Thousands of firefighters battled more than 20 blazes that raged on Wednesday across Portugal and western Spain, menacing villages and disrupting tourists' holidays amid a heat wave that pushed temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of Europe.

About 700 firefighters backed by aircraft have been pressed into service in France's southern Gard region to battle a blaze that has so far burnt more than 600 hectares (1,500 acres) of forest area.

Extreme heat waves that previously only struck once every 50 years are now expected to happen once per decade , a UN climate science report says.

Beijing has lashed out at the United States for blacklisting several more Chinese entities over alleged human rights abuses.

An unprecedented and deadly heat wave in the West has alarmed people across the world to take action.

Here is the latest top stories from Press TV on July 6, 2021.

California warns that millions of homes could be hit by rolling blackouts imposed on Monday to manage overwhelming energy demands caused by an extreme heat wave. manage overwhelming energy demands caused by an extreme heat wave baking the state for a fourth straight day.