
-
How a Brazilian chief is staving off Amazon destruction
-
Meme politics: White House embraces aggressive alt-right online culture
-
China launches military drills in Taiwan Strait
-
US senator smashes record with 25-hour anti-Trump speech
-
Brazil binman finds newborn baby on garbage route
-
US senator smashes record with marathon anti-Trump speech
-
Trump advisor Waltz faces new pressure over Gmail usage
-
Niger junta frees ministers of overthrown government
-
Trump set to unleash 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Boeing chief to acknowledge 'serious missteps' at US Senate hearing
-
Real Madrid hold Real Sociedad in eight-goal thriller to reach Copa del Rey final
-
Nuno salutes 'special' Elanga after stunning strike fires Forest
-
PSG survive scare against Dunkerque to reach French Cup final
-
Sundowns edge Esperance as crowd violence mars quarter-final
-
Nottingham Forest beat Man Utd, Saka scores on Arsenal return
-
Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth
-
Stock markets mostly advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
US movie theaters urge 45-day 'baseline' before films hit streaming
-
Saka scores on return as Arsenal beat Fulham
-
Third-division Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen in German Cup
-
Ball-blasting 'Torpedo bats' making waves across MLB opening weekend
-
Newsmax shares surge more than 2,000% in days after IPO
-
Thousands of Hungarians protest against Pride ban law
-
GM leads first quarter US auto sales as tariffs loom
-
Tesla sales tumble in Europe in the first quarter
-
No 'eye for an eye' approach to US tariffs: Mexico
-
NFL club owners back dynamic kickoffs, delay tush push vote
-
Trump 'perfecting' new tariffs as nervous world braces
-
Trump nominee says to press UK on Israel arms
-
French court says Le Pen appeal ruling could come before presidential vote
-
The battle to control assets behind Bosnia crisis
-
Prabhsimran powers Punjab to IPL win over Lucknow
-
Mass layoffs targeting 10,000 jobs hit US health agencies
-
Tiger's April Foolishness: plan to play Masters just a joke
-
Myanmar quake toll passes 2,700, nation halts to honour victims
-
Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig
-
US seeks death penalty for accused killer of insurance CEO
-
UK govt moves to block sentencing guidelines for minority defendants
-
Trump puts world on edge as 'Liberation Day' tariffs loom
-
Swedish journalist jailed in Turkey kept 'isolated': employer
-
Stock markets advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
Gulf between Everton and Liverpool has never been bigger, says Moyes
-
Finland to withdraw from anti-personnel mine ban treaty
-
UK vows £20 million to boost drone and 'flying taxi' services
-
Ford's US auto sales dip in first quarter as tariffs loom
-
Digging for box office gold, 'A Minecraft Movie' hits cinemas
-
Southampton boss Juric desperate to avoid Premier League 'worst team' tag
-
Thailand rescue dogs double as emotional support
-
Five takeaways from Marine Le Pen verdict
-
Stock markets split ahead of Trump tariffs deadline

What to know about Chile's voracious wildfires
Coming in the middle of a fierce heatwave, Chile's forest fires engulfed communities with a destructive speed that has stunned the nation.
This is what you need to know about the country's deadliest wildfires in recent history:
- Why did fire spread so quickly? -
Summer is in full swing in Chile and a brutal heatwave has seen temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) since last week.
On Friday, several fires broke out in the mountains that overlook the seaside town of Vina del Mar and other locations in the coastal Valparaiso region, some 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the capital Santiago.
Professor Miguel Castillo from the University of Chile's Faculty of Forestry Sciences said the ferocious heat and strong winds formed a "disastrous" combination.
He explained that when vegetation or garbage burns, light, hot air is generated which "lifts ignited particles or embers that travel hundreds of meters, causing satellite" fires.
On the hilly slopes of the coastal region, flames move faster downwind, exacerbating the danger.
On Sunday night some 40 fires remained active in the country.
- Why was the fire so deadly? -
At least 112 people have been killed, and almost one hundred are still missing. President Gabriel Boric has warned the toll could rise "significantly."
The fires engulfed densely populated hilltop communities, mainly in Vina Del Mar -- a popular tourism spot known for beaches and botanical gardens.
In one suburb alone, Villa Independencia, 19 people were killed and thousands of homes razed.
Here, families live crowded in homes built of light materials such as wood.
Flames tore through the narrow streets snaking through the hills, with cars exploding where they stood parked outside homes, according to survivors.
Authorities are investigating why residents did not flee, despite being urged to via messages sent to cellphones.
"Alarms were raised, but the evacuation apparently did not work," said Horacio Gilabert, from the Global Climate Change Center of the Catholic University of Chile.
- What started the fires? -
Boric said authorities were investigating "the possibility that the fires were deliberate."
According to the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), 99.7 percent of fires in the country are started intentionally or through recklessness.
In the current crisis, "simultaneous outbreaks occurred, and that is totally abnormal," said the professor Castillo.
He said that the deliberate starting of fires was "steadily increasing" despite this drawing prison sentences of up to 20 years. Perpetrators are however rarely caught.
- Is climate change to blame? -
The effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon have become more intense in this part of the world, due to global warming caused by human activity, scientists say.
El Nino raises the temperature of the Pacific Ocean, causing flooding in some areas, and droughts in others.
"A change of just a few degrees in the Tropical Pacific can make the difference between a relatively mild forest fire season and a widespread catastrophe," climatologist Raul Cordero said in a study recently published by the Nature journal.
In the midst of a long drought, Chile experienced an unusual bout of rains last year which led to the growth of scrubland which serves as kindling during wildfires.
- How is Chile tackling the fires? -
Authorities have deployed some 1,400 firefighters and 1,300 soldiers and volunteers to fight the blazes.
They are backed by 31 helicopters and planes equipped to carry water.
Boric, who has increased the budget to fight and prevent fires by 47 percent in his almost two years in office, declared a state of emergency.
A curfew has been imposed in parts of Valparaiso to free up roads for emergency vehicles.
However, the emergency services lack important capabilities, including equipment to fight fires at night.
"As a result, the likelihood that all work done during the day will be lost at night is very high," Michel De L'Herbe, an expert in crisis management, told the radio station Cooperativa.
S.F.Warren--AMWN