- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
- Bangladeshi Hindus defy attack worries to celebrate festival
- Kiwis three up in America's Cup as Ineos pay for time penalty
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Dominant England crush Scotland at Women's T20 World Cup
- Dropped: The rise and fall of Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam
- Israel fights Hezbollah on the ground, pounds Lebanon from the air
- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
Firefighters battle Maui blazes as death toll hits 55
Firefighters on Friday battled stubborn wildfires which killed at least 55 people on the Hawaiian island of Maui and left a historic beachfront town a charred ruin.
Search and rescue teams with cadaver dogs were deploying meanwhile to look for victims of what Governor Josh Green said was "likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history."
"What we've seen today has been catastrophic," Green said after touring Lahaina, a town of some 12,000 people which served as the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom in the early 19th century.
The Maui County Government said firefighters were trying to extinguish flare-ups and contain wildfires in Lahaina and two other areas of the island on Friday.
It said additional firefighters from the Honolulu Fire Department had arrived on Maui along with search and rescue teams equipped with K-9 cadaver dogs.
Brushfires fueled by high winds from a nearby hurricane broke out on Tuesday and rapidly engulfed Lahaina, a favorite tourist destination for the millions of people who visit Maui each year.
The flames moved so quickly that many were caught off-guard, trapped in the streets or jumping into the ocean in a desperate bid to escape.
"There's nothing left, it's gone, it's a ghost town," said Sarai Cruz, 28, who fled Lahaina with her parents, sister and three children.
Brandon Wilson, a Canadian who had traveled to Hawaii with his wife to celebrate their 25th anniversary, said "it really looks like somebody came along and just bombed the whole town.
"It's completely devastated," said Wilson, who was at the airport with his wife trying to get a flight out. "It was really hard to see. You feel so bad for people. They lost their homes, their lives, their livelihoods."
The fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest.
Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc.
- 'Completely destroyed' -
Green, the governor, said he expected the death toll to exceed Hawaii's worst previous natural disaster, a large wave which left 61 people dead in 1960 on the Big Island.
The death toll currently stands at 55 but "the number has been rising and we will continue to see loss of life," he said.
Images taken by an AFP photographer who flew over Lahaina showed it had been reduced to blackened, smoking ruins.
The burned skeletons of trees still stand, rising above the ashes of the buildings to which they once offered shelter.
Green said 80 percent of the town was gone -- "completely destroyed."
Thousands have been left homeless and Green said a massive operation was swinging into action to find accommodation.
"We are going to need to house thousands of people," he told a press conference.
President Joe Biden on Thursday declared the fires a "major disaster" and unblocked federal aid for relief efforts, with rebuilding expected to take years.
Pope Francis on Friday offered his prayers to the people of Hawaii and said he was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy.
- Water rescues -
US Coast Guard commander Aja Kirksey told CNN around 100 people were believed to have jumped into the water in a desperate effort to flee the fast-moving flames as they tore through Lahaina.
Kirksey said helicopter pilots struggled to see because of dense smoke, but that a Coast Guard vessel had been able to rescue more than 50 people from the water.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from Maui, with 1,400 waiting at the main airport in Kahului overnight, hoping to get out.
Maui County has asked visitors to leave "as soon as possible," and organized buses to move evacuees from shelters to the airport.
The island hosts around a third of all the visitors who holiday in the state, and their dollars are vital for the local economy.
As global temperatures rise over time, heat waves are projected to become more frequent, with increased dryness due to changing rainfall patterns creating ideal conditions for brush or forest fires.
B.Finley--AMWN