- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
Fast-moving Hawaii wildfire kills at least 36
The death toll from a fast-moving wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said Wednesday, after desperate residents jumped into the ocean to escape the fast-moving flames.
The fires began burning early Tuesday, putting homes, businesses and utilities at risk, as well as more than 35,000 people on the island of Maui, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.
The fires have burned more than 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of land, it said.
"As the firefighting efforts continue, 36 total fatalities have been discovered today amid the active Lahaina fire," the Maui county government said in a statement.
"High, gusty winds and dry conditions put much of Hawai'i under a Red Flag Warning that ended late Wednesday, and more fires were burning on the Big Island and Maui," according to the state emergency agency.
US Coast Guard officers pulled at least a dozen people from the water as emergency services were overwhelmed by a disaster that appeared to have erupted almost without warning.
More than 270 buildings have been damaged or destroyed in the seriously affected town of Lahaina, officials said earlier on Wednesday.
"Much of Lahaina on Maui has been destroyed and hundreds of local families have been displaced," said Governor Josh Green of the 12,000-resident historic town, which is popular with tourists.
Video posted on social media showed blazes tearing through the heart of the beachfront town and sending up huge plumes of black smoke.
"People are jumping into the water to avoid the fire," US Army Major General Kenneth Hara, the state adjutant general, told Hawaii News Now.
-- Stranded travelers, federal aid --
Visitors to Maui were asked by county officials to leave the island "as soon as possible," with buses organized to shuttle travelers from a hotel to Kahului Aiport in trips that started Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement on the County of Maui's official Facebook page.
"Due to limited resources in this time of crisis, visitors with vehicles or any means of transportation are being asked to leave Lahaina and Maui as soon as possible," the county said.
But many travelers were stranded at the Kahului Airport late Wednesday, due to canceled and delayed flights, with some seen by an AFP journalist left sleeping on the floor.
The US military has deployed three helicopters to help fight the fires, and others to assist search and rescue operations, the US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.
Military helicopters aiding firefighting efforts dropped about 150,000 gallons (570,000 liters) of water in Maui County on Wednesday, state adjutant general Hara told a news conference, according to CNN.
"The primary focus is to save lives, and then to prevent human suffering, and then to mitigate great property loss," Hara told reporters.
Authorities were working to restore cellular communications across the island and distribute water, he added.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved a state request for federal funding to fight the wildfires, the state emergency management agency said.
The FEMA aid allows for "federal reimbursement of up to 75% of the eligible firefighting costs," it said.
-- 'People didn't get out' --
Lahaina resident Claire Kent said she had seen her neighborhood razed less than an hour after she fled.
"The flames had moved all the way down to the end of the neighborhood," she told CNN.
"I know for a fact people didn't get out," she said, adding that homeless people and those without access to vehicles seemed to have been trapped.
A first responder who was in the town after the blaze swept through described a scene of devastation.
"As you drive down the road... either way you look, it's honestly just rubble," the person told AFP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
"It's ash and smoke and buildings just toppled over," they said.
"With how much charred materials there were... I don't think much is alive in there."
Chrissy Lovitt told the Hawaii News Now that every boat in Lahaina Harbor had burned.
"It looks like something out of a movie, a war movie," Lovitt said. "The water was on fire from the fuel in the water."
Sylvia Luke, the state's lieutenant governor, said the fires were caused by dry conditions and fanned by powerful winds from Hurricane Dora, which was churning hundreds of miles south of the islands, but not expected to make landfall.
Almost 11,000 people were without power on Maui as of late Wednesday, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us.
S.F.Warren--AMWN