Wildfires rage in France and Greece as Belgium tackles enormous blaze – Europe live

Extreme weather has raised the significance of Cop17 talks starting this week on tackling drought and land degradation As swathes of the northern hemisphere bake in what could be the hottest year on record, with wildfires blazing across North America and Europe and heatwaves afflicting millions across Asia, the UN’s bi-annual talks on desertification have assumed much greater importance – and have started attracting more money. Work will begin this week on allocating more than $12bn (£8.9bn) to vulnerable countries to help them deal with drought and land degradation, when scores of countries gather in Mongolia for Cop17...

Suppliers could factor water scarcity into charges as part of Ofwat proposal to reduce consumption Water companies could be allowed to raise bills for customers during periods of drought under proposals being considered by the sector’s regulator for England and Wales. Suppliers would be permitted to factor “water scarcity” into bills as part of efforts to reduce consumption under Ofwat’s plans, which are being likened to surge pricing – the practice where private hire firms raise taxi fares at times of higher demand...

Belgium battling biggest fire in more than a century as flames near German border and 600 people told to evacuate Two people have died in fires on the Greek island of Salamis as firefighting aircraft were called on to help tame the biggest blaze in Belgium in more than a century in the latest wave of wildfires in Europe. The bodies of two people were recovered from the Peristeria beach area of Salamis on Sunday after two fires broke out on the island, a fire department spokesperson told AFP. Hundreds of people have been ordered to evacuate...