3 dead as wildfire explodes in Northern California
Oroville (US): Three people have died in a Northern California wildfire that has forced thousands from their homes, authorities have said.
Two people were found dead in one location and a third person was discovered elsewhere, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea announced on Wednesday..
He didn't provide details but California Highway Patrol Officer Ben Draper tells the Bay Area News Group that one person was found in a car and apparently had been trying to escape the flames.
The fire northeast of San Francisco is threatening several communities. Stoked by high winds, it's burned a 25-mile path through mountainous terrain and parched foothills.
Hundreds of homes and other buildings are believed to have been damaged or destroyed, fire officials said at an evening news conference.
The fire even threatened the town of Paradise that was devastated just two years ago by the deadliest blaze in state history, causing a panic that led to a traffic jam as residents tried to escape.
The North Complex fire was one of more than two dozen in the state, including three of the five largest ever as wildfires burned across parts of the West amid gusty, dry conditions.
Forecasters said some weather relief was in sight that could help firefighters overwhelmed by the blazes.
In Washington, more acres burned in a single day than firefighters usually see all year. Fires also forced people to flee homes in Oregon and Idaho. A blast of polar air helped slow wildfires in Colorado and Montana.
Since the middle of August, fires in California have killed eight people, destroyed more than 3,600 structures, burned old growth redwoods, charred chaparral and forced evacuations in communities near the coast, in wine country and along the Sierra Nevada.
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Kerala: Court imposes 41-year jail term on man for sexual assault of minor
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.
Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.
As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.
The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.
Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.
A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.
The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.
