Spain’s Christmas lottery has been welcomed as an “injection of hope” in the northwest of the country, where the jackpot handed out hundreds of millions of euros just months after wildfires had caused devastation.

Most of the first-prize-winning tickets in the lottery, known as El Gordo, had been bought by people in small towns in the province of León.

A single ticket, or décimo, costing €20 (£17), is worth €400,000 (£349,484) if it bears the winning number, in this case 79432. Décimos come in strips of 10 and when many strips of the same number are sold to a group of neighbours or workmates, there is potential for a massive jackpot.

People in the town of La Bañeza shared out €468m (£409m).

Among the recipients were members of a local football club in the town, which has a population of around 11,000.

The jackpot came four months after forest fires had torn through León, burning 8,000 hectares (31 sq miles) of land surrounding La Bañeza and killing a local man, 35-year-old Abel Ramos.

The sparsely populated, heavily forested north-west of Spain is used to wildfires, although during this record-breaking year, the area was particularly severely affected. Firefighters battled enormous blazes in León and the neighbouring Galicia region throughout much of August and during the summer 0.8 percent of the country’s total surface area was burned.

According to the mayor of the town, Javier Carrera, the lottery win “means for La Bañeza an injection of excitement and hope,” he told Spanish media. Carrera also mentioned the closure this year of a local sugar-beet factory which caused the loss of dozens of jobs.

Another town in the León province that was heavily affected by the summer’s fires, Villablino, also took a massive share of the jackpot, receiving €200 million (£175m).

“We needed some good news,” said the mayor, Mario Rivas.

On top of the blazes, five local men were killed in two separate mining accidents in nearby Asturias this year.

“It doesn’t make up for the loss of the lives of our friends, but this shows us that there can also be good news,” said Rivas.

Most of the winning tickets in Villablino were sold by a local Alzheimer’s association.

In addition, the town of La Pola de Gordón, also in León and with a population of 3,000, shared out 60 million euros. Sixty-four million euros of jackpot money also went to a working-class district in Madrid.

In Villablino, Maribel Martín had one of the winning décimos, worth €400,000 (£349,484). She was out doing grocery shopping when her son called her to give her the good news.

“We were really down and 200 million euros is a wonderful thing,” she said

She is clear what she wants to do with the prize money. “Spread it around a bit and enjoy life,” she said.

Lyle Foster’s match-winning 79th-minute strike allowed South Africa to win first opening match at AFCON since 2004.

Lyle Foster scored a superb winner from outside the box as South Africa defeated Angola 2-1 in Africa Cup of Nations Group B in Marrakesh on Monday, the first time they have won their opening match ⁠at the continental finals in 21 years.

South Africa also had a goal disallowed and struck the crossbar, ​just about deserving the nervy victory. Angola also had chances and will ‍be disappointed not to have gotten something from the game.

South Africa took the lead on 21 minutes when Oswin Appollis showed neat footwork in the box to work a shooting chance and put the ball in the bottom ‍corner. But Angola ⁠equalised before the break as Show got a touch to Fredy’s free kick to steer the ball into the net.

The winning moment came after 79 minutes, when Foster was teed up 20 yards out and curled his shot into the top corner to give the bronze medallists from two years ago a positive start to their campaign.

It was a workmanlike performance from South Africa, who do not have the plethora of players in top ​European leagues that their tournament rivals enjoy, with Foster their only one ‌at Premier League Burnley.

But they are a well-oiled machine under Belgian coach Hugo Broos and did enough for a victory that set them well on course for the knockout rounds. Egypt and Zimbabwe will meet later on Monday in ‌the same pool.

Even first half

South Africa took the lead after a period of sustained possession that led to Khuliso Mudau’s cross, which was ‌touched by both Sipho Mbule and Foster before Appollis beat two ⁠defenders and side-footed into the bottom corner of the net.

Angola equalised on 35 minutes when Fredy’s low free kick was touched into the bottom corner by Show, his second goal in his 50th cap for his country, to make it ‌1-1 at the break.

South Africa thought they had retaken the lead when halftime substitute Tshepang Moremi turned his defender and fired low into the bottom corner of the net, but a VAR review showed ‍that Foster was offside in the buildup.

South Africa’s Mbekezeli Mbokazi crashed the ball against the crossbar with a rasping shot from 35 yards, before Foster’s clinical strike secured all three points.

Zambia rally to draw with Mali

In an earlier Group A match on Monday, Zambia’s Patson Daka scored with a spectacular diving header in stoppage time to see his ‍side come from behind ‍and force a 1-1 draw with Mali in Casablanca.

Mali looked in control for most of the encounter, but paid the price for sitting back in the closing stages as Zambia staged a ⁠late recovery, with Daka leaping through the air to force home Mathews Banda’s curling cross two minutes into ​stoppage time at the end of the game.

Lassine Sinayoko had ‌taken advantage of sloppy defending to give ‌Mali a 62nd-minute lead ⁠after his strike partner, El Bilal Toure, had a first-half penalty saved.

Authorities say they don’t have enough food, tents, and equipment to accommodate everyone fleeing Sudan’s war. Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall visited the Ghoz-el-Salam camp in northern Sudan.

Donald Trump has sparked a renewed disagreement with Denmark after appointing a special envoy to Greenland, the Arctic island he has said he would like to annex.

Trump announced on Sunday that Jeff Landry, the Republican governor of Louisiana, would become the US’s special envoy to Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Gov Landry said in a post on X it was an honour to serve in a “volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US”.

Greenland’s prime minister said the island must “decide our own future” and its “territorial integrity must be respected”.

The move angered Copenhagen, which will call the US ambassador for “an explanation”.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, described the appointment as “deeply upsetting” and warned Washington to respect Danish sovereignty.

He told Danish broadcaster TV2: “As long as we have a kingdom consisting of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, we cannot accept actions that undermine our territorial integrity.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said the territory was willing to cooperate with the US and other countries, but only on the basis of mutual respect.

He said: “The appointment of a special envoy does not change anything for us. We decide our own future. Greenland belongs to Greenlanders, and territorial integrity must be respected.”

Writing on social media, the US president said Landry understood how “essential Greenland is to our national security” and would advance US interests.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has revived his long-standing interest with Greenland, citing its strategic location and mineral wealth.

He has refused to rule out using force to secure control of the island, a stance that has shocked Denmark, a Nato ally that has traditionally enjoyed close relations with Washington.

Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, has had extensive self-government since 1979, though defence and foreign policy remain in Danish hands. While most Greenlanders favour eventual independence from Denmark, opinion polls show overwhelming opposition to becoming part of the US.

The US has a number of special envoys. Some are to countries and regions. Others address specific issues.

But the significance of this appointment is both the US presumption that Greenland is separate to Denmark and the new appointee’s assertion that he will help the island become part of the US.

Envoys are informal appointments and unlike official diplomats, do not have to be approved by the host country.

What this appointment shows is that Trump’s ambition to control Greenland remains undimmed.

As with his military and rhetorical aggression towards Venezuela, the president is determined to gain greater control over what his recent National Security Strategy called “the western hemisphere”, a sphere of influence that he hopes will cover the whole of the Americas.

Trump’s new envoy pick Landry has previously voiced his opinion on Greenland, writing on his personal X account in January: “President Donald J. Trump is absolutely right! We need to ensure that Greenland joins the United States. GREAT for them, GREAT for us! Let’s get it done!”

Landry said his new role would not affect his duties as Louisiana governor. He is a military veteran and former police officer who was a US Congressman and Louisiana’s attorney general before being elected governor in 2023.

He has welcomed the president’s proposal to send National Guard troops to New Orleans as part of his push against crime in American cities.

The dispute over Landry’s appointment comes as strategic competition in the Arctic grows, with melting ice opening new shipping routes and increasing access to valuable mineral resources.

Greenland’s location between North America and Europe also makes it central to US and Nato security planning and puts it on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the US.

The US has maintained a base in Greenland since World War Two, after invading to establish military and radio stations across the territory after the Nazis occupied Denmark during the conflict.

Vice-President JD Vance visited the base in March as he asked Greenland’s people to “cut a deal with the US”.

The US reopened a consulate in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, in 2020 – during Trump’s first term – after closing it in 1953. A number of European countries, as well as Canada, have honorary general consulates in Greenland.