Thousands of people are being evacuated from popular Greek islands Rhodes and Corfu, which are being ravaged by wildfires.
Horrifying footage from the islands shows a sky filled with smoke and an orange haze, and tourists running down the streets as the flames creep closer to hotels.
Many have had to flee their hotels and shelter in nearby schools, airports and alternative hotels.
The evacuation on Rhodes has been described as the ‘biggest in Greek history’.
Similar scenes are now beginning to unfold on Corfu too as extreme temperatures rage in parts of Europe.
Jet2 and TUI have both cancelled all flights to Rhodes, but are still taking scheduled planes out to the island without passengers, ready to bring people home.
Jet2 said yesterday: “The situation in Rhodes continues to evolve quickly, and our absolute priority is the health, safety and well-being of customers and colleagues in the affected areas.”
EasyJet has cancelled all package holidays to the island up to and including Tuesday 25 July, though some flight-only bookings are still operating.
Mass evacuation in Rhodes due to #wildfire – When are people going to realize business as usual is coming to a shuddering halt whether they want to believe in climate change or not. pic.twitter.com/XIx1u6Wazz
The latest advice from the British government is this: “Extreme temperatures are affecting many areas of Greece and there are a number of active wildfires. If you are a British national affected by wildfires, please follow the guidance from the emergency services. Call the Greek Emergency Services on 112 if you are in immediate danger.
“The Greek government has established a Crisis Management Unit to respond to the situation in Rhodes. They can be contacted on +30 210 368 1730 / +30 210 3681259 / +30 210 3681350.
“In the first instance, please contact your airline or travel operator who can assist you with return travel to the UK.
“If you are planning to travel to any areas affected by wildfires, please check with your travel operator or hotel prior to travel that the area you plan to visit.”
And here’s the latest advice from major airlines operating to Rhodes
Jet2 – Rhodes advice as of Sunday 23 July 2023, 10.50pm
Due to the wildfires affecting Rhodes and the impact across the island, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all flights going from the UK to Rhodes up to and including 30 July. As a result of this, we will be contacting affected customers with regards to their refund and rebooking options. We currently plan to operate flights from Rhodes to the UK as normal.
We know the situation for many currently in Rhodes is very difficult. The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our highest priority and we are doing all we can to assist customers in affected areas.
We will be operating two repatriation flights tomorrow from Rhodes to Gatwick in addition to our scheduled flights. We will also operate a further repatriation flight on Tuesday.
Any easyJet flight-only customers who have been evacuated from their hotel and are currently at the airport should contact easyJet’s airport staff. Any customers from affected areas wishing to travel back early can contact easyJet’s Customer Services team on our dedicated line for customers in Rhodes + 44 (0) 330 5515147 (open 7am-11pm BST or 9am-1am EEST)
Other flight-only customers due to travel to and from Rhodes over the coming days should continue to check the status of their flights on Flight Tracker. If you are booked to travel to or from Rhodes before the 29th of July, our flights are still operating. However, if you would like to change your plans, then you will be able to transfer your flight to another date or can request a flight voucher for the value of your unused flights, by calling easyJet Customer Services.
Our tour operator, easyJet holidays is currently working to comply with requests of the local authorities and is in contact with customers in resort to support them.
easyJet holidays have sadly had to cancel easyJet holidays packages departing up to and including Tuesday 25 July, and customers will receive a full refund. We are proactively contacting easyJet holidays customers due to travel up to and including Saturday 29 July to confirm their options.
TUI – Rhodes advice as of Sunday 23 July 2023, 2pm
Our teams are working hard with local authorities in Greece to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our customers currently on holiday in Rhodes and impacted by the wildfires. We’d like to reassure you that we’re doing all we can to provide support and assistance. We appreciate how distressing and difficult it is for those who have been evacuated and ask they follow the advice of the local authorities, reps on the ground and hotel staff.
For those due to travel to Rhodes we can confirm we have cancelled all outbound flights up to and including Tuesday 25th July and passengers will receive full refunds. Those due to travel on Wednesday 26th July can amend to another holiday or cancel free of charge.
Those customers currently in Rhodes will return on their intended flight home.
The safety of our customer and staff is of top priority and we will continue to keep a close eye as the situation develops and share more updates.
Marcus Rashford officially unveiled as a Barcelona player after sealing blockbuster loan move
Danny Jones
Manchester United star and England international Marcus Rashford has officially been unveiled as an FC Barcelona player after signing a new loan deal with the iconic Catalan club.
While Rashford remains a favourite among millions of Man United fans, his time at The Theatre of Dreams has been somewhat turbulent of late, to say the least, and the relationship between him and manager Ruben Amorim was such that it was made clear the lifelong Red was no longer part of his plans.
Having spent the second half of last season on loan at fellow Premier League side Aston Villa, following a fairly uncertain January transfer window, when a move to Barcelona first emerged as a possibility.
The Wythenshawe winger went on to register a combined seven goals and assists in his first half a dozen starts over in Birmingham and quickly became popular among many supporters, but it looks as though his eyes were always set on a switch to Barca.
Leaks of the Mancunian-born and bred footballer and MBE were shared online on Tuesday, 22 July, with Rashford’s arrival at the airport and snaps of him carrying out his first media photoshoot ahead of being unveiled in the famous red and blue stripes appearing on social media.
Joining the Blaugrana on loan under an initial 12-month contract, the deal is reported €14 million (approximately £12m) gross in salary plus bonuses linked to appearance clauses. It was Rashford’s significant wages that made Villa and other clubs’ pursuits challenging.
Most notably, however, the agreement is said to include an option to buy, which would see Barcelona secure Rashford on a permanent basis for an estimated fee of £26 million including add-ons.
At 27 years old and with more goals than United legends like Andy Cole, Tommy Taylor and his ex-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær – more than 30 of those coming against the ‘big six’ – plenty has been made of whether this price is a fitting representation of his value and talent when at his blistering best.
Nevertheless, it appears that his new home fans have no shortage of excitement, as it didn’t take long for street art to hit the streets of Barca; in fact, this particular mural was painted before Rashford had even officially joined, and people lined up outside the Nou Camp to watch him arrive at the hallowed stadium.
Marcus Rashford artwork is already on the streets of Barcelona 🔥🎨
Echoing shades of Scott McTominay’s somewhat reluctant move to reigning Italian champions, Napoli, not only does Rashford’s second spell away from his boyhood club seem it could be very well be a long goodbye, but we’ve already seen a few first-team Red Devils excel after leaving Old Trafford.
For instance, Brazilian forward Antony hit the ground running after joining Real Betis on loan (with the club joking that they needed to start a “crowdfunded to keep him“), and now former fellow academy graduate Elanga has moved to his second team post-United, joining Newcastle for a hefty £55m.
Between them, they contributed to 32 goal involvements since donning a different shirt – the latter doing so in just a matter of months.
Even Jadon Sancho managed to regain some semblance of form after rejoining Chelsea on a short-term deal, scoring the penultimate goal in the Conference League final against the aforementioned Betis, though the west London outfit ultimately opted to pay a penalty to avoid their obligation to buy.
Put it this way: if this is set to be the final farewell from the now-ex-number 10 after more than two decades in Man United colours, it isn’t as simple as a fallout with the gaffer or the player just ‘wanting away’. It’s part of a larger and longer-running pattern.
His old teammate, Paul Pogba, also believes his old club are ‘losing a great player‘.
As Gary Lineker hinted at in his recent interview regarding Rashford and Barca, who was the last Englishman to join the La Liga giants nearly 40 years ago, there seems to be a running theme and “problem” over in the red half of Manchester.
Rashford will wear the number 14: the same number that retired Arsenal and legendary French footballer Thierry Henry wore when he arrived at Barcelona – a player who Marcus had made no secret of idolising growing up and mirrors much of his game on.
Do you think it’s the right decision by Rashford and/or Manchester United?
🗞️ Marcus Rashford has joined Barcelona on a season-long loan.
Government reportedly considering introducing two-hour screen time limit for children
Emily Sergeant
Reports are suggesting that the UK Government is considering introducing two-hour screen time limits for children.
With an announcement on the matter expected later this autumn, Sky News is reporting that social media limits for children are being planned by the Government in a bid to tackle what is being referred to as ‘compulsive’ screen time usage – with Technology Secretary Peter Kyle admitting he is concerned about ‘the overall amount of time kids spend on apps’ these days, as well as the content they see.
Following meetings with current and former employees of some of the country’s major tech companies, a two-hour cap per social media platform is being ‘seriously considered’.
It is understood that, according to reports, instead of simply just being reminded of how long they have been scrolling for, children would actually be blocked from accessing apps, such as TikTok or Snapchat, once they have hit the limit.
The Government is considering introducing a two-hour screen time limit for children / Credit: RawPixel / Flickr
“I’ll be making an announcement on these things in the near future,” Mr Kyle told Sky News in an interview this week, “but I am looking very carefully about the overall time kids spend on these apps.”
He continued: “I think some parents feel a bit disempowered about how to actually make their kids healthier online.
“I think some kids feel that sometimes there is so much compulsive behaviour with interaction with the apps, they need some help just to take control of their online lives, and those are things I’m looking at really carefully.
“We talk a lot about a healthy childhood offline. We need to do the same online. I think sleep is very important, to be able to focus on studying is very important.”
The proposed limit is to help prevent ‘compulsive’ scrolling / Credit: William Hook (via Unsplash)
Mr Kyle admitted that, while children spending hours viewing content on social media isn’t ‘criminal’, but the overuse of some of these apps in particular is ‘unhealthy’.
“I think we can incentivise the companies,” he continued.
“We can set a slightly different threshold that will just tip the balance in favour of parents, [so that they’re] not always being the ones having to rip phones out of the kids’ hands and having a really awkward and difficult conversation around it.”
The upcoming proposed screen time limit comes after 1,000 pupils – mostly aged 14 and 15 – at schools in the North East town of Darlington spent a year participating in regular focus groups about smartphones and social media.
The survey found that 40% of them spent at least six hours a day online, and one in five even spent as long as eight hours scrolling.
Daisy Jackson -
24th July 2023 
