IBERIA: Thousands of firefighters in Spain and Portugal battled an ongoing wave of wildfires today, some of which have been burning for days. 

In central Spain, firefighters and a special military unit worked overnight to control blazes in the province of Avila.

In Portugal, more than 2,000 firefighters were battling blazes across the country, particularly in the north.

Temperatures are expected to rise across the Iberian peninsula next week.

RUSSIA: Top diplomat Sergey Lavrov met with his Syrian counterpart today during the first official visit to Moscow since former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was ousted by a jihadist-led militia last year.

Mr Lavrov told Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani that the Russian authorities “sincerely wish that the Syrian people, with whom we have longstanding friendship, overcome all existing challenges and completely normalise the situation.” 

UKRAINE: Parliament overwhelmingly approved a Bill presented by President Volodymyr Zelensky today that restores the independence of two of the country’s key anti-corruption watchdogs, reversing his contentious curbing of their power last week.

President Zelensky had placed the watchdogs under the oversight of the prosecutor-general, revoking their independence from central government and sparking large protests.

CHINA: A group of elderly people trapped in a flooded nursing home were among at least 70 people who died during powerful storms that have lashed Beijing and neighbouring provinces.

Officials said today that 31 people died at the Taishitun Town Elderly Care Centre in Beijing’s Miyun district during storms that dumped nearly a year’s worth of rain in the area over a few days.