Ecuador’s presidential election will go to a second round after a closely contested first-round result failed to produce an outright winner.
The electoral authorities called it a “technical tie” after the incumbent centre-right Daniel Noboa and his main left-wing challenger Luisa Gonzalez received nearly identical percentages of the vote.
The pair will now face a run-off in April.
The result is far narrower than opinion polls predicted, indicating the second round could be harder to call.
The narrow result also dashed the hopes of Noboa’s supporters, who had been buoyed by an early exit poll suggesting he might clinch victory outright.
The president’s supporters gathered in Quito, waving flags, donning T-shirts with his image and holding life-size cardboard cut-outs of the incumbent president.
These cut-outs, depicting Noboa in various outfits from suits to tank tops and sunglasses have become ubiquitous symbols across the country decorating front doors, apartment windows, and even car rooftops.
Noboa’s presidency has been defined by his focus on tackling severe gang violence.
He implemented emergency measures to deploy the military to streets and prisons to curb rising crime.
Many of his supporters hope he will secure a mandate in the run-off to continue his security policies.
“He’s helped us a lot, from when there was gang violence so bad that we couldn’t even go out,” said Fernanda Iza.
The 45-year-old added: “The support of the military he’s introduced their presence is already helping.
“He has brought us a certain stability. There are many problems still pending, but I hope he continues with his plan.”
The International Criminal Court, ICC, has vowed to continue its judicial work after US President Donald Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on its staff.
The ICC said it “stands firmly” by its personnel and the order seeks to harm its “independent and impartial” work.
Trump’s order accuses it of “illegitimate and baseless actions” after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.
The ICC is a global court, although the US and Israel are not members, with the power to bring prosecutions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In its statement, it said: “The ICC condemns the issuance by the US of an executive order seeking to impose sanctions on its officials and harm its independent and impartial judicial work.
“The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all situations before it,” it added.
The US and Israel are not members of the court but more than 120 countries are, including the UK and many European nations.
Trump signed the measure as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington.
The sanctions place financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.
Judges at the court said there were “reasonable grounds” that Netanyahu, his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Deif of Hamas bore “criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Netherlands, which hosts the court, said it “regrets” Trump’s order.
“The court’s work is essential in the fight against impunity,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on X.
A White House memo circulated on Thursday accused the Hague-based ICC of creating a “shameful moral equivalency” between Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants at the same time.
Trump’s executive order said the ICC’s recent actions “set a dangerous precedent” that endangered Americans by exposing them to “harassment, abuse and possible arrest”.
“This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel,” the order said.
In a post on X on Friday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he “strongly” commended Trump’s executive order.
He claimed the ICC’s actions were “immoral and have no legal basis”, accusing the court of not operating “in accordance with international law”.
A teenage girl has been killed after being attacked by a shark in Queensland, Australia.
Paramedics responded to reports of a “serious shark bite incident” at Woorim Beach, just north of Brisbane, around 16:45 local time (06:45 GMT) on Monday, Queensland Ambulance Service wrote on X.
Police confirmed that the girl had suffered life-threatening injuries and died shortly after 17:00. Australian media reports that she was 17 years old.
The waters around the beach are home to many sharks, but the attack occurred close to shore in the popular surfing spot, which has measures to protect against sharks.
Police confirmed the girl had been swimming in the waters off Bribie Island just off the mainland, on which Woorim Beach sits – when she was attacked by the shark, the species of which has not been identified.
The Queensland Ambulance Service confirmed the victim suffered life-threatening injuries to her upper body.
ABC News reports that there are a lot of swimming groups there, morning and afternoon.
“It’s known there are a lot of sharks around Bribie, but this close to shore, it’s still a shock.” the report adds.
The waters near the beach are protected with drumlines – barrels anchored to the sea floor which have baited hooks to catch sharks that get too close.
Police said they will prepare a report on Monday’s incident for the coroner.
It is the second shark fatality in Australia’s waters this year, after surfer Lance Appleby was killed off the coast of South Australia on 2 January.
The last fatal attack in the Greater Brisbane area came in 2006 when 21-year-old Sarah Whiley was killed while swimming with friends.
According to the state government’s website shark attacks in Queensland happen rarely and most shark species do not pose a risk to people.
At least 15 people, 14 of them women, have been killed in a car bomb attack on a vehicle transporting agricultural workers in Northern Syria, first responders say.
Another 15 women were wounded by the blast on the outskirts of the city of Manbij, East of Aleppo, according to the Syria Civil Defence agency, also known as the White Helmets.
It said some of the wounded were in a critical condition and warned that the death toll might rise.
There was no immediate claim from any armed groups for the bombing, which was the deadliest since rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December.
It was also the second car bomb attack in Manbij in only three days.
On Saturday, two children and a woman were among four persons killed by an explosion on a street in the city centre, the Syria Civil Defence said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that the blast was near a military position and that nine persons were killed, including several pro-Turkish fighters.
Since the collapse of the Assad regime, Manbij and its surrounding area have seen intense clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) factions and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is supported by the US.
The SNA launched an offensive to capture territory west of the River Euphrates, which the SDF had held since driving out the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in 2016.
The SNA took control of Manbij on 9 December, after fighters from the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council withdrew. But since then, the SDF has been carrying out a counter-offensive.
Israeli authorities say all 183 Palestinian prisoners due to be freed today have been released.
The prisoners were transferred from the Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank and Ketziot prison in southern Israel ahead of their release, a spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service says.
Earlier, we reported on scenes of Palestinian prisoners arriving in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and being reunited with loved ones. Some of the prisoners released today have been serving life or lengthy sentences. Meanwhile, a report says freed prisoners have arrived in Gaza.
We’re seeing live footage now of buses pulling up in Khan Younis, Gaza. Palestinian prisoners are exiting the bus where they are being met by huge and jubilant crowds.
Some of the freed prisoners are hanging out of the windows of the buses, waving at the large crowds that have gathered.
Earlier, 25 Palestinian prisoners were released in the West Bank as part of the ceasefire deal.
The plane, a Learjet 55, crashed at around 18:30 local time (23:30 GMT) after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
It crashed a short time later, less than four miles (6.4km) from the airport.
The FAA said in a statement that the flight was on its way to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, where it was stopping off before continuing to Mexico.
At first, the agency said two people were on the plane but later revised that to six.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating.
The plane had been on a medical transport mission, carrying a child patient and her mother, and four crew members.
Meanwhile, all six people on board the plane that crashed in Philadelphia last night were killed, a statement on behalf of Mayor Cherelle Parker says.
That includes a child and her mother, a doctor, a paramedic, a pilot and co-pilot.
Hamas has announced it will release three hostages on Saturday under a ceasefire deal with Israel: Israelis Ofer Kalderon, 53, and Yarden Bibas, 34, along with American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65.
Bibas is the father of Kfir, who was 10 months old when Hamas kidnapped him, his mother Shiri, and his brother Ariel, now five but their fate remains unknown.
Israel confirmed receiving the list and will release more Palestinian prisoners in exchange, marking the fourth such swap since the ceasefire began on January 19.
Hamas took 251 hostages during its October 7 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and triggered the war.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reports 47,460 Palestinians have died in Israel’s military offensive.
So far, 18 hostages and 400 Palestinian prisoners have been freed under the deal.
US President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of a migrant detention facility in Guantanamo Bay which he said would hold as many as 30,000 people.
He said the facility at the US Navy base in Cuba, which would be separate from its high-security military prison, would house “the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people”.
Guantanamo Bay has long been used to house immigrants, a practice that has been criticised by some human rights groups.
Later on Wednesday, Trump’s “border tsar” Tom Homan said the existing facility there would be expanded and run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
He said the migrants could be transported there directly after being intercepted at sea by the US Coast Guard, and that the “highest” detention standards would be applied.
It is unclear how much the facility will cost or when it will be completed.
Cuba’s government swiftly condemned the plan, accusing the US of torture and illegal detention on “occupied” land.
Trump’s announcement came as he signed the so-called Laken Riley Act into law, which requires undocumented immigrants who are arrested for theft or violent crimes to be held in jail pending trial.
The bill, named after a Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan migrant, was approved by Congress last week, an early legislative win for the administration.
At a signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Trump said the new Guantanamo executive order would instruct the Departments of Defence and Homeland Security to “begin preparing” the 30,000-bed facility.
“Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back,” he said of migrants. “So we’re going to send them to Guantanamo… it’s a tough place to get out.”
According to Trump, the facility will double the US capacity to hold undocumented migrants.
The US has already been using a facility in Guantanamo – known as the Guantanamo Migrant Operations Center (GMOC) – for decades and through various administrations, both Republican and Democrat.
In a 2024 report, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) accused the government of secretly holding migrants there in “inhumane” conditions indefinitely after detaining them at sea.
The GMOC has principally housed migrants picked up at sea and was recently the subject of a Freedom of Information request by the American Civil Liberties Union for the disclosure of records about the site.
The Biden Administration responded that it “is not a detention facility and none of the migrants there are detained”.
The Trump administration, however, says the planned expanded facility is very much intended as a detention centre.
Meanwhile, a former RAF pilot and broadcaster George Bacon has told the BBC that military aircraft and helicopters routinely fly near passenger planes.
Bacon says “I’ve flown as a military pilot in the US and I’m somewhat familiar with the airspace around Washington DC. It’s highly congested but civilian and military traffic share one radio frequency”.
Bacon adds that military pilots enjoy much greater freedom when it comes to navigation than they would over UK airspace: “The military regulate themselves and pilots can choose to fly where they want and need to. In controlled airspace like this, they would still have the freedom to take avoiding action, but they would be following the direction of the controller. The emphasis is that they must look – it’s known as ‘see and avoid’.”
This contrasts with civilian airliners, he explains, which are expected to follow fixed flight paths.
When asked about radio traffic alerting the helicopter pilot to the presence of the passenger aircraft in the capital, he says: “It’s standard for air traffic controllers to ask simply ‘do you see the aircraft’. There would be a very clear instruction – so this would be down to the pilot of the military helicopter to avoid the commercial aircraft.”
He added that It is not unusual for military helicopters to be in such close proximity to commercial aircraft and that investigators will establish what’s happened and if there are lessons to be learned, and an amendment to the procedures.
The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump has offered bouyant packages to almost all federal workers who do not want to return to office, a major move designed to shrink the US government.
According to the report, in an email sent to millions of employees on Tuesday, his administration told workers they had to decide by the 6th of February whether they wanted to be part of a “deferred resignation program”.
If they agreed to leave their jobs by that date, the message said, they would receive about eight months of salary as a severance package.
The Trump administration expects up to 10% of employees to accept the offer, or around 200,000 of the more than two million workers the federal government employs, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Senior Trump officials told US media that the buyouts could save the government up to $100bn (£80bn).
Workers wishing to take the deal on Tuesday were asked to reply to the email with the word “resign” written in the subject line. The offer includes both pay and benefits for workers until 30 September.
Certain employees did not receive the offer, including postal workers, members of the military, immigration officials, and some national security workers, according to the email.
The message from the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s HR agency, on Tuesday evening also warned of future downsizing that could impact those who choose to stay.
“We cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity,” it reads.
The email follows Trump’s earlier announcement that federal employees who had been working remotely since the Covid pandemic would be required to return to the office five days a week.
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said the government’s two million workers were “overwhelmingly left of centre”, adding it was “essential” for Trump to “get control of government”.
Report says, Trump repeatedly pledged to cut the size of the government and slash federal spending while on the campaign trail, as he tasked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with leading an advisory body focused on cutting regulations, spending, and headcounts within the federal government. Ramaswamy has since left the “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge).
But the email on Tuesday bears a resemblance to one sent to Twitter, now X, employees in late 2022 after Musk bought the social media platform. He asked for an emailed response if they wanted to remain at the company.
The mass buyout offer came at the end of an at-times chaotic day in Washington, following a memo Trump issued which said he would pause federal grants, loans and other assistance.
A district judge suspended the order – which was initially set to go into effect on Tuesday afternoon – until next Monday.
In the hours before that decision, there was widespread confusion over which federal programmes and organizations would be impacted. The White House repeatedly sought to assuage concerns that Social Security payments and Medicaid access could be disrupted.
In a letter to the White House, top Democrats expressed “extreme alarm” about the plan to pause funding.
Also on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at restricting gender care for young people.
The order, titled ‘Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation’, says it will prevent those aged under 19 from making “life-altering” choices.
“It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another,” the order says.
It is unclear, however, how the order would be implemented and it is likely to be challenged in court.
There are growing international calls for peace talks to end the escalation of violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The fate of the economic and trading hub Goma is still unclear. UN officials have said the situation is chaotic with fighting continuing in parts of the city.
A Congolese government official has said the army is still in control of most of the regional capital, but M23 rebels who have attacked the city dispute that.
Reports say at least 17 people have been killed and close to 400 wounded. On Tuesday, South Africa said that four more of its soldiers, who are in DR Congo as part of peacekeeping efforts, had died as a result of clashes with the M23.
This brings the total number of South African casualties to 13. Malawi and Uruguay have also lost peacekeepers.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday spoke to his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, with the two agreeing on an urgent need for ceasefire and resumption of peace talks
The African Union is also set to host an emergency meeting later on Tuesday.
Late on Monday, DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi held a meeting with leaders of some state institutions to evaluate the situation in the city.
“Our soldiers and the [pro-government militia] Wazalendo continue to hold certain positions in the city” said Vital Kamerhe, the speaker of the National Assembly after the meeting.
He said the president would address the nation later on the matter, without giving specific details.
Since Friday, Goma has been cut off from electricity and water, and Mr Kamerhe said the government was working hard to restore them to the city.
He said the government was also seeking diplomatic and political solutions to the crisis.
It came as the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the M23 attack in a call with Tshisekedi.
In a statement, the US State Department said the Congolese leader agreed on the need to restart peace talks “as soon as possible” with Rwanda, which is accused of backing the rebels.
Mr Rubio also spoke to Kenya’s President William Ruto, agreeing to push forward peace talks. A meeting called by the Kenyan leader between Tshisekedi and Kagame has been scheduled for Wednesday.
The Congolese government has also asked for another meeting of the UN Security Council – demanding that this time it take tough action against Rwanda
During an emergency UN meeting on Sunday, DR Congo demanded sanctions against Rwanda, saying its forces had crossed into its territory in what amounted to a “declaration of war”.
Following the meeting, the UN condemned M23 advances and the “ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DR Congo”, including the presence of “external forces”.
Rwanda has in the past denied direct support for the M23, but the UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said there is no doubt its troops were supporting the rebels.
Thousands of people are fleeing Goma as fighting escalates in the city.
Several sites on the outskirts of the city, sheltering more than 300,000 displaced people were completely emptied out in the space of a few hours, according to the UN.
Key roads surrounding Goma are blocked, cutting off vital access points, while the city’s airport is paralysed, halting all evacuation and humanitarian efforts, the UN says.
The situation is growing more desperate by the hour as aid and escape routes are brought to a standstill.
Since the start of 2025 more than 400,000 people have been forced from their homes in the provinces of North and South Kivu, near the border with Rwanda, according to the UN’s refugee agency.
BBC/Titilayo Kupoliyi
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A 59-year-old grandfather was tragically trampled to death by an elephant on Saturday while trying to save his grandchildren from the charging animal.
The incident, which happened at South Africa’s iconic Kruger National Park, was reported by Times Live on Sunday.
The fatal encounter unfolded near the park’s Malelane Gate, a popular entry point, when the family was capturing photos and videos of the elephant.According to a police statement, the animal suddenly charged, prompting the man’s two grandchildren, aged five and eleven, to flee.
The children stumbled, and the elephant struck the older child with its trunk.“It was during this time when the grandfather went to assist … when the elephant turned and trampled on him before it left them and returned into the Kruger National Park premises,” the statement read.
The man died from his injuries at the scene, while the 11-year-old boy sustained a leg injury and was transported to a hospital for treatment.
JP Louw, spokesperson for South African National Parks (SANParks), confirmed the incident and appealed to witnesses to respect the family’s grief by refraining from sharing photos or videos of the tragedy.
“The sensitivity of the matter cannot be overstated.“The SANParks board and management extend their deepest condolences to the friends and family of the deceased,” he said
Louw also noted that investigations into the incident are ongoing and assured the public that more details would be released in due course.
Four female Israeli soldiers taken hostage by Hamas on 7th October 2023, were released on Saturday as part of a swap which will also see 200 Palestinian prisoners freed.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, all aged between 19 and 20, were released to the Red Cross in Gaza City during a heavily choreographed handover involving dozens of Hamas gunmen.
However, Israel accused Hamas of breaching the terms of the ceasefire because female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud was not included in Saturday’s release.
Israel said it would delay the planned return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, while Hamas insisted the hostage would be released next weekend.
Despite the dispute, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners in return for the four hostages.
Among them are 70 people who will be immediately deported to neighbouring countries via Egypt due to the seriousness of their offences.
Some prisoners will be transferred to Gaza, while others will be allowed to return to their homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The swap on Saturday was the second exchange since a ceasefire came into effect on 19 January. Three hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in the first swap.
BBC/Adebukola Aluko
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EU Relations Minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds says the UK does not “currently have plans” to sign up to a pan-European trade agreement.
On Wednesday, the EU’s new trade chief, Maros Sefcovic told the BBC he was open to Britain joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM) as part of a post-Brexit “reset”.
The arrangement allows for tariff-free trade of some goods from across dozens of countries in Europe and North Africa.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Sefcovic told the BBC’s economics editor Faisal Islam the idea had not been “precisely formulated” by London and the “ball is in the UK’s court”.
The BBC understands the UK government has begun consultations with business over the benefits of the PEM plan that could help cut red tape and improve trade. No final decision has been made yet.
Asked about the agreement in the House of Commons, Thomas-Symonds said he welcomed the “positive, constructive tone” from the EU trade commissioner.
“We are always looking for ways to reduce barriers of trade, but within our manifesto red lines, because we take a pragmatic view as to where the national interest lies.
“We don’t currently have any plans to join PEM, and we are not going to provide a running commentary on every comment that’s made.”
Labour’s manifesto said that there would be “no return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement”.
The minister’s comment prompted anger from the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who recently called for the UK to join a new customs deal with the EU, allowing tariff- free trade between the two blocs.
It would also restrict the UK’s ability to strike trade deals with other countries.
Sir Ed accused the government of an “act of economic negligence,” adding: “It is alarming that the government is happy to negotiate with China but won’t even look at a better trading arrangement with our closest neighbours in Europe.
“It is time for a proper UK-EU customs arrangement so we can strengthen our negotiations with Donald Trump, cut the red tape on our businesses and grow the economy.”
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel accused Labour of “bending the knee to the EU”.
“These latest reports that the government might shackle us to the European Union are deeply concerning, and once again make clear that Keir Starmer and his chums are all too happy to put their ideology ahead of our national interest, no matter the cost.”
Raising the subject in the House of Commons,Conservative MP, John Cooper, said joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention would turn the UK “once again into rule-takers and not rule-makers”.
He asked Thomas-Symonds to rule out signing up to an agreement that could see the UK “taking EU rules” and instead “strike out in the world and do new deals with America and around the Pacific-Rim”.
The minister replied that it was not a “binary choice” and the government would not “choose between allies. We look to deepen all our relationships.”
A new fast-moving wildfire has erupted in Los Angeles County, prompting tens of thousands to evacuate a region already reeling from the most destructive fires in its history.
The Hughes fire ignited about 45 miles north-west of the city of Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area that borders several residential areas and schools.
The blaze grew to more than 9,200 acres in several hours on Wednesday, fuelled by winds and dry brush. No homes or businesses have been damaged, and fire officials expressed confidence about getting the blaze under control.
The new fire is located north of the two mammoth blazes – which are still burning – that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area earlier this month.
Local news showed residents near the Hughes fire hosing down their homes and gardens with water and others rushing to evacuate neighbourhoods.
The region is once again under a red flag warning, which cautions of a high fire risk due to strong winds and dry, low-humid conditions.
Winds in the area were blowing around 20 to 30mph (32 to 48km), but could pick up, which would fan the blaze and make it harder for air crews to operate.
About 31,000 people in the area are under a mandatory evacuation order and another 23,000 have been warned they may have to flee, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. A jail in the area was evacuating nearly 500 inmates at the facility, he added.
The fire continued to grow as the sun set, but Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said he believed crews were making progress.
“The situation remains dynamic, and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand,” he said.
Chief Marrone explained how different this fire is compared to the Palisades and Eaton fires, which killed at least 28 people and decimated more than 10,000 homes and businesses earlier this month.
He said it was a mix of lower winds – unlike the 70 to 90mph winds seen during the previous fires – and having so many helicopters and planes able to fight the blaze from above.
“I think that we’ve all been on edge over the last 16 days,” he said. “We were able to amass a lot of fire resources early on to change what this fire looks like.”
Ed Fletcher, who works for Cal Fire – California’s statewide fire agency – told the BBC that this fire was different than those earlier this month. The winds are not as strong yet, he said, and there are a lot of crews trying to tame the flames.
“It’s super dry and we know it will be increasingly windy later,” he said. “We’ll know more in a few hours.”
Mr Fletcher noted the area is not highly populated and current winds are blowing the fire toward Castaic Lake, which is acting as a buffer between the Castaic area – home to about 20,000 residents.
“If it jumps the lake,” he said, “it becomes a much more dynamic situation.”
One woman who evacuated her home told NBC 4 that she was stuck on Interstate 5, California’s primary transportation highway that runs through the state. Parts of the interstate in the area had been closed due to the fire.
“It looked like a cloud, but as you got close, it looked like we were driving into hell,” she said of the dark smoke and red flames she saw. “It was pretty terrifying to be honest with you.”
At least seven people have been killed in a clash with soldiers on duty at a mine in the central Ashanti region, according to the army. The Ghana Armed Forces said about 60 illegal miners had forced their way into the mine run by global giant AngloGold. Ashanti and had fired upon the soldiers when they were intercepted. This prompted the soldiers “to retaliate in self-defence”, leading to the deaths and injuries, it said in a statement. A representative of the miners denied that they had been armed.Following news of the deaths, there were protests in Obuasi town where several buses were set on fire.
Angry residents poured onto the company’s grounds following the killings, burning at least three vehicles and other equipment belonging to the company.
President John Mahama has ordered investigations into the matter, saying anyone found to have acted unlawfully will be brought to justice. A statement from the presidency indicated that eight people had died. Soldiers shoot dead at least seven miners in Ghana AngloGold Ashanti said the situation had calmed down At least seven people have been killed in a clash with soldiers on duty at a mine in the central Ashanti region, according to the army.
The Ghana Armed Forces said about 60 illegal miners had forced their way into the mine run by global giant AngloGold Ashanti and had fired upon the soldiers when they were intercepted.
This prompted the soldiers “to retaliate in self-defence”, leading to the deaths and injuries, it said in a statement.
A representative of the miners denied that they had been armed.
Following news of the deaths, there were protests in Obuasi town where several buses were set on fire.
Angry residents poured onto the company’s grounds following the killings, burning at least three vehicles and other equipment belonging to the company.
President John Mahama has ordered investigations into the matter, saying anyone found to have acted unlawfully will be brought to justice.
A statement from the presidency indicated that eight people had died.
We are poisoning ourselves’: Ghana gold rush sparks environmental disaster The government has asked the mining company, AngloGold Ashanti, to cover the medical expenses of the injured and the burial costs, while tasking security agencies to ensure peace in the area.
AngloGold Ashanti said the situation had since calmed down and it was working closely with the authorities.
It said its main concern was “the safety and health of our employees and those in our community” who were affected by the incident.
The local chairman of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, Kofi Adams, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that the violence was “unprecedented”.
He said that nine people had died and 14 severely injured adding that it was “difficult to understand why it had happened”.
In the past, he said, warning shots had been fired to ward off intruders. He also disputed the allegation by the military that the people had been armed.
The army said the “illegal miners were wielding locally manufactured rifles, pump action guns” and other weapons. It said it had a duty to defend itself, innocent civilians and property, including by using lethal force.
There have been tensions between AngloGold Ashanti and residents who accuse them of exploiting mineral resources without doing much to develop the area or create jobs.
Some local small-scale mining associations have been asking to be given some of the company’s mining concessions.
The company insists it has been doing a lot for the local communities.
Israel’s government has approved the new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, paving the way for it to take effect on Sunday.
The decision came after hours of discussions that continued late into the night. Two far-right ministers voted against the deal.
The security cabinet earlier recommended ratifying the agreement, saying it “supports the achievement of the objectives of the war”, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
The terms of the agreement will officially come into force at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT) on Sunday, Qatari mediators announced.
Under the deal, 33 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza after 15 months of conflict will be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails during the first phase lasting six weeks.
Israeli forces will also withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to begin returning to their homes and hundreds of aid lorries will be allowed into the territory each day.
Negotiations for the second phase and which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and “the restoration of sustainable calm” will start on the 16th day.
The third and final stage will involve the reconstruction of Gaza, something which could take years and the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies.
Qatar has said the hostages to be released during the first phase will include “civilian women, female soldiers, children, the elderly, and sick and wounded civilians”.
Israel says three hostages are expected to be released on the first day of the ceasefire, with more small groups freed at regular intervals over the next six weeks.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and others in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 46,870 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. Most of the 2.3 million population has also been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter due to a struggle to get aid to those in need.
Israel says 94 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas, of whom 34 are presumed dead. In addition, there are four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom are dead.
An Australian influencer has been charged with poisoning her baby girl to elicit donations and boost online followers.
The Queensland woman claimed she was chronicling her child’s battle with a terminal illness on social media, but detectives allege she was drugging the one-year-old and then filming her in “immense distress and pain”.
Doctors had raised the alarm in October when the baby was admitted to hospital suffering a serious medical episode.
After months of investigation, the 34-year-old woman was charged with torture, administering poison, making child exploitation material and fraud.
“[There are] no words for how repulsive offences of this nature are,” Queensland Police Det Insp Paul Dalton told reporters on Thursday.
Between August and October, detectives say that the woman – from the Sunshine Coast region – gave the child several prescription and pharmacy medicines, without approval.
She went to great lengths to obtain the unauthorised medications and cover up her behaviour, they alleged, including using leftover medicine for a different person in their house.
Police began investigating on 15 October, when the baby was brought into hospital experiencing “severe emotional and physical distress and harm”. Tests for unauthorised medicines returned a positive result later in January, they said.
The woman raised A$60,000 (£30,500; $37,300) through GoFundMe donations – which the site is attempting to repay, Det Insp Dalton said.
Police had investigated other people over the alleged abuse, but there was no evidence to charge anyone else, he added.
The woman is due to face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.
Israel and Hamas have agreed on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet.
US President Joe Biden said it would “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal’s final details were still being worked on, but he thanked Biden for “promoting” it. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said it was the result of Palestinian “resilience”.
Many Palestinians and Israeli hostages’ families celebrated the news, but there was no let-up in the war on the ground in Gaza.
The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes killed more than 20 people following the Qatari announcement. They included 12 people who were living in a residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, it said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. Most of the 2.3 million population has also been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter due to a struggle to get aid to those in need.
Israel says 94 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas, of whom 34 are presumed dead. In addition, there are four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom are dead.
Qatar’s prime minister called for “calm” on both sides before the start of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire deal, which he said would see 33 hostages – including women, children and elderly people – exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israeli forces will also withdraw to the east away from densely populated areas of Gaza, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to begin returning to their homes and hundreds of aid lorries will be allowed into the territory each day.
Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and a return to “sustainable calm” – will start on the 16th day.
The third and final stage will involve the reconstruction of Gaza – something which could take years – and the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies.
Israel’s cabinet has to meet on Thursday morning to give its final approval.
The ceasefire and the release of the first three Israeli hostages is expected to come on Sunday although a senior Hamas official has told the BBC there are talks ongoing to bring the start forward to Thursday night.
Sheikh Mohammed said there was “a clear mechanism to negotiate phase two and three”, with the agreements set to be published “in the next couple of days, once the details are finalised”.
He also said Qatar, the US and Egypt, which also helped broker the deal, would work together to ensure Israel and Hamas fulfilled their obligations.
“We hope that this will be the last page of the war, and we hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement,” he added.
President Biden said the plan, which he first outlined eight months ago, was “the result not only of the extreme pressure Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and the weakening of Iran – but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy”.
“Even as we welcome this news, we remember all the families whose loved ones were killed in Hamas’s 7 October attack, and the many innocent people killed in the war that followed,” a statement added. “It is long past time for the fighting to end and the work of building peace and security to begin.”
At a later news conference, Biden also acknowledged the assistance of President-elect Donald Trump, who put pressure on both parties by demanding hostages be released before his inauguration on Monday.
“In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team,” he said, noting that most of the implementation of the deal would happen after he left office.
Trump was the first to confirm reports the agreement had been reached, beating the White House and Qatar to a formal announcement.
In a later post on social media, he attempted to take the credit for the “epic” agreement, saying it “could have only happened as a result of our historic victory in November”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office thanked Trump “for his help in promoting the release of the hostages, and for helping Israel end the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families”.
“The prime minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all the hostages by any means necessary,” it said, before adding that he had also thanked Biden.
Later, the office said an official statement from Netanyahu would “be issued only after the completion of the final details of the agreement, which are being worked on at present”.
Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, said the deal would bring with it “deeply painful” moments and “present significant challenges”, but that it was “the right move”.
The agreement is expected to be approved by the Israeli cabinet, possibly as soon as Thursday morning, despite opposition from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners.
Then the names of all the Palestinian prisoners due for release will be made public by the Israeli government, and the families of any victims will be given 48 hours to appeal. Some of the prisoners are serving life sentences after being convicted of murder and terrorism.
Hamas’s chief negotiator and acting Gaza chief, Khalil al-Hayya, said the agreement represented “a milestone in the conflict with the enemy, on the path to achieving our people’s goals of liberation and return”.
The group, he added, would now seek to “rebuild Gaza again, alleviate the pain, heal the wounds”.
But he also warned “we will not forget, and we will not forgive” the suffering inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza.
Celebrations erupted across Gaza as news of the agreement spread
As news of the agreement emerged, pictures showed people cheering and waving Palestinian flags in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah and the southern city of Khan Younis.
Sanabel, a 17-year-old girl living to the north in Gaza City, told BBC OS: “All of us are delighted.”
“We have been waiting for this for a long time,” she said. “Finally, I will put my head on my pillow without worrying… It is time to heal.”
Nawara al-Najjar, whose husband was among more than 70 people killed when Israeli forces launched an operation to rescue two hostages, said: “After the ceasefire I want to give my children the best life.”
“I want them to get over the fear we lived. My children are really scared. The terror has settled in their hearts.”
Supporters of the Israeli hostages’ families also celebrated in Tel Aviv
Sharone Lifschitz is a British-Israeli woman whose 84-year-old father Oded is among the remaining hostages. Her mother, Yocheved, was also abducted in the 7 October attack but was released after several weeks in captivity.
She told the BBC in London as news of the deal came through that it felt “like a bit of sanity”, but she admitted: “I know that the chances for my dad are very slim.”
“He’s an elderly man, but miracles do happen. My mum did come back, and one way or another, we will know. We will know if he’s still with us, if we can look after him.”
She warned: “There are more graves to come and traumatised people to come back, but we will look after them and make them see light again… May this be the start of something better.”
Moshe Lavi, the brother in-law of Omri Miran, a 47-year-old father-of-two young children, told the BBC that it was “a very mixed day for most families of hostages”.
“We want to see our families come home from their mass captivity. But we also understand that this is a phase deal. Only the first phase was agreed upon,” he said.
“We’ll have to keep fighting, keep advocating as families with all leaders with our own government to understand they have to release all the hostages.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the “priority now must be to ease the tremendous suffering caused by this conflict”.
UK Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq has resigned following mounting pressure related to an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.
Siddiq had referred herself to the Prime Minister’s standards adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, after questions arose regarding her connections to her aunt, the former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from office last year.
While Sir Laurie stated there was no evidence of impropriety, he noted it was “regrettable” that Siddiq had not been more mindful of the “potential reputational risks” posed by these familial ties.
In her resignation statement, Siddiq maintained her innocence, asserting that she had done nothing wrong but acknowledged that remaining in her role could distract from the government’s work.
Before her resignation, Siddiq was named in a second investigation in Bangladesh.
Reports have linked her family to allegations of embezzling up to £3.9 billion from infrastructure projects in the country; she has also faced scrutiny over her association with London properties tied to her aunt’s allies.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s handling of the situation, accusing him of delaying action.
Writing on X, she said: “It was clear at the weekend that the anti-corruption minister’s position was completely untenable. Yet Keir Starmer dithered and delayed to protect his close friend”.
“Even now, as Bangladesh files a criminal case against Tulip Siddiq, he expresses ‘sadness’ at her inevitable resignation. Weak leadership from a weak prime minister.”
In his letter accepting Siddiq’s resignation, Starmer expressed his gratitude for her service and stated that “the door remains open” for her to return to government in the future.
Siddiq, who served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury, was tasked with addressing corruption in UK financial markets during her tenure.
Weather forecasters in California are warning fierce winds which fueled the infernos around Los Angeles are expected to pick up again this week, as fire crews on the ground race to make progress controlling three wildfires.
Officials warned that after a weekend of relatively calm winds, the notoriously dry Santa Ana winds would pick up again from Sunday night until Wednesday, reaching speeds of up to 60mph (96km/h).
Ahead of the wind’s uptick, some progress has been made in stopping the spread of the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, which are burning on opposite ends of the city. Local firefighters are being assisted by crews from eight other states, as well as Canada and Mexico, who continue to arrive.
The LA County medical examiner updated the death toll on Sunday to 24, while officials said earlier at least another 16 remain missing.
Sixteen of the dead were found in the Eaton fire zone, while eight were found in the Palisades area.
Three conflagrations continue to burn around Los Angeles.
The largest fire is the Palisades, which has now burnt through more than 23,000 acres and is 13% contained.
The Eaton fire is the second biggest and has burnt through more than 14,000 acres. It is 27% contained.
The Hurst fire has grown to 799 acres and has been almost fully contained.
The wildfires are on track to be among the costliest in US history.
On Sunday, private forecaster Accuweather increased its preliminary estimate of financial losses from the blazes to between $250bn-$275bn.
While crews have managed to start containing the largest fires, authorities have warned the incoming wind event could lead to “potential disastrous wind conditions”, with the whole of LA County put under fire threat.
“Unfortunately, we’re going right back into red flag conditions with some potential disastrous wind conditions between now and Wednesday, with the peak winds expected to be on Tuesday,” Pasadena fire chief Chad Augustin told the BBC.
“While we’re making some progress, the end is not even close yet,” he said.
The National Weather Service has issued a rare ‘particularly dangerous situation’ alert for Tuesday, warning of “extreme fire behaviour” running from 04:00 local time, until midday on Wednesday.
Kristin Crowley, the fire chief for the city of LA, called for residents near evacuation zones to be prepared to flee if an order is issued, and to stay off the roads as much as possible in order to not hinder crews.
Despite the dire forecast, all schools except those in mandatory evacuation zones would reopen on Monday, the LA Unified School District announced.
Topanga Canyon resident Alice Husum, 67, told the BBC a new fire that began in the area overnight was quickly contained, but that she and her neighbours are all “dreading Tuesday” when the wind speeds are likely to peak.
But Ms Husum, who has stayed behind despite evacuation orders, notes that the forecast “is a little better than the 100 mile-gusts that were hammering us” earlier in the week.
New fires continued to flare up on Sunday, threatening communities in the San Fernando Valley and near Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
At least 29 people have been arrested for looting in mandatory evacuation zones. Two people were caught posing as firefighters in order to steal from evacuees.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a news conference Sunday he had requested more National Guard troops to bolster the 400 already in the area. California Governor Gavin Newsom has since announced that 1,000 additional members of the National Guard would be deployed.
“When I was out there in the Malibu area, I saw a gentleman that looked like a firefighter. And I asked him if he was okay because he was sitting down. I didn’t realise we had him in handcuffs,” Sheriff Luna told reporters.
“We are turning him over to LAPD because he was dressed like a fireman, and he was not. He just got caught burglarising a home. So those are issues that our front-line deputies and police officers are dealing with.”
There are now 14,000 firefighters in the southern California region, being assisted by 84 Aircrafts and 1,354 fire engines, said Sheriff Luna.
Evacuation numbers have dropped, with around 105,000 residents still under mandatory evacuation orders and 87,000 under evacuation warnings.
Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), told CNN on Sunday that a significant threat remained.
Benjamin Netanyahu sits with his hands on his knees in the oval office, wearing a blue tight and dark suit. Joe Biden sits to his left, wearing a navy suit with clasped hands. The White House is pushing for a deal as Biden ends his term in office this week. US President, Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken by phone – Biden’s final week in office – as momentum builds towards a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israel and Hamas are understood to be making progress but uncertainty remains over key aspects of the potential agreement.
The White House said Biden discussed the “fundamentally changed regional circumstances” following Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region.
Netanyahu’s office said he had updated Biden on instructions he had given to senior negotiators in Doha “in order to advance the release of the hostages”. During Sunday’s call, which was the first to be publicly announced since October, Biden “stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal”.
It came a day after Netanyahu sent a top Israeli security delegation, including the directors of the Mossad spy agency and Shin Bet security service, to indirect negotiations in Qatar’s capital mediated by Qatari, US and Egyptian officials.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu was meeting members of his cabinet opposed to a ceasefire deal to persuade them not to resign.
And UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy met his Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem to discuss progress on a deal.
On Saturday, Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met the Israeli prime minister amid efforts to try to reach a deal before the president-elect’s inauguration on 20 January.
Trump has previously said that “all hell would break loose” if the hostages were not released before he returned to the White House.
Last Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said an agreement was “very close” and that he hoped to “get it over the line” before Trump took office. Any deal would be based on the proposals Biden set out in May, he added.
Despite the apparent heightened activity, a lack of clarity on several key issues – including whether an initial truce will lead to a permanent ceasefire and whether the Israeli military will agree to fully withdrawing from Gaza – remain.
Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent for The Economist, said he was doubtful that a deal would be achieved quickly.
“We’ve been here so many times before,” he told the BBC’s Today Programme.
“There is a bit more room for optimism, but until there is an official announcement or a truce or ceasefire and we start seeing hostages coming out, I’m going to remain sceptical.”
But he added that it was in both Israel and Hamas’s interest to strike a deal before Trump entered office.
“There is a fear [from Hamas] that Trump will somehow give Israel permission to unleash devastation that hasn’t yet been unleashed on Gaza.”
“Both sides feel so invested, they’ve suffered so much.”
The war was triggered by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 46,500 people have been killed during the war.
Israel says 94 of the hostages remain in Gaza, of whom 34 are presumed dead, as well as another four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom are dead.
Lebanon’s parliament has elected a new head of the country’s armed forces, Joseph Aoun, to be its next president, after going more than two years without one.
According to the report, Aoun’s selection on Thursday was one important step toward addressing a decimated economy and financial system, and to marshal funds to repair costly destruction from a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that ended in November.
“It’s long overdue that we need to have a new president,” says Abdul Rahman Bizri, an independent member of parliament and a former mayor who says he voted for Aoun. “We have to start working again to rebuild the public sector and institutions and stability in the country to achieve what people are aspiring for.”
The new president’s to-do list is long.
Aoun vowed in his acceptance speech on Thursday to strengthen the small Middle Eastern country’s weakened state governing capabilities, reform the financial sector and defend Lebanon. It was unclear when Aoun would step down as the head of the military or if he would hold both positions at the same time.
“We will invest in the army to control and secure the borders in the south and demarcate them in the east and north, combating terrorism, implementing international resolutions and preventing Israeli attacks on Lebanon,” Aoun vowed in his acceptance speech. “It is time to invest in Lebanon through our foreign relations rather than betting on external powers to overpower one another.”
He did not name those powers but could have been referencing the rivalry between Iran on one side, which backs the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and the U.S. and Israel on the other.
Aoun, who is widely perceived in Lebanon as supported by Saudi Arabia and the U.S., also committed “to confirm the state’s right to have a monopoly on bearing arms.” That was likely an implicit reference to Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful armed militia, which as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel must withdraw its fighters and disarm within Lebanon by late January. The ceasefire ended fighting that began in October 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in support of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which attacked southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7 of that year.
A fire official says a blaze that broke out in Hollywood Hills is “rapidly expanding” after a mandatory evacuation order was issued in the area following the spread of the wildfires in Los Angeles.
California fire chief David Acuna told the BBC there had been “zero progress” in containing the fires because of high winds and dry conditions.
“The wind has been blowing consistently at 60-100mph (95-160km/h) since yesterday morning,” Acuna said. “It actually blew harder last night.”
At least five fires are currently active across Los Angeles, with five people confirmed to have been killed.
Wind speeds have dropped to about 30mph, but Acuna said “it is still significant and because there are a lot of open areas it is extremely dangerous”.
More than 130,000 people have already had to evacuate, and the homes of a number of celebrities – including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal – have been destroyed.
The first fire began on Tuesday in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, near Malibu, with others subsequently breaking out across the north of the city.
As of 20:15 local time (04:00 GMT), four fires in the areas of the Palisades, Pasadena, Sylmar, and the Hollywood Hills covered more than 27,000 acres (42 sq miles; 109 sq km) and were 0% contained, according to the LAFD.
One fire in the Acton area had been partially contained, while two others had been completely contained.
The fire in the Hollywood Hills – a residential neighbourhood overlooking the historic Hollywood area of the city – began at around 18:00 local time on Wednesday.
Less than two hours later, much of the heart of Hollywood was blanketed with thick smoke, and the tops of the palm trees that line its streets were barely visible.
People used sweatshirts to cover their faces to help them breathe, while others – clearly surprised by the fire – wore only pyjamas. Many carried bags and suitcases, talking on their phones as they made plans for where to go.
Many of the roads near the fire – including Hollywood Boulevard, home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame – were gridlocked with traffic. Some people even drove on the wrong side of the road as they tried to get out of the area.
Resident Anna Waldman told the BBC she had set out to walk her dog but smelled smoke almost instantly when she went outside.
She went back inside and, looking out her back windows, saw fire, and watched as it moved quickly thought the Hollywood Hills, coming to within a block of her home.
She packed what she could: food, clothes, blankets, food for her three small dogs.
“I can’t believe this,” she said in exhaustion, pulling down her face mask.
Makayla Jackson, 26, and her two-year-old son, Ramari, had been evacuated from a homeless shelter that was in danger of burning, and now stood on the street waiting for a ride to a high school where help was being offered to people.
“They just told us to get out and go,” she said.
A fire official says a blaze that broke out in Hollywood Hills is “rapidly expanding” after a mandatory evacuation order was issued in the area following the spread of the wildfires in Los Angeles.
California fire chief David Acuna told the BBC there had been “zero progress” in containing the fires because of high winds and dry conditions.
“The wind has been blowing consistently at 60-100mph (95-160km/h) since yesterday morning,” Acuna said. “It actually blew harder last night.”
At least five fires are currently active across Los Angeles, with five people confirmed to have been killed
Wind speeds have dropped to about 30mph, but Acuna said “it is still significant and because there are a lot of open areas it is extremely dangerous”.
More than 130,000 people have already had to evacuate, and the homes of a number of celebrities – including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal – have been destroyed.
The first fire began on Tuesday in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, near Malibu, with others subsequently breaking out across the north of the city.
As of 20:15 local time (04:00 GMT), four fires in the areas of the Palisades, Pasadena, Sylmar, and the Hollywood Hills covered more than 27,000 acres (42 sq miles; 109 sq km) and were 0% contained, according to the LAFD.
One fire in the Acton area had been partially contained, while two others had been completely contained.
The fire in the Hollywood Hills – a residential neighbourhood overlooking the historic Hollywood area of the city – began at around 18:00 local time on Wednesday.
Less than two hours later, much of the heart of Hollywood was blanketed with thick smoke, and the tops of the palm trees that line its streets were barely visible.
People used sweatshirts to cover their faces to help them breathe, while others – clearly surprised by the fire – wore only pyjamas. Many carried bags and suitcases, talking on their phones as they made plans for where to go.
Many of the roads near the fire – including Hollywood Boulevard, home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame – were gridlocked with traffic. Some people even drove on the wrong side of the road as they tried to get out of the area
Resident Anna Waldman told the BBC she had set out to walk her dog but smelled smoke almost instantly when she went outside.
She went back inside and, looking out her back windows, saw fire, and watched as it moved quickly thought the Hollywood Hills, coming to within a block of her home.
She packed what she could: food, clothes, blankets, food for her three small dogs.
“I can’t believe this,” she said in exhaustion, pulling down her face mask.
Makayla Jackson, 26, and her two-year-old son, Ramari, had been evacuated from a homeless shelter that was in danger of burning, and now stood on the street waiting for a ride to a high school where help was being offered to people.
“They just told us to get out and go,” she said.
By Wednesday night Sunset Boulevard, the famous strip in West Hollywood, lay in ruins, according to reports in the LA Times.
Local residents told the newspaper banks, cafes and supermarkets they had frequented for decades were completely destroyed.
Michael Payton, store director of the Erewhon supermarket chain, said the shop, famous for its patronage by Los Angeles A-listers, had survived but that the area was levelled.
“The whole Palisades is done,” he told the newspaper, “The whole town is done. This is complete devastation.”
Firefighters tackling the blazes have experienced water shortages and have had to resort to taking water from swimming pools and ponds.
Officials said three separate one-million-gallon tanks were full before the fires began, but that the elevation of the fires meant water couldn’t move quickly enough to hydrants in the affected areas.
The city also doesn’t typically see fires of this magnitude – the Palisades blaze is already the most destructive in its history – and its systems are designed for urban use, not fighting wildfires.
