Fires in Greece, Cambodia-Thailand, Kosovo, attack in Michigan: overnight news

Greece hit by multiple fires. The country, in the grip of a heatwave with temperatures approaching 46°C, faced numerous forest fires fueled by strong winds on Saturday. “In the Athens metropolitan area, a real race against time was underway in the afternoon and evening to try to save homes in Drosopigi and Kryoneri, both evacuated as the fire approached,” reports the GreekReporter website . From the island of Crete to the Peloponnese peninsula and the capital region, the fires are worrying authorities, for whom “the hardest part is yet to come,” according to firefighter spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis. Greece, which is heavily impacted by climate change, has requested help from the European Union to deal with the flames with six firefighting aircraft, via the European Resource Sharing Programme (RescEU).

Thailand and Cambodia are ready to negotiate a ceasefire, according to Trump. After speaking with their leaders, the American president announced Saturday that the two countries had agreed to meet and "reach a speedy agreement," with both countries hoping to return to "the trade negotiating table" with the United States. Bangkok subsequently declared its readiness Saturday evening to conclude a ceasefire with Phnom Penh. Cambodia, for its part, welcomed Trump's truce proposal. The American president's allusion to trade negotiations "shows how he uses the threat of tariffs to encourage other countries to comply with his preferences, including on issues beyond trade," notes the Washington Post . "His public intervention in the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia increases the pressure on both countries, even if the outcome remains uncertain," the newspaper notes. A few hours after the American ceasefire proposal, AFP journalists in Samraong, Cambodia, about twenty kilometers from the Thai border, heard the sound of artillery fire at dawn on Sunday.

Kosovo is plunged into political crisis after a parliamentary impasse. MPs failed Saturday, for the 54th time, to elect their president, just hours before the deadline set by the Constitutional Court, announced the assembly's oldest parliamentarian, Avni Dehari. The elected representatives, who had until midnight Saturday to choose their president, met twice during the day to try to resolve the crisis, but again stumbled over the lack of a clear majority resulting from the February elections. However, according to the law, no government can be formed without first electing the speaker of parliament, since the parliament, once formed and officially in office, must vote on whether or not to approve the government. The center-left party of outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti failed to obtain an absolute majority in the last elections and has since been unable to find a coalition partner. All eyes are now on the Constitutional Court , notes the website Koha.net . The freeze on parliamentary votes, which runs until August 8, is intended to allow the Court to examine appeals filed by the opposition, which accuses Albin Kurti's party of legislating without a proper legal framework.

At least eleven people were stabbed outside a supermarket in the United States. Law enforcement was called late Saturday afternoon after an incident at a Walmart store in Traverse City, Michigan. A man stabbed supermarket customers before being arrested by law enforcement. According to hospital officials, 11 people were taken to the region's largest hospital: six are in critical condition and five are in serious condition. "Based on the information we have at this point, this was a random act," the Grand Traverse County Sheriff was quoted as saying by the New York Times . "The victims were attacked at random." An investigation is ongoing.