Sicily

Smoke from the forest fires burning in Greece has spread across most of the Eastern Mediterranean, with the National Observatory of Athens' Meteo meteorological service reporting that the Thrace blazes in particular are releasing enormous volumes of microparticles that have now made their way to Malta and southern Italy.

In the first seven months of this year, record levels of illegal crossings at EU borders were reported, DPA reported, citing the Union's border agency - Frontex.

Forty-one people are believed dead after a migrant boat capsized off Tunisia, Italian state RAI television reported, citing four survivors who were rescued and brought to land Wednesday.

Tourists at a seaside hotel on the Greek island of Rhodes snatched up pails of pool water and damp towels as flames approached, rushing to help staffers and locals extinguish one of the wildfires threatening Mediterranean locales during recent heat waves.

The Turkish and Italian narcotics teams have seized a record 5.3 tons of drugs in a joint operation on a Palau-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Sicily.

The heat wave threatens human health and makes the terrain suitable for fires.
Last week's heat wave named Kerber is followed by a new one that Italian forecasters named Charon, after the ferryman of Hades from Greek mythology who transports souls to the underworld.

More temperature records were expected to tumble on Tuesday as Europe awaited the peak of a punishing heatwave and wildfires scorched swathes of the Northern Hemisphere, forcing the evacuation of 1,200 children close to a Greek seaside resort.

Scorching heat across the Northern Hemisphere threatened to break records and whip up wildfires on Monday as the dire consequences of global warming take shape.

Parts of Europe, Asia and North America were preparing for historic heat with health warnings and evacuations.

Summer has just begun in the Northern Hemisphere but a brutal heat wave is already gripping parts of Europe, China and the United States, where record temperatures expected this weekend are a stark illustration of the dangers of a warming climate.

"Succession," the HBO drama about an ultra-wealthy family fighting for control of a sinister media empire, led the nominations on July 12 for the Emmys, television's version of the Oscars.