Wildfires advance toward Bordeaux as blazes spread in southwest France

Devastating wildfires continued to rage unchecked in southwestern parts of France on Sunday, pushing relentless flames closer to the city of Bordeaux.

Over 220,000 people were evacuated from the Gironde department in southwestern France as wildfires continued to spread, local prefecture authorities said.

Late Saturday, Gironde authorities ordered the evacuation of an additional 55,000 residents on the outskirts of Bordeaux. The fires in Gironde have burned at least 42,000 hectares of land so far.

A round-the-clock force of 2,500 firefighters and 1,500 military personnel were deployed to combat the disaster.

On the front lines Sunday, firefighters carved wide firebreaks through thick smoke and threatened pine forests, sacrificing swathes of woodland to halt the advancing wall of fire.

Crews braced for a night-long battle to prevent the flames from reigniting.

As night fell, firefighters faced intensifying blazes driven by erratic winds that generated high radiant heat and triggered emergency mobile alerts urging remaining locals to evacuate immediately.

"The entire situation is complex. The entire situation is complex. It's delicate and unfavorable. And that is why the resources involved are substantial. That is why reinforcements have arrived in large numbers," said Matthieu Jomain, a firefighter.

Thanks to reinforcements, crews contained several hotspots, but officials warned the wider crisis persists under relentless heat and drought.

President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini arrived in Beijing Monday afternoon to begin his three-day state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.

This is President Pellegrini's first visit to China since he took office. According to a previous announcement by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President Xi will hold talks with Pellegrini to jointly chart a blueprint for the future development of China-Slovakia relations and exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern.

Slovakia is China's important cooperation partner in Europe. The two countries have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality, and their traditional friendship has stood the test of time. In recent years, the two sides have achieved fruitful cooperation in fields of economy and trade, people-to-people exchanges, infrastructure, and green development, continuously enhancing the well-being of their people.