Evening Briefing: Belgian Wildfire, Ceuta Border Crossing, Virginia Shooting Update

Europe's wildfire crisis deepened on Saturday as Belgium's High Fens — the country's largest nature reserve — burned through a second day, destroying roughly a third of its protected moorland and forest near the German border. Authorities described the blaze as the worst in Belgium's recent history. Two villages were evacuated and Belgium activated the EU's civil protection mechanism, which brought in Swedish water-bombers and helicopters from the Czech Republic and the Netherlands to support hundreds of local firefighters. Officials warned of a risk the fire could reach residential areas. The High Fens disaster is part of a broader summer wave sweeping the continent. Simultaneous fires burned in France's Landes region, forcing some 650 evacuations, as well as in Croatia, Spain and Serbia. Europe's Copernicus climate service confirmed this was the hottest June-to-July period on record for western Europe, setting a grim backdrop for what has become an unprecedented fire season. Meanwhile at Europe's southern perimeter, Morocco intercepted 111 migrants near the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Saturday, using tear gas to turn back a group that pressed against the border fence near the town of Fnideq. Both Spain and Morocco had sharply reinforced security following July's catastrophic crossing attempt, when tens of thousands tried to reach Ceuta in a single day and an estimated hundred people died. In the United States, Chesterfield County police confirmed Saturday evening that no arrests have been made in the shooting outside Virginia State University dormitories, which left five people injured early that morning. Officers said more than one gunman was involved and that suspects remain at large. A student among the victims was discharged from hospital with non-life-threatening wounds; a second victim was found to be under 18.