EXCLUSIVE Sarco suicide pod's SECOND victim: The doctor who witnessed woman's death, unanswered 'strangulation' questions, and the boss who now says: 'He was paranoid and delusional'
It's a picturesque city, fringed by the lush Black Forest, where the warm weather breeds fig and almond trees and rainbow-coloured parakeets swoop overhead.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Wildfires in Spain are setting an alarming new record, according to EU data
Spain is battling one of its most destructive fire seasons in decades, with new data showing that wildfire emissions have surged to their highest levels in at least 23 years. The fires have already killed four people, forced thousands to evacuate and burned more than 382,000 hectares – an area larger than Mallorca. According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), wildfire carbon emissions in Spain rose almost vertically on monitoring charts during the first two weeks of August, overtaking all previous years in their dataset that goes back to 2003. On the graph, the 2025 red line shoots sharply upwards from early August, far surpassing the steady grey lines of earlier years and the long-term average shown in black. By 18 August, Spain 's wildfire emissions were already well above the previous record highs for a full year. 'The wildfire emissions from Spain and Portugal during August has been exceptional,' said Mark Parrington, Senior Scientist at CAMS. 'The growth in the total estimated emissions from below averages to reach the highest annual total for Spain in the two decades of the CAMS fire emissions dataset in just 7-8 days.' The fires, concentrated in the north-western regions of Galicia, Castilla y León, Asturias and Extremadura, were fuelled by a severe 16-day heatwave, with temperatures topping 44 degrees Celsius in some areas. Spain's weather agency AEMET declared the end of the heatwave on Monday as rain and cooler conditions are forecast for this week. However, the agency warned of continued 'very high or extreme' fire risk across Galicia. Thousands of troops and firefighters, backed by water-bombing aircraft and reinforcements from several European countries, have been deployed to contain the blazes. Air quality has also deteriorated sharply across much of the peninsula. Observations from Spain's monitoring network and CAMS forecasts show levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) soaring well above World Health Organisation guidelines, which set the safe daily mean at 15ug/m3. Thick smoke has spread hundreds of kilometres, with plumes carried over France, the UK and Scandinavia, adding to haze already drifting in from Canadian wildfires across the Atlantic. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez acknowledged the role of global heating in worsening the disaster. 'Science tells us so, and common sense tells us so as well, especially that of farmers and those who live in rural areas, that the climate is changing, that the climate emergency is worsening, that it is becoming more recurrent, more frequent, and each time has a greater impact,' he said. Visiting affected areas, Mr Sánchez said the government would designate emergency zones eligible for reconstruction aid and pledged to propose turning climate emergency policies into permanent state law. Neighbouring Portugal is also experiencing one of its worst wildfire years in two decades, with more than 235,000 hectares burned so far – nearly five times the 2006–2024 average for this period, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). Authorities there have deployed over 3,700 firefighters and declared successive states of emergency since early August. Two people have died, and at least 5,000 firefighters were mobilised at the peak of the crisis. France, meanwhile, saw its most devastating blaze in the Mediterranean region in half a century earlier this month, when 17,000 hectares burned in the Aude department between Carcassonne and Perpignan. Across the continent, more than 439,000 hectares have already gone up in flames this year – double the 19-year average for the same period. Spain has faced devastating wildfires before. In 2022, nearly 310,000 hectares burned during what was then considered the country's worst fire season of the century. But in comparison, this year, by mid-August, the fire-scarred area has risen to between 343,000 and 382,000 hectares, shattering the 2022 record in just eight months. Scientists warn that the climate crisis is stacking the odds towards more frequent and intense fire seasons. Europe has been warming at twice the global rate since the 1980s, with prolonged droughts and record-breaking heatwaves drying out vegetation and creating tinderbox conditions. Many of the fires are believed to be caused by human activity: Spain's Civil Guard has arrested 23 people on suspicion of arson and is investigating nearly 90 more.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Man run over by own bulldozer while fighting Portugal wildfires
A man has died after being run over by a bulldozer he was operating while fighting wildfires in Portugal, bringing the death toll in the country to three, officials 65-year-old worked for a firm hired to fight fires northern municipality of Mirandela and was reportedly run over after falling from his vehicle while trying to avoid the has been battling wildfires since late July, with the north and centre of the country hit the neighbouring Spain, wildfires have killed four people and burned an area larger than Long Island in New York State - although temperatures are beginning to cool after 16 days of extreme heat. Fires have also broken out in Greece, France, Turkey and the Balkans as a heatwave has swept through say such extremes are becoming more frequent and intense because of human-induced climate change is causing weather to become harsher, according to research from Spain's state meteorological Portugal, around 15 people were also injured - one critically - while fighting fires on Tuesday near the central city of Sabugal, AFP news agency reported. Local media in Spain reports that 40 fires are still active despite temperatures dropping. The most intense heat, when temperatures surpassed 40C in many regions of Spain, has now passed but Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged people to "exercise extreme caution"."Critical moments remain, difficult hours remain," he least 373,000 hectares have been scorched in Spain this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information of villages have been evacuated due to the fires."We had to run away because the fire was coming in from everywhere - everywhere - above us, below us, all around," Isidoro, 83, a resident in the Ourense province of Galicia, told officials said many fires had been sparked by lightning during dry storms, but arson is suspected in some interior ministry says 32 people have been arrested and 188 investigations had been launched. In 2025, the EFFIS reported that Portugal's wildfires had burned about 216,000 hectares of and Portugal have activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, under which countries can request emergency are a common occurrence across southern Europe in the summer, but their severity can often be exacerbated by heatwave conditions.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Is this the end of summer? Meteorologists predict that the UK may have one warm weekend left this year
METEOROLOGISTS have warned that the UK might bask in hot weather once more this year before temperatures plunge. The news comes as the US battles with Hurricane Erin which could affect weather in Britain. 3 3 3 The UK has basked in balmy heats several times over the summer, as parts of the country were treated to temperatures of 31C. With the end of the summer in sight, Brits across the country are starting to reach for their coats and scarves but meteorologists say that could be a little premature. The bank holiday weekend will see highs of 24C with sunny weather, with some cloud. The Met Office says that high pressure will 'bring widely fine and dry weather' over the weekend. However, after that, the UK is set to get much colder. Although it can be difficult to predict weather patterns weeks in advance, the Met Office says that the weather could soon worsen. The spokesperson for the weatherwatcher said: 'From early to mid-week, high pressure is likely to become increasingly eroded from the west as areas of low pressure and frontal systems start to move in from the Atlantic, leading to more changeable conditions with spells of rain through the remainder of the week and the following weekend. 'Temperatures likely warm or very warm to start before quickly trending towards average.' Hurricane Erin, which formed over the Atlantic, and is causing chaos in the US could also affect weather in Britain. A spokesperson from the Met Office said: 'We are closely watching Erin's track, with the possibility of the UK feeling the effects of what would then be ex-hurricane Erin at some point next week, bringing an area of low pressure to the UK and more unsettled conditions. Horror moment apocalyptic 'Satan's Storm' hits Spain sparking tornadoes & sending tourists fleeing freak heat burst 'This is still a week away however, so there is lots of uncertainty in the forecast, but it is possible we could see some wet and windy weather for the last week of August. 'We'll be keeping a close eye on the movements of Hurricane Erin over the coming days and updating our forecasts accordingly.' Weather experts across Europe have painted a similar picture, with meteorologists in France warning of storms and officials in Poland telling residents to expect colder weather. Meanwhile, Spain has been battling with horrifying tornadoes following a terrifying freak 40C heat burst. The atmospheric phenomenon is characterised by a sudden, localised increase in air temperature. Resorts in the south of Grenada were hit with tornadoes and waterspouts, with winds reaching a staggering 53mph. An additional 500 Spanish soldiers have been drafted in to support the 1400 already battling the blaze.
