A deadly heatwave sweeping Europe has killed two people in Spain and two in France and forced the shutdown of a nuclear reactor in Switzerland,

Spanish authorities say two people have died in northeastern Spain in a wildfire that spread quickly before firefighters brought it under control.

A relentless European heat wave helped fuel a deadly wildfire in Spain while the European Union presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under scorching temperatures on Wednesday. The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that reached 14,