World news in brief
Hundreds forced to flee Australian bushfires
Australian bushfires have destroyed dozens of homes, killed cattle and forced hundreds of residents to flee in the south-east of the country. The blazes have caused extensive damage in rural areas of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s two most populous states. More than 100 houses were damaged or destroyed, authorities said. “At this stage (there have been) no lives lost,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said at a news conference in the small NSW coastal town of Tathra. It is just a great credit to the firefighters, to the volunteers, the emergency workers – all of the community has pulled together and provided such great support,” he said.
The fires, believed to have been sparked by lightning on Saturday, were fanned by dry, hot winds as temperatures reached 41C (106F) on Sunday. Emergency officials said conditions should ease today but “watch and act” warnings remained in place for five locations. Authorities said some 70 houses were destroyed, a further 39 were damaged and 30 caravans or cabins were also wiped out in Tathra, where
residents fled to the beach to avoid the flames as flying embers quickly carried the firefront forward. About 700 residents were evacuated to centres set up at the nearby town of Bega and several schools in affected areas were closed yesterday.
About 280 firefighters were battling the blazes, while 22,000 homes were without power in the region after high winds brought down trees, Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said. Reuters
Jamaica declares new ‘state of emergency’
The Jamaican government has declared a new “state of public emergency” in an area west of the capital. The St Catherine North area has recorded 49 murders since the start of the year, due mainly to gang activity.
The prime minister, Andrew Holness, said: “The security forces will have extraordinary powers and some citizens’ rights will be suspended.” Security forces will be able to detain people without a warrant. Anyone using roads leading in and out of the area will be subject to search. The measure will initially last for two weeks.
The Jamaican tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, said the state of emergency “has been having great success”. A state of public emergency has applied in the Parish of St James, which includes Montego Bay, since January. It was recently extended until 2 May.
French strikes to cause travel chaos for months
People travelling to France face disruption over the next few days and weeks – at 6pm on Thursday, some French air traffic controllers will begin a strike that continues to 5am on Friday. Eurocontrol tweeted: “A French National Strike has been declared for next Thursday 22nd. The impact on aviation is not yet clear.”
The action could severely disrupt flights on Friday, one of the busiest days of the week. The French government normally sets a maximum number of flights allowed to take off, land or overfly during air traffic strikes.
During previous strikes, hundreds of flights from the UK to other countries, particularly Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Italy, have been cancelled or severely delayed. Last month controllers’ unions reacted angrily to a European Commission call for EU member states “to ensure air service continuity in the event of industrial action”.
Israeli soldier who shot dead Palestinian has sentence cut
An Israeli military court has agreed to the early release of a soldier imprisoned for shooting dead a wounded Palestinian. Elor Azaria will walk free in May after serving nine months of a 14-month jail term for the manslaughter of Abdul Fatah al-Sharif in the West Bank city of Hebron, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
Sharif, 21, was lying injured and motionless on the ground after stabbing an Israeli solder when Azaria shot him in the head. His death in March 2016 was caught on camera and sparked outrage when the footage was released by a human rights group.
Azaria was initially given 18 months in jail, a sentence which was reduced to 14 months following an intervention in September by IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot. His term was cut further on Monday by the army’s prison parole board after military prosecutors agreed to Azaria’s request for early release. He will be freed on 10 May after serving less than two thirds of his sentence.
9-year-old shoots sister dead over video game
A 13-year-old girl has died after allegedly being shot in the back of the head by her nine-year-old brother
because she refused to give him a video game controller, according to authorities in Monroe County, Mississippi. The child was rushed to the Le Bonheur’s Children’s Hospital, in Memphis, Tennessee, but could not be saved as the bullet had entered her brain, it is reported in local press. She died on Sunday evening.
Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell said she had been shot with a .25 calibre handgun, according to Mississippi news source the Clarion-Ledger. It is not yet known how her brother got hold of the gun or whether he was aware of the consequences of his actions.
“He’s just nine. I assume he’s seen this on video games or TV,” said Sheriff Cantrell, as reported in the Clarion-Ledger. I don’t know if he knew exactly what this would do. I can’t answer that. I do know it’s a tragedy.” AP