London Fires: How Grenfell went from tragedy to shambles

The Grenfell fire has morphed from tragedy to utter shambles, with fury at the local council, UK government and the authorities, who have admitted they don’t know exactly who was in the building and may not be able to identify all of the dead.
Nadia is just one of many furious locals who believe the authorities or the media have deliberately downplayed the true number of deaths.
Singer Lily Allen, who lives in the area, told Channel 4 news the day after the devastating fire: “Seventeen? I’m sorry but I am hearing the figure is much closer to 150 and that many of those people are children.”
And indeed, the death toll has been steadily rising from that initial figure — to 30, then 58, and then on Monday to 79, with police confirming that five people had been formally identified, and 74 were missing, presumed dead. Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy warned the number may still increase.
The same afternoon, a London resident sensationally claimed that 42 bodies had been found in just one incinerated room in the building. But authorities discredited the claim, with a London Fire Brigade spokesperson telling news.com.au “that doesn’t sound right to me” and Met Police commenting, “It’s nothing we’ve been made aware of.”

Police have said from the beginning that the final death toll was likely to be significantly higher than that first reported, and emergency services have faced a battle to find and identify the dead in the charred building. Locals continue to search for missing loved ones on social media and through posters taped to bus stops and lampposts — but most fear the worst.
With a high immigrant population in the tower, some may not even have been reported missing. Mr Cundy said last week that because of the ferocity of the blaze, there was “a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody”. Five people reported missing after the disaster had been found safe and well, he said.
Police released horrific images of the scorched interior this week, with entire walls burnt away to nothing and charred remains of people’s furniture and possessions littering the ground.
Meanwhile, there is growing anger at tourists snapping “disaster selfies” in front of the charred apartment block where so many died. Mourners and nearby residents erected signs outside begging passers-by to “stop taking selfies” and “stop taking pictures please”.

Credit: Daily Telegragh 

Portugal forest fire: 12 survive by hiding in a water tank

Twelve people survived one of Portugal's deadliest fires by seeking refuge in a water tank after access to their village was cut off by the blaze.

The residents, including a disabled 95-year-old woman, spent more than six hours in the tank as the fire prevented them from being rescued.
"If it wasn't for this, we would all have died," one of the survivors said.
The fires, which police say may have been started by lightning, left 62 dead, many of them dying in their cars.
Residents in some areas of central Portugal are still being evacuated as more than 1,000 firefighters tackle the blaze, which continues to rage on several fronts despite light rains.

• 'I could have died - I should have died'
• In pictures: Portugal forest fire

Maria do Céu Silva was hailed as a hero after using her house's water tank to rescue the residents of Nodeirinho, next to the IC8 motorway, which was badly hit by the fire.
The idea, Ms Silva said, came while she tried to save her disabled mother.
"My husband told me to put her in the van but she couldn't get in by herself so she told me: 'Let me die on the floor'," she told Correio da Manhã newspaper.
"With the help of my son we managed to take her here." Her 81-year-old father also survived by hiding in the tank.
The winds were so strong, she said, that roofs of the houses were blown out. "It was like a horror movie."
We found ourselves stranded in a village called Mó Grande, just off of the IC8 motorway; ourselves and others were directed there by an officer from the IC8.
As we drove up the mountain road you could see the flames jumping across from one side of the valley to the other. The accompanying wind threw branches at the car but you couldn't stop, you could feel the heat.
Eventually we reached the small village at a crossroads surrounded by fire. Locals and ourselves were crying, overwhelmed by the heat and speed of the fire. It was dark, so dark, among the flames.
The devastation was indescribable. People, bewildered, remains of homes burning uncontrollably, concrete posts exploding over roads.
Credit: BBC

France's Macron wins absolute majority

French President Emmanuel Macron's party has won a clear parliamentary majority, results show, weeks after his own presidential victory.
With nearly all votes counted, his La République en Marche, alongside its MoDem allies, won more than 300 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly.

The winning margin is lower than some expected, with turnout down from 2012.
The party was formed just over a year ago, and half of its candidates have little or no political experience.
The result has swept aside all of the mainstream parties and gives the 39-year-old president a strong mandate in parliament to pursue his pro-EU, business-friendly reform plans.
The second round of the parliamentary election was marked by weak voter turnout, estimated to be a record low of about 42%, down sharply on five years ago.
Correspondents say opponents of Mr Macron may simply have not bothered to turn out.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe acknowledged the low turnout, promising his party would act for France as a whole.

What do the results show?
The comfortable majority of La République en Marche (Republic on the Move or LREM) and MoDem - surpassing the 289-seat threshold required to control the National Assembly - will be a big blow to traditional parties on both the left and right.
The conservative Republicans and their allies could form a large opposition block, with 125-131 seats. But this figure is down from 200 seats in the last parliament.
The Socialists, who were in power for the past five years, alongside their partners, looked set to get only 41-49 seats - their lowest tally ever.
Socialist leader Jean-Claude Cambadélis announced his retirement from the post, and urged the left "to change everything, its form and its substance, its ideas and its organisation".
The far-right National Front (FN) party won eight seats, but it had set its sights on 15.
FN leader Marine Le Pen, 48, has won a seat in parliament for the first time, representing Henin-Beaumont, a depressed former mining town in the north. But two of her top aides, including her deputy leader, were eliminated.
Ms Le Pen said President Macron may have got a large parliamentary majority, but "he must know that his ideas are not of the majority in the country and that the French will not support a project that weakens our nation".

Credit: BBC