Survivors emerge from Portugal fires
NODEIRINHO, Portugal — Survivors emerged Monday with stories of leaping into water tanks and other dramatic escapes from the forest fires scorching central Portugal, and authorities came under mounting criticism for not doing more to prevent Portugal’s deadliest natural disaster in decades.
More than 2,700 firefighters were still battling Monday to contain several major wildfires in the area northeast of Lisbon, where one blaze that began Saturday killed 63 people, many of them as they tried to flee the flames in their cars.
Water-dropping planes from Spain, France and Italy arrived as part of a European Union cooperation program but they were grounded in some places because thick smoke limited visibility, officials said. That left firefighters to do the heavy work on the ground in temperatures that approached 104 degrees.
Firefighters brought some of the blazes under control, but other wildfires still raced through inaccessible parts of the area’s steep hills, the Civil Protection Agency said.
Al-Qaida affiliate’s claim
Al-Qaida’s affiliate in Mali, Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, has claimed the attack Sunday on a hotel near the Malian capital Bamako that killed nine people including four civilians, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.
Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen reportedly said that the aim was to bear a message to “crusaders” that they will never be safe in the country.
Security Minister Salif Traore said the victims were a Portuguese, a Franco-Malian, a Chinese and a Franco-Gabonese civilian as well as a Malian soldier. Four attackers were also killed.
Expulsion of Qataris
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The deadline for Qataris to leave neighboring Gulf Arab states came into effect on Monday as the diplomatic standoff persisted with no end in sight despite multiple efforts at mediation.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and announced that Qatari residents would have 14 days to leave. They also urged their own citizens in Qatar to leave.
Officials later clarified there would be exceptions for mixed-nationality families in the Gulf.
Iranians in custody
WASHINGTON— Saudi Arabia said its navy captured three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard aboard a small boat laden with explosives as it headed toward an oil platform in the Gulf. The boat was intercepted in Saudi waters on Friday, the kingdom’s Center for International Communications said in a statement.
Majid Aghababaei, in charge of border affairs at Iran’s interior ministry, rejected the Saudi claims of military involvement, telling reporters that the vessels were fishing boats and one fisherman died in the incident.
Also in the world ...
Diplomats from the Western Hemisphere began an Organization of American States meeting in Mexico on Monday, attempting to pressure Venezuela to restore democracy and ease the political chaos and repression tearing apart the oil-rich country whose citizens are on starvation diets. ... South Korea, one of the world’s largest nuclear electricity producers, will scrap plans to add nuclear power plants, its president said.