A firefighter carries a hose as a fire squad tries to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Casais de Sao Bento in Macao in central Portugal on July 22, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Portugal requested the loan of two water-bombing planes on Monday as winds revived massive wildfires in a central region where dozens of people were killed in huge blazes in 2017.
Portugal's civil protection agency had said on Monday morning the wildfires were "90 percent controlled" but officials said they were fanned back into life when winds picked up in the afternoon.
Later in the evening, officials said they were making some progress against the blazes again but that it was slow work.
"During the morning it was practically controlled but weather conditions did not allow a consolidation of the situation," Prime Minister Antonio Costa told journalists.
In response to a demand from Lisbon, Spain sent two heavy amphibious aircraft to help fight the blazes which broke out on Saturday amid scorching temperatures, the interior ministry said.
Nearly 1,300 firefighters backed by 17 water-dropping aircraft were deployed to fight the blazes in the heavily forested Castelo Branco region, 120 miles northeast of the capital Lisbon.
Thirty-nine people have been injured since the wildfires broke out on Saturday, including several firefighters who were hurt on Monday, the civil protection agency said.
Most suffered smoke inhalation but a civilian was evacuated to a Lisbon hospital with serious burns.
As night fell, Portugal's civil protection agency commander Pedro Nunes said the flames were "losing intensity" and the situation seemed to be "evolving favorably" once again.
Exhausted firefighters poured water over their heads to cool off as temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). (AFP)
Photography by Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images
Smoke billows from wildfires in Macao in central Portugal on July 22, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Casais de Sao Bento in Macao in central Portugal on July 22, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A firefighter monitors the progression of a wildfire at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Villagers watch fire squads drop water over a wildfire as the sun sets in Chaveira in Macao in central Portugal on July 22, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A villager uses a water hose to put out flames during a wildfire in Roda village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo:Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A villager walks past a wildfire encroaching on her home in Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A car drives past a burnt forest after a wildfire in Vila de Rei, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Villagers carry buckets with water to try extinguish a fire that was coming close to their houses at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A firefighter is at work to extinguish a wildfire at Roda village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A villager holds a hose as a wildfire comes close to his house at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A villager shouts for help as a wildfire approaches a house at Casas da Ribeira village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Firefighters tackle a wildfire at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A wildfire approaches a house at Casas da Ribeira village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A firefighter monitors the progression of a wildfire at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A National Guard Firefighter stands in front of a burning house at Roda village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A firefighter tackles a wildfire at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A sheep looks outside a car window during a wildfire in Cardigos village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A firefighter passes while a wildfire burns the forest at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A National Guard Firefighter sits on top of a wall as a wildfire approaches Cardigos village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Firefighters tackle a wildfire at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A National Guard Firefighter uses a hose during a wildfire on Roda village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A villages holds a hose as a wildfire comes close to his house at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
A herd of goats graze close to a burnt forest in Roda village, Macao, central Portugal on July 22, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Firefighters are at work to extinguish a wildfire in Cardigos village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Picture shows ruins of a house after a wildfire in Roda village, Macao, in central Portugal on July 22, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Firefighters are at work to extinguish a wildfire in Cardigos village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Firefighters are at work to extinguish a wildfire in Cardigos village in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Saturday (March 6) for a binding deal by the summer on the operation of a giant Ethiopian hydropower dam. On his first visit to Sudan since the 2019 overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, Sisi said talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or GERD, should aim at reaching an agreement before the next flood season. Both Egypt and Sudan lie downstream from the dam, which Addis Ababa says is crucial to its economic development.Ethiopia, which says it has every right to use Nile waters long exploited by Egypt, started filling the reservoir behind the dam last summer, after Egypt and Sudan failed to secure a legally binding agreement on how the dam will be operated.Khartoum fears the dam could increase the risk of flooding and affect the safe operation of its own Nile dams.Meanwhile, Egypt fears its supplies from the Nile could be hit.Years of diplomatic talks over the project have repeatedly stalled.But Egypt and Sudan's positions have drawn closer as Cairo has engaged in a flurry of diplomacy over the issue in the last two years. The Egyptian president also signalled support for Sudan in a dispute with Ethiopia over the unrest in the border area of Al-Fashqa, which has long been settled by Ethiopian farmers. Ethiopia has rejected Sudan's claims to be asserting its rights to control the area under a border agreement from 1903.
Brendan Gallagher scored twice in Montreal's four-goal second period and the Canadiens beat the Winnipeg Jets 7-1 Saturday night. Josh Anderson, Tyler Toffoli, Joel Armia, Paul Byron and Jeff Petry also scored for Montreal.
Katheryn and Thelma Cagle have been credited with organizing busloads of Georgians that headed to the US Capitol on January 6, reported the Washington Post.
The Queen has stressed the importance of keeping in touch with family to “transcend boundaries or division” in her annual Commonwealth Day message. Her Majesty, 94, focused on a message of unity, describing how the global impact of the coronavirus pandemic had created a “deeper appreciation” of the need to connect to others. It came as the world awaited the explosive revelations made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their Oprah Winfrey interview, as the Royal family braced itself for the damaging fallout. The Queen will not watch the controversial interview, which is being broadcast by CBS in the US at 1am UK time, but will receive a full breakfast briefing from aides in the morning. The audio message celebrated collaboration, but it stood in contrast to the troubles facing the monarch's family. The Duchess of Sussex, 39, is expected to claim she felt silenced by "The Firm" and unprotected. Senior royals including the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined forces to appear in a special BBC One programme to mark Commonwealth Day, broadcast on the BBC on Sunday just hours before the two-hour Oprah television special. The Queen used her annual message, below, to highlight the “friendship, spirit of unity and achievements” around the world and the benefits of working together in the fight against the virus.
Security is being stepped up outside Trump Tower in New York ahead of the former president's first visit to the city since leaving the White House. Donald Trump was expected to arrive in Manhattan on Sunday night having moved to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida in January. Speculation was fuelled by reports of police planning to augment security outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the building where he launched his bid for the presidency in 2015. The area has been the scene of anti-Trump protests in recent years, and tension has been raised by the January 6 Capitol riot when his supporters attempted to overturn the result of last year's presidential election.
Two additional women accused New York governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment on Saturday, including a former press aide who detailed an uncomfortable embrace in a dimly lit hotel room and an assistant who said he made her feel like “just a skirt.” Former press aide Karen Hinton told the Washington Post that Cuomo, then head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, forced her into a “very long, too long, too tight, too intimate” embrace in a dimly lit Los Angeles hotel room in December 2000. The married press aide retreated but said “he pulls me back for another intimate embrace.” “I thought at that moment it could lead to a kiss, it could lead to other things, so I just pull away again, and I leave,” said Hinton, who is married to lobbyist Howard Glaser, a longtime Cuomo ally who worked as his director of state operations and senior policy advisor until 2014. A representative for the governor denied the allegation, telling the Washington Post the incident “did not happen.” “Karen Hinton is a known antagonist of the Governor’s who is attempting to take advantage of this moment to score cheap points with made up allegations from 21 years ago,” Peter Ajemian said. “All women have the right to come forward and tell their story,” he said, though he called Hinton’s accusation “reckless.” Meanwhile, Ana Liss, a policy and operations aide who worked for Cuomo from 2013 to 2015, told the Wall Street Journal the governor acted inappropriately with her as well, calling her “sweetheart” and asking if she had a boyfriend. She detailed a May 2014 encounter with the governor in Albany’s executive mansion where she said the governor called her sweetheart, hugged her, kissed both of her cheeks, put his arm around her lower back and grabbed her waist as they turned to have their photo taken by a photographer. “It’s not appropriate, really, in any setting,” she said. A spokesman for Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, defended the behavior as par for the course at public receptions. “Reporters and photographers have covered the governor for 14 years watching him kiss men and women and posing for pictures,” Azzopardi said. “At the public open house mansion reception there are hundreds of people and he poses for hundreds of pictures. That’s what people in politics do.” Liss and Hinton are two of five women to accuse the governor of sexual harassment. Lindsey Boylan, the former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to Cuomo, on Wednesday published an essay detailing alleged sexual harassment she endured while working for the governor, including unwanted kissing and touching. She wrote in the essay that Cuomo, with the help of top female aides, “created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected.” She also detailed an increasingly uncomfortable relationship she developed with the governor, in which he sought her out and set up one-on-one meetings with her. Boylan recounted a flight she shared with the governor from an event in October 2017 in which Cuomo allegedly said, “Let’s play strip poker.” On another occasion, Boylan says the pair met one-on-one for a briefing when Cuomo allegedly kissed her. Days later, former health-policy adviser Charlotte Bennett alleged that the governor harassed her in spring 2020, according to the New York Times. Bennett, 25, said Cuomo asked intrusive questions about her sex life, including an incident on June 5 during which the governor asked whether she was monogamous and if she had sex with older men. Cuomo said that he “never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” However, the governor did not deny making the statements in question. He has also denied Boylan’s claims. Anna Ruch, a former Biden campaign worker who has not worked for Cuomo, accused the governor of giving her an unwanted kiss on the cheek at a wedding in 2019. She said the action left her “confused and shocked and embarrassed.” New York attorney general Letitia James announced on Monday, after Boylan and Bennett came forward, that her office has received a referral from the Cuomo administration, allowing for an independent investigation of their harassment claims.
Several states last week announced plans to end mask mandates despite warnings from experts that such decisions were premature and could lead to surges.
Centrist Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a pivotal vote in the U.S. Senate, on Sunday advocated making the procedural maneuver called the filibuster more "painful" to do, with Democrats concerned about Republicans obstructing President Joe Biden's legislative agenda. Some Democrats have advocated eliminating the filibuster to prevent Republicans from blocking Biden's initiatives. White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield made clear on Sunday that the president is not calling for ending the filibuster.
The Senate version of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which cleared the chamber Saturday, was amended to remove taxes on forgiven student loan debt through 2025, the Wall Street Journal reports. Why it matters: The provision, which was included by Democrats this week, paves the way for President Biden to forgive student debt through executive action — one of his campaign promises — without burdening thousands of Americans with a new tax. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeFederal law usually treats forgiven debt as taxable income. Biden's pledge to forgive up to $10,000 in debt per individual would have increased "the tax bills of many households by a larger amount than the monthly payments they would have paid on the debt for that year," former Obama administration official Adam Looney tells the Journal.Where it stands: The House is now expected to pass the bill for President Biden to sign it into law.The government will lose some $44 million in revenue because of the provision, WSJ writes, citing the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.Details: All federal student loans are eligible, including state education loans, institutional loans, private student loans and private parent loans.More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
