Brazil will stand by Iran in face of US sanctions
California fire death toll rises to 23
Firefighters battled raging blazes at both ends of drought-stricken California on Sunday, with the death toll rising to at least 23 and strong winds and dry conditions in the forecast.
The largest fires were in Butte County, a scenic area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains north of Sacramento, and in the Los Angeles area, where two deaths possibly related to a fire were reported, AFP wrote.
Acrid smoke from the fire covered the sky for miles, the sun barely visible. On the ground, cars caught in the flames were reduced to metal carcasses, while power lines were gnawed by the flames.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said at a late Saturday news conference that 14 more bodies had been found, bringing the number of fatalities of a blaze known as the “Camp Fire” to 23.
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for more than 52,000 people in the area.
In the town of Paradise more than 6,700 buildings – including a hospital, a gas station, and several restaurants – have been consumed by the fire.
Rescuers removed human remains over several hours in Paradise and placed them in a black hearse. Charred body parts were transported by bucket, while intact remains were carried in body bags.
At the Holly Hills Mobile Estate the mobile homes had been reduced to smoldering piles of debris. Yellow police tape marked spots that were tagged “Doe C” and “Doe D,” suggesting that bodies were found there.
Locals fled the danger, but police said some farmers returned to check on their cattle.
Fanned by strong winds, the blaze has so far scorched 100,000 acres (40,500 hectares) and is 20 percent contained, the California Department Amir-ali Ekhteraei, Amir-pouya Moeini, Navid Akbari, Alireza Mohammadian, Ali Younessi, Kian Bakhtari, Mohammadsadra Heidari and Mohammad Shojaeian.
According to her, Iran’s B team consisting of four students earned one gold and three silvers. Mohajerani described the Iranian students’ achievement as one of the best results by the organization in the scientific competition over the past years.
Collecting a gold, three silvers and one bronze, Iran finished in third place in the previous edition of the IOAA in Thailand.
IOAA is an annual event for highly performed high school students from all
of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. So far, three of the more than 3,200 firefighters deployed have been injured.
They estimate they will need three weeks to fully contain the blaze.
Local power authorities told state officials that an outage occurred near the spot where the fire erupted, The Sacramento Bee reported, but there is no official cause of the Camp Fire blaze.
President Donald Trump, in France for World War I commemorations, drew criticism for an unsympathetic reaction to the devastation.
“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” Trump tweeted.
“Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”
Brian Rice, the head of the California Professional Firefighters, slammed the tweet as “ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines.”
He said the president’s claim that forest policies were mismanaged “is dangerously wrong.”
Trump later showed more sympathy. “Our hearts are with those fighting the fires,” as well as the evacuees and families of the victims, he tweeted. “God Bless them all.”
But then he doubled-down on Sunday, tweeting: “With proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!” around the world. Established in Thailand in 2006, it was initiated by five countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, China and Poland to proliferate astronomy among high school students and foster friendship among young astronomers at international level to build cooperation in the field of astronomy in the future among young scholars.
Among the countries to have hosted the event are Thailand (2007 and 2017), Indonesia (2008 and 2015), Iran (2009), China (2010), Poland (2011), Brazil (2012), Greece (2013), Romania (2014) and India (2016). Battles for control of Yemen’s Hodeida reached residential streets on Sunday, as the Houthi fighters mounted fierce resistance to Saudiled forces, military sources said.
Fears for civilian safety have been rising since November 1, when Saudi-led forces renewed an operation to take Hodeida, AFP wrote.
Saudi-led forces entered residential streets in eastern Hodeida Sunday, according to a Saudi-led military official. Houthi fighters entrenched in the streets and positioned on rooftops battled to keep Saudiled forces out of a neighborhood located between two major landmarks in Hodeida, the city’s main hospital and vegetable market, both essential to the daily lives of civilians.
Yemenis across the city have reported seeing snipers stationed on rooftops and Houthi-run tanks firing artillery in Hodeida, home to the impoverished country’s most important port.
Residents south of the site of Sunday’s clashes said they could hear gunfire and shelling throughout the night. Brazil said it will stand with Iran like other member states of BRICS, the association of five major emerging economies, in the face of US sanctions. Head of the Committee of Foreign Affairs and National Defense at Brazil’s Federal Senate Fernando Collor de Mello said that stands by Iran and seeks to develop bilateral relations in the fields of economy and trade.
He made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in Tehran.
The former Brazilian president also called for the enhancement of parliamentary ties between Tehran and Brasilia, Press TV reported.
Collor de Mello further said the international community and the UN should not remain silent while measures taken by US President Donald Trump imperil global relations.
“We had three people from our neighborhood hospitalized over the weekend for shrapnel wounds,” said Marwa, who asked that her name be changed.
“We’re really tired. It’s not safe. We have no money. This time no one is leaving. We can’t afford it, and it’s too dangerous.”
Saudi Arabia and its allies first launched an offensive to take Hodeida in June, sparking an exodus from the densely populated city.
The operation was temporarily suspended amid UN efforts to hold peace talks, which failed to materialize. The United Nations is now pushing for talks by the end of the year.
Hodeida’s docks, while under blockade, were not yet impacted by the fighting, according to a local official.
Hodeida is a vital lifeline for Yemenis across the war-torn country, as the majority of imports and humanitarian aid enter through its port. Around 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine and many more are dependent on international aid, according to the UN.
Hodeida has been blockaded by the Saudi-led alliance since November 2017.
More than 400 people have been killed in 10 days of clashes in Hodeida.
The Saudi-led coalition has been blacklisted by the United Nations for the maiming and killing of children, including an attack that killed at least dozens of children south of Hodeida.
The United States on Saturday said it halted a controversial refueling arrangement for coalition aircraft engaged in Yemen.
The World Health Organization estimates nearly 10,000 people have been killed in the war since 2015. Other rights groups believe the toll may be five times as high.
The conflict has triggered what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and pushed the country to the brink of famine.