any way,” Tatar told Reuters in a statement.

The move targets 14 figures of the de facto enclave, including Tatar and its prime minister Ersan Saner. 

Cyprus says the move is in retaliation against Turkey’s advancements in Verosha in July. 

Turkish Cypriots in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus held or hold Republic of Cyprus passports. 

Turkish Cypriots on the island have a right to a Cypriot passport. 

Cyprus has been run by Greek Cypriots since the Turkish invasion and coup in 1974 and their relations with Turkish Cypriots are now at their lowest point in years. 

Source: Ekathimerini, Reuters