Wildfire risk rises as Western states dry out amid protracted heat wave
By: Christopher Weber
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities in Western states warned of the rising risk of wildfires amid a protracted heat wave that has dried out the landscape while setting temperature records and putting lives at risk. Forecasters, meanwhile, said Thursday that some relief was due by the weekend.
California crews working in scorching temperatures and single-digit humidity were battling numerous wildfires Thursday, including a stubborn 53-square-mile (137-square-kilometre) blaze that prompted evacuation orders for about 200 homes in the mountains of Santa Barbara County northwest of Los Angeles. It was 16 per cent contained.
Fire crews in Oregon continued Thursday to fight the Larch Creek Fire, which has grown to 16.6 square miles (43 square kilometres) of grassy areas since Tuesday. Lower temperatures and calming winds were helping their efforts, but the local fire danger level remained extreme.
More than 63 million people around the U.S. remained under heat alerts Thursday, a significant reduction from earlier this week.
In Western states, where dozens of locations tied or broke heat records since the weekend, torrid conditions were expected through Friday before some cooling.
Las Vegas on Thursday simmered into a record sixth consecutive day of temperatures at 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) or greater.
Emergency crews recover bodies in Gaza City as negotiations continue in Egypt
By: Wafaa Shurafa
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Dozens of bodies collected throughout Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood arrived at Al-Ahli Hospital on Friday morning while civil defence workers said they continued to recover the dead from destroyed streets and buildings.
Hospital director Fadel Naem told The Associated Press that people both dead and wounded had been brought from Tel al-Hawa to the hospital less than a day after it resumed operations following the evacuation earlier in the week due to the fighting in the area.
About 60 bodies have been recovered, including entire families who appeared to have been killed by artillery fire and aerial bombardment, Mahmoud Basal, the director of Civil Defense in Gaza said.
The Israeli military said it could not comment on Tel al-Hawa. The scenes mirror those in another Gaza City neighborhood, Shuja’iyyah, from which Israel’s military has withdrawn in recent days.
On Thursday, civil defense workers found an additional 60 bodies in Shuja’iyyah under similar circumstances, with more believed to be buried under rubble. Basal said bodies in Tel al-Hawa were found decomposing or partially mauled by dogs.
New heat wave in Greece expected to last at least a week. North Macedonia also swelters
Headline:ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities on Friday warned of an impending weeklong heat wave during the summer tourist season, with a high risk of dangerous wildfires, as much of southern Europe sweltered under high temperatures.
The ministry for civil protection and climate change said southwesterly winds from Africa would bring temperatures sometimes exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) at least until July 19.
The new heat wave comes on the heels of the hottest June on record in Greece, according to preliminary weather service data. It was also the hottest globally, according to the European climate service, Copernicus.
People have been advised to wear light clothing, drink plenty of water and avoid long hikes during the hottest part of the day. In June, several tourists were found dead on Greek islands after setting out on long walks.
In neighbouring North Macedonia, authorities have also issued a weeklong heat alert starting Friday in the small, landlocked Balkan country.
Inmates escape from one of Niger’s most fortified prisons where jihadis are held
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Nigerien authorities enforced a curfew Friday as they searched for inmates who escaped from one of the country’s most fortified prisons in the Tillaberi region after it was breached under unclear circumstances.
Niger’s Ministry of Interior alerted government agencies to the escape of the inmates from Koutoukale prison on Thursday night. It urged them to redouble vigilance, engage traditional and religious leaders, and look out for suspicious movements within the populations.
The interior ministry did not say how many inmates escaped nor how they fled. Considered one of the safest in the country, the prison, located 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of the capital of Niamey, holds hundreds of inmates convicted or suspected of jihadi violence that stems from neighbouring Nigeria and across the wider Sahel region.
The Tillaberi government department immediately banned all kinds of movement. “Law enforcement will be deployed to ensure compliance with this measure and guarantee the safety of all,” it said in a statement on Thursday night.
British police arrest man on suspicion of crossbow murders of 3 women near London
Headline:By: Pan Pylas
LONDON (AP) — British police have arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of killing two sisters and their mother in a crossbow attack.
In a statement Friday, Hertfordshire Police said that the suspect remains in a serious condition in hospital.
Police previously said that Kyle Clifford was captured on Wednesday following a near day-long manhunt in a cemetery near his home in Enfield, around 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the scene of the crimes.
The three women — the family of a well-known BBC commentator —- were found with serious injuries at their home in the quiet residential neighborhood of Bushey, northeast of the capital, on Tuesday evening. Police and ambulance crews tried to save Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.
The women were the wife and two daughters of BBC radio’s sports commentator John Hunt, the main horse racing commentator for BBC 5 Live, the corporation’s news and sports radio channel.
4 migrants die while attempting to cross the English Channel from northern France
PARIS (AP) — Four migrants have died while trying to cross the English Channel on an inflatable boat from France to the U.K., French authorities said Friday.
The migrants’ vessel capsized and punctured off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer, in northern France, the prefecture responsible for the region said in a statement. Sixty-three people were rescued by the French coast guard.
The prefecture said a French navy patrol boat spotted the overcrowded vessel early Friday as it deflated off the French coast. Several people were “drifting in the water while others were still clinging to the broken rubber dingy,” the statement said.
Navy vessels, a fishing boat and a Navy helicopter joined the effort. Survivors were brought to the shore in Boulogne to receive medical attention and temporary shelter, the statement also said.
A second person dies in Vermont flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials say
By: Lisa Rathke
PLAINFIELD, Vt. (AP) — A second person has died in Vermont in the flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials said Thursday.
John Rice, 73, died when he drove his vehicle through a flooded street Thursday morning in Lyndonville, police Chief Jack Harris said. The floodwaters’ current swept the vehicle off the road and into a hayfield that was submerged under 10 feet (3.05 meters) of water.
Rice had ignored bystanders’ warnings to turn around, said Lt. Charles Winn of the Vermont State Police. Rice’s body was recovered several hours later after floodwaters receded.
Another man, identified as Dylan Kempton, 33, was riding an all-terrain vehicle late Wednesday when it was swept away by floodwaters in Peacham, Vermont State Police said in a statement. His body was recovered Thursday morning.
The remnants of Hurricane Beryl dumped heavy rain on Vermont, washing away much of an apartment building, knocking out bridges and cutting off towns, and retraumatizing a state still recovering from catastrophic floods that hit a year ago to the day.
2 buses carrying more than 50 people were swept into a river by a landslide in Nepal
By: Binaj Gurubcharya
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A landslide swept two passenger buses carrying more than 50 people into a swollen river in central Nepal early Friday, while continuous rain and more landslides were making rescue efforts difficult.
Three survivors apparently swam to safety, but rescuers by late morning had not found any trace of the buses, which likely were submerged and swept downstream in the Trishuli River. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned their waters murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.
Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane told parliament 51 passengers were missing and more than 500 rescue personnel have been assigned to the search operation.
Elsewhere in the country, 17 people have died and three more people were injured due to landslides in different districts in the past 24 hours, he said.
More landslides blocked routes to the area in several places, government administrator Khima Nanada Bhusal said. Additional rescuers and security forces were sent to help with the rescue efforts. Police and army personnel were searching using rubber rafts. Divers with scuba gear were also dispatched, according to the Chitwan district police.