Greece's fire service says it has arrested two people in southern Greece suspected of starting fires, one of them who did so three times.
The suspects, 47 and 43 years old, were arrested by firefighters in separate cases Saturday, in the Peloponnese. One is charged with starting a fire in a forest early Saturday and the other of starting three, including one last Sunday and two in less than an hour Saturday.
Hot, dry, windy weather has helped fuel dozens of wildfires across the country and the fire service has deployed almost 700 firefighters in the past 24 hours. The most serious fire, on the eastern island of Samos, is now under control, but authorities had to evacuate four hotels Saturday and house the guests in an indoor stadium overnight.
In this Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019 photo shows an aircraft drops water over a wildfire near Pythagorio town on the eastern Greek island of Samos. Authorities evacuated two hotels and house the customers in an arena in the town of Pythagorio. Hot, dry weather and high winds helped fuel a total of 68 wildfires across Greece Saturday and the situation will remain dangerous Sunday. (AP PhotoMichael Svarnias)
In this Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019 photo shows tourists evacuated from a hotel listen to instructions by a tour operator outside an indoor stadium in Pythagorio town on the eastern Greek island of Samos. Authorities evacuated two hotels and house the customers in an arena in the town of Pythagorio. Hot, dry weather and high winds helped fuel a total of 68 wildfires across Greece Saturday and the situation will remain dangerous Sunday. (AP PhotoMichael Svarnias)
In this Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019 photo shows a wildfire burns a forrest near Pythagorio town on the eastern Greek island of Samos. Authorities evacuated two hotels and house the customers in an arena in the town of Pythagorio. Hot, dry weather and high winds helped fuel a total of 68 wildfires across Greece Saturday and the situation will remain dangerous Sunday. (AP PhotoMichael Svarnias)
In this Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019 photo shows a wildfire burns a forrest near Pythagorio town on the eastern Greek island of Samos. Authorities evacuated two hotels and house the customers in an arena in the town of Pythagorio. Hot, dry weather and high winds helped fuel a total of 68 wildfires across Greece Saturday and the situation will remain dangerous Sunday. (AP PhotoMichael Svarnias)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.
Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.
“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”
“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.
The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.
Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.
Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.
The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.
Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.
In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.
Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.
Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
