flames

French wildfires show signs of easing, with containment efforts holding in Var and Gironde after destructive blazes.

Gale-force winds have fanned flames across multiple parts of Greece, intensifying a new front in Europe’s wildfire emergency, while major fires in France and Spain show signs of easing, with blazes either not advancing or under control.

Hundreds of firefighters, backed by water-dropping planes and helicopters, worked with emergency workers to protect Porto Germeno, a popular resort on the Gulf of Corinth, as heavy winds drove flames through the coastal area west of Athens on Saturday.

The fire broke out on Friday near the neighbouring village of Agios Vasileios. About 300 people were evacuated by sea, and authorities issued further evacuation orders for the regions, according to The Associated Press.

Greek authorities issued emergency alerts for several areas for Saturday and warned of extreme wildfire risk in the regions of Attica and Evia.

A Greek newspaper, Protothema, reported the fire in Porto Germeno split into three fronts and many houses caught fire in the area, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for nearby towns of Agia Paraskevi, Kryo Pigadi and Agios Nektarios.

Theodore Giannaros, a wildfire meteorologist at the National Observatory of Athens, told The AP an estimated 15 to 19 square miles (39 – 50sq km) had been affected, although authorities had not issued an official burned-area figure.

Fires ‘under control’ in France

The wildfires that have ravaged France are “today under control”, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Saturday, more than a week after the largest wildfire since 1949 flared up.

“Overall, the fires are now under control in our country” and, in Gironde, in the southwest, “we have returned to a more stable situation,” he said in an interview with the La Tribune Dimanche weekly.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said flames that left a trail of destruction across villages have eased. In a post on X, he said fires in Gironde were now under control while “significant work has been done to contain the fire’s progression by the 1,500 firefighters” in the mountainous southeastern Var department, where fire burnt through 1,500 additional hectares (3,700 acres) of land.

In the Var, defensive lines around the Gros Bessillon fire held overnight, and no additional ground burned, Var Prefect Simon Babre told French media on Saturday.

Portugal’s major wildfire was declared under control, while Spain’s largest fires were no longer making sustained advances and most evacuation orders had been lifted.

Spanish conditions mixed

Spain continued battling several wildfire hot spots on Saturday, two days after the government declared the end of a national emergency caused by huge fires in the country’s central provinces.

However, fires worsened overnight in Leon.

Europe is Earth’s fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate service. Rising temperatures and prolonged drought leave vegetation drier and more combustible, allowing fires to spread faster and burn more intensely.

IT’S set to be the biggest celebrity bash of the decade, with a roll-call of global A-listers you’d usually only see at the Met Gala set to attend.

And while the favoured few who have bagged an invite to the multi-million dollar upcoming wedding of Taylor Swift to Superbowl hunk Travis Kelce will no doubt get seven-star service, music from huge stars, and lifelong stories, there could also be a lot of awkwardness, as several former lovers and stars with mutual exes are set to cross paths.

Likely to be front and centre on the guestlist is Taylor’s best mate Zoe Kravitz, who recently got engaged to Harry Styles – the man who famously broke Taylor’s heart more than a decade ago.

In 2012, Harry, then 18 and at the height of his One Direction fame, dated 22-year-old Taylor. While their whirlwind romance only lasted a few months, Harry was the muse for Taylor’s fan-favourite album, 1989, which cemented their status in pop culture history.

Fans hoping for a Haylor reunion may be disappointed, though. Harry will miss the New York nuptials as they clash with the Wembley dates of his Together Together tour.

But he’s a shoo-in for Travis and Taylor’s UK celebration at Chiltern Firehouse on the arm of fiancée Zoe.

The Sun previously revealed Taylor and Travis are planning a UK wedding party for 120 guests at the Marylebone celeb haunt, with a source revealing London “holds a huge place in Taylor’s heart.”

The UK party will no doubt be attended by Cara Delevingne, another former flame of Harry.

Taylor and Cara have been close since 2013, with the supermodel even moving into the Wildest Dream singer’s New York penthouse after a brutal break-up in 2016. Cara’s other celeb exes include singer Halsey, who dated another Swift muse, Matty Healy.

Meanwhile, Zoe, whose dad Lenny says “is like a sister to Taylor,” will cross paths with another of the Swift girl squad she shares an ex with.

The Batman actress, 37, dated Penn Badgley, 39, from 2011 to 2013, shortly after his break-up from Taylor’s other close pal, Blake Lively. The pair remain friends, with Penn calling the relationship “a real, true, earth-shattering love” that “transformed him”.

Blake, who will be attending fresh off her lawsuit with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, dated her Gossip Girl co-star from 2007 to 2010 – before finding love with husband Ryan Reynolds. But there’s unlikely to be tension between Blake and Zoe – the pair have been pictured together previously at Taylor’s famous Rhode Island parties and are both happily in love.

Taylor is the godmother of Ryan and Blake’s children – and has even featured them in songs. The voice of the couple’s eldest daughter, James, 11, features on Taylor’s song Gorgeous from her 2017 album Reputation.

Meanwhile, James, Betty, and Inez are all named in her 2020 record-breaking album Folklore. The cover art for the project was also shot in the Lively-Reynold garden.

Meanwhile, Ryan will no doubt bump into Jack Antonoff, who was the high school sweetheart of Ryan’s ex-wife, Scarlett Johansson.

Jack is Taylor’s right-hand man and closest musical collaborator; she’s previously called him a “brother” and worked with him on 11 of her chart-topping albums.

He dated Scarlett while they were attending Professional Children’s School in Manhattan – and the pair went to prom together in 2002. Ryan was married to Scarlett from 2008 to 2010.

It’s unlikely there’ll be any bad blood between the superstar producer, who has also worked with Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter, and Ryan, but Jack could find himself in another icy encounter with another ex, Lena Dunham.

Jack, who married actress Margaret Qualley in 2023, dated the writer and actress for five years at the height of her fame from 2012 to 2017.

While the break-up was thought to be amicable, this year Lena released her memoir Famesick, where she admitted to cheating on Jack and said she discovered “incriminating texts and emails” that suggested Jack had cheated on her with New Zealand pop star Lorde, who was just 18 at the time.

Fans had long speculated that something happened between Lorde and Jack, who were living together to produce Lorde’s sophomore album, Melodrama. Neither Jack nor Lorde, real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor, has commented on the memoir.

Lorde, who is performing close by in New York a few days after the wedding, is also a close pal of Taylor. Taylor has previously thrown Lorde birthday parties and brought her out on tour.

Another guaranteed front row seat at the wedding is Selena Gomez, who met Taylor when they were both teenagers in 2008. At the time, Selena was dating Nick Jonas, and Taylor was seeing his brother Joe.

Selena, who last year married music producer Benny Blanco, famously inspired many of The Weeknd’s songs after the pair dated for 10 months in 2017.

The relationship came just months after the Blinding Lights singer broke up with supermodel Bella Hadid, causing a long-standing feud between the pair, which saw them follow and unfollow each other on social media several times.

Last year, however, The Only Murders in the Building star posted a picture of Bella to Instagram, praising her looks – and hinting they’d made up.

And before Selena, Benny dated model and actress Elsie Hewitt, who recently split from Margaret Qualley’s ex, Pete Davidson.

But that’s not the only Hadid sister Selena may find tension with. Selena also had a brief sling with Zayn Malik, who shares daughter Khai, six, with Gigi – who is one of Taylor’s best friends.

Taylor is close to both Gigi and Bella, with the older Hadid sister starring in Taylor’s music video for Bad Blood and attending several stops on her Eras Tour last year.

Taylor first met Selena when she was dating Joe Jonas, and Selena was dating his brother Nick. Both couples broke up, and Joe later went on to marry Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner. The pair divorced in 2024, and Sophie grew close to Taylor, despite their mutual ex, with Taylor even lending her New York home to Sophie and her two daughters.

Sophie is also expected on the guest list. After her split from Joe, Sophie was linked to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who dated Dakota Johnson for eight years following his split from Gwyneth Paltrow.

Dakota is another close pal of Taylor. Writing in Time magazine earlier this year, Taylor called Dakota “one of the most empathetic people I’ve ever known”.

And to add an extra layer of awkwardness, before Joe married Sophie, he also dated Gigi. She even directed the music video for Joe’s hit “Cake By the Ocean”. The split was said to be amicable.

And if Gigi brings her new beau, Bradley Cooper, he may be set for an awkward interaction, too.

Bradley’s ex, Suki Waterhouse, is friendly with Taylor and has often been spotted out for dinner with her. Suki, who dated the Hangover star from 2013 to 2015, has written cutting lyrics about the relationship on her recent albums – accusing the actor of treating her like a “trophy wife”.

While many of these relationships may be water under the bridge, there are more recent break-ups that could cause more tension.

Irish actor Paul Mescal is expected to come along, as he is currently dating Taylor’s pal and Eras Tour opener Gracie Abrams. This means he’ll likely cross paths with indie sensation Phoebe Bridgers, who also opened for a leg of the Eras tour and has collaborated with Taylor.

Paul dated Phoebe for two years between 2020 and 2022. Gracie also shares an ex with another Eras tour opening act, Sabrina Carpenter, a close pal of Taylor who will be attending.

Sabrina and Gracie both dated American actor Dylan O’Brien in 2022.

The Espresso hitmaker may also cross paths with another ex, Shawn Mendes, who has previously collaborated with Taylor and often spoken about his friendship with her.

Shawn, who features on Taylor’s 2020 song Lover, also dated Camilla Cabello, who opened for Taylor on her 2017 Reputation Tour.

Other likely attendees include Ed Sheeran, Graham Norton, the Haim sisters, Hayley Williams, and Emma Stone, as well as childhood best friend Abigail Anderson and influencer Ashley Avignone.

And if Taylor does invite her own exes along, Taylor Lautner is a shoo-in.

The Twilight star dated Taylor in 2009 after meeting on the set of Valentine’s Day. The pair are still close, and Lautner starred in Swift’s video for I Can See You in 2023.

On Travis’ side, his teammates Patrick Mahomes and his wife Britanny will join the guest list, as well as his NFL star brother Jason and his wife Kylie.

Taylor has been open about wanting an extravagant wedding and has even joked that “everyone she has ever spoken to” will be invited to avoid drama.

But in the incestuous circles of Hollywood, inviting everyone clearly brings its own repercussions.

Video shows helicopters dumping water on a fast-moving wildfire in southern California’s Simi Valley. The Sandy Fire has scorched more than 526 hectares (1,300 acres) and damaged at least one home. Thousands are under evacuation orders and warnings.