Greece battled a dozen major wildfires on Wednesday, including one threatening its third-largest city Patras, as a heatwave stoked blazes and forced the evacuation of thousands in southern Europe. - Greece - Thousands of firefighters backed by the army deployed across Greece,

Firefighters were struggling to tame blazes in several countries in southern Europe, including Albania, Greece, Montenegro, Spain, and Turkey.

Firefighters are battling several wildfires in Greece as a scorching heatwave wreaks havoc across southern Europe. In the past 24 hours alone, more than 152 new fires have broken out across Greece - and thousands of people have been evacuated. Around 4,850 firefighters are engaged in a multi-front battle to contain the flames.

Wildfires intensified across southern Europe on Wednesday with a round-the-clock battle to protect the perimeter of Greece’s third-largest city and at le

Europe’s wildfire crisis intensified as blazes across Greece, Spain, France and Portugal forced thousands to from their homes — killing at least six and consuming over 1 million acres amid record heat and worsening climate conditions.

More than 100 blazes tear through Greece's islands and mainland, forcing mass evacuations, as deadly heatwave-driven fires rage across Spain, Portugal, Turkey and the Balkans

Outside the Greek port city of Patras, firefighters struggled to protect homes and agricultural facilities as flames tore through pine forests and olive groves.

Greece could bridge the competitiveness gap between its economy and others in Europe by the end of 2013, he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also optimistic in a radio interview Sunday.

HSBC Malta is set to be sold to Greece’s CrediaBank, formerly known as Attica Bank, after entering exclusive talks.

Causing a wildfire or a forest fire is a criminal offence in Greece – even if unintentional. If you see a fire, call the emergency services on 112. The latest advice from the Foreign Office says Greece can experience extreme natural phenomena such as earthquakes, wildfires, extreme heat and flash floods.