Lisbon: Hundreds of firefighters battled fresh wildfires in Portugal and Spain on Saturday, civil protection authorities said, following a summer of devastating blazes in the region. The biggest fire raged in Seia, central Portugal, where 600 firefighters were deployed to tackle the flames, fanned by strong winds, and several roads had to be closed, the civil protection agency said. According to Emirates News Agency, the priority was “to protect homes”, the Lusa news agency quoted a civil protection spokesperson as saying. Police said they had arrested a person suspected of starting the fire. In Spain, authorities confined the small village

Abu dhabi: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a significant £1.6 billion (US$1.9 billion) reform of Greece’s income tax system, aimed at supporting the nation’s middle class, which continues to face economic challenges from past crises. According to Emirates News Agency, the announcement was made during Mitsotakis’s annual policy speech, where he outlined his government’s priorities for the upcoming year. The reform includes income tax cuts, with a particular focus on families with children. Families with four or more children will be exempt from income tax on the first £20,000 of their annual income, a move intended to encourage higher

Abu dhabi: Australia’s government announced the launch of a project to support medical research in Australia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, and other countries across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. According to Emirates News Agency, Penny Wong, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Mark Butler, Australian Minister for Health and Ageing and Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, stated that through the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) grant scheme, 24 research leaders and their teams will be supported with $72 million. The funding is intended to address significant medical challenges and transform research