Lebanon battled rapidly spreading wildfires for a third straight day Friday after they destroyed pine forests and threatened homes in northern areas.

The blaze that started Wednesday in Lebanon's remote Akkar region "is spreading quickly over large areas," Agriculture Minister Abbas Mortada told AFP.

At least 40 people have been killed with 150 more missing in northern Afghanistan after flash floods ravaged an area northeast of the capital Kabul, officials said on Thursday.

Lebanese firefighters struggled for the second day on Thursday to contain wildfires in the country's north that have spread across the border into Syria, civil defense officials in both countries said.

The fires killed at least one person, a 15-year-old boy, who was helping firefighting efforts in Lebanon.

An 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Alaskan peninsula late Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, generating small waves but no major tsunami before all warnings were canceled.

A wildfire raged in a forested area of mountainous northern Lebanon on Wednesday, reaching just outside some residential homes and killing a 15-year old who was helping firefighters put out the blaze, the civil defense and state news agency said.

Firefighters, military helicopters and civilians battled the wildfire near the village of Qobayat in Akkar province that burned for hours and spread to nearby areas, the civil defense said.

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupted on Wednesday, spewing a massive column of smoke and ash into the sky.

The eruption of the volcano in North Sumatra province lasted about 12 minutes, a local geological agency said.

An out-of-control fire scorched forests at the base of Mount Penteli north of Athens Tuesday, threatening surrounding suburbs, firefighters and local authorities said.

Authorities have sent alerts to mobile phones of residents of the affected area, warning them to "be ready to follow instructions," but no evacuation orders had yet been issued.

A tropical storm was barreling towards northeastern Japan on Monday, forcing Tokyo Olympics organizers to reschedule rowing and archery that could be affected by high winds.

Tropical Storm Nepartak, packing gusts up to 108 kilometers (67 miles) per hour, was expected to make landfall Tuesday, Japan's meteorological agency said.

Nearly 200 nations started online negotiations Monday to validate a U.N. science report that will anchor autumn summits charged with preventing climate catastrophe on a planetary scale. 

"The report that you are going to finalize is going to be very important worldwide," World Meteorological Organization head Petteri Taalas told some 700 delegates by Zoom.

A young endangered monk seal who became the mascot of a Greek island in a marine protected area after surviving a cyclone and endearing himself to locals has been killed, sparking an uproar.