NEWS OF THE DAY

_1 Siberia fires: Russia’s forest fire aerial protection service reports forest fires in Siberia have grown nearly fivefold over the past week. The fires come amid a heat wave in parts of the sprawling region. A high temperature of 100.4 degrees was reported a week ago in Verkhoyansk. If the reading is confirmed, it would be the hottest day ever recorded in the Arctic. According to figures reported Saturday by Avialesookhrana, Russia’s agency for aerial forest fire management, 2.85 million acres were burning in Siberia in areas that cannot be reached by firefighters. The worsthit area is the Sakha Republic, where Verkhoyansk is located.

_2 Museum attack: A mentally ill 18yearold who threw a 6yearold boy off the 10th floor viewing platform at London’s Tate Modern art gallery will spend at least 15 years in custody for attempted murder — and may never be released, a judge ruled Friday. Jonty Bravery admitted in December that he hurled the boy off the balcony. The French child, who was not identified, survived the 100foot fall but suffered critical injuries. He remains in a wheelchair and needs roundtheclock care. Bravery stalked potential victims before scooping the boy up and over the railings after the child had skipped slightly ahead of his family. Bravery sat impassively as he watched the hearing the 20minute hearing via video link from Broadmoor Hospital. Dr. Joanna Dow, a forensic psychiatrist who works at the hospital, said that he has a number of features of psychopathy, and has autistic spectrum and personality disorders.

_3 Officer convicted: A Toronto police officer has been found guilty of assault in the beating of a young Black man who lost an eye when he was arrested in 2016. Prosecutors alleged Constable Michael Theriault, who was off duty at the time, and his brother chased Dafonte Miller, cornering the then 19yearold in Whitby, Ontario, and beating him so badly with a pipe that his left eye burst. The Theriaults pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault. The judge convicted the officer and acquitted his brother Friday. Defense lawyers argued the brothers caught Miller and his friends breaking into a vehicle and acted out of selfdefense, alleging Miller was the one wielding a pipe. Michael Theriault will be sentenced at a later date and faces up to five years in jail. In reading his decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca said he was mindful of the social context surrounding the case. The case, and others like it, “raise significant issues involving race and policing that should be further examined,” he said. Miller thanked the community. “Now an officer has been held an accountable to some extent,” he said.

_4 Bangladesh violence: Four suspected members of a Rohingya group allegedly involved in kidnapping for ransom were killed in a gunfight with police near the sprawling refugee camps where refugees from Myanmar live, officials said. The gunfight took place Friday when a team of security officials was searching for the gang leader in a forest near the Rohingya camps at Cox’s Bazar, said police Inspector Pradeep Kumar Das. Another inspector, Morzina Akhter, said the suspects opened fire at police, sparking the gunfight that led to their deaths. According to authorities and local media reports, the gang led by Abdul Hakim has kidnapped locals for ransom and killed those whose families failed to pay. Hakim remains at large. While human rights groups acknowledge there are criminal elements among some of the Rohingya refugees, they have urged authorities to thoroughly investigate such cases. More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar into Bangladesh after the Buddhistmajority country’s military launched a crackdown against them in 2017 in response to an attack by insurgents.

_5 Deadly storms: Three people died and 12 were missing after drenching rains in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, authorities said Saturday. About 7,500 people have been evacuated from their homes. More than 20 people have died this year in seasonal rains in southern China that swell rivers and flood towns and agricultural fields. More heavy rain was forecast.