The flames have destroyed neighborhoods, leaving a barren, gray landscape in their wake, driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and cast a shroud of smoke over the region.

SALEM: Nearly all of the dozens of people reported missing after a devastating blaze in southern Oregon have been accounted for, authorities said, as crews continued to battle wildfires that have killed at least 33 victims from California to Washington state.

The flames have destroyed neighborhoods, leaving a barren, gray landscape in their wake, driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and cast a shroud of smoke over the region.

The crisis has come amid the coronavirus outbreak, the economic downturn, and nationwide racial unrest that has led to protests in Portland for more than 100 days.

“What’s next?” asked Danielle Oliver, who had to flee her home outside Portland. “You have the protests, coronavirus pandemic, now the wildfires. What else can go wrong?”

Late Saturday, the Jackson County Sheriff’s office said that four people had died in the wildfire that burned in the Ashland area. Authorities earlier this week said as many as 50 people could be missing from the blaze. But they said the number of people unaccounted for is now down to one.

At least 10 people have been killed in the past week throughout Oregon. Officials have said more people are missing from other blazes, and the number of fatalities is likely to rise. Twenty-two people have died in California, and one person has been killed in Washington state.

Among the people killed was Millicent Catarancuic, who was found near her car at her five-acre home in Berry Creek, California. At one point she was ready to evacuate with her dogs and cats in the car. But she changed her mind as the winds seemed to calm and the flames stayed away.

Then the fire changed direction, rushing onto the property too quickly for her to leave. She died, along with her animals.

“I feel like, maybe when they passed, they had an army of cats and dogs with her to help her through it,” said her daughter, Holly Catarancuic.

George Coble lost everything just outside Mill City, Oregon — his fence-building business, five houses where his family lived and a collection of vintage cars, including a 1967 Mustang.

“We’ll just keep working and keep your head up and thank God everybody got out,” Coble said.

In a town nearby, Erik Tucker spent the day coated in ash and smudged with charcoal, hauling buckets of water through what remained of his neighborhood to douse hot spots.

“No power, debris everywhere, smoke, can’t breathe,” he said, the air thick with ash.

Fire-charred landscapes looked like bombed-out cities in Europe after World War II, with buildings reduced to charred rubble piled atop blackened earth. People caught in the wildfires died in an instant, overcome by flames or smoke as they desperately tried to escape.

The Democratic governors of all three states have said the fires are a consequence of global warming.

“We absolutely must act now to avoid a future defined by an unending barrage of tragedies like the one American families are enduring across the West today,” said Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The dry, windy conditions that fed the flames in Oregon were probably a once-in-a-generation event, said Greg Jones, a professor and research climatologist at Linfield University in McMinnville. The warmer world can increase the likelihood of extreme events and contribute to their severity, he said.

There was some good news Saturday: The same smoke that painted California skies orange also helped crews corral the state’s deadliest blaze this year by blocking the sun, reducing temperatures and raising humidity.

Smoke created cooler conditions in Oregon as well. But it was also blamed for creating the dirtiest air in at least 35 years in some places, “literally off the charts,” the state’s environmental quality spokesperson, Laura Gleim, said.

In Portland, smoke filled the air with an acrid metallic scent like pennies. It was so thick that Ashley Kreitzer could not see the road when she headed to work as a driver for a ride-hailing service.

“I couldn’t even see 5 feet ahead of me,” she said. “I was panicking, I didn’t even know if I wanted to go out.”

People stuffed towels under door jambs to keep smoke out or wore N95 masks in their own homes.

Meanwhile, there was political turmoil as Oregon’s fire marshal was forced out while a half-million state residents were ordered to evacuate or warned to be ready to leave. Details were scarce on why he was put on leave, then resigned.

Xi, already roiling the Communist Party with a “rectification” campaign and mass persecution of foes, will launch “another brutal purge” following the Chinese army’s failures on the Indian border.

WASHINGTON: Describing Xi Jinping as the “architect” of the PLA’s recent aggressive moves against India, a leading US magazine has reported that the Chinese President has risked his future with the high-profile incursions into Indian territory that “unexpectedly flopped” in the face of ferocious fightback by the Indian Army.

Xi, 67, already roiling the Communist Party with a “rectification” campaign and mass persecution of foes, will launch “another brutal purge” following the Chinese army’s failures on the Indian border, the Newsweek said in an opinion piece

“Unfortunately for Xi, he is the “architect” of these aggressive moves into India and his People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has unexpectedly flopped.

The Chinese army’s failures on the Indian border will have consequences,” it said, adding that the recent developments give Xi an excuse to pick up the pace of replacing adversaries in the armed forces with loyal elements.

“More important, the failures motivate China’s aggressive ruler- who as chairman of the Party’s Central Military Commission, is the leader of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the ruling Communist Party of China – to launch another offensive against Indian positions,” the magazine warned.

Tensions escalated manifold along the LAC in eastern Ladakh after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed.

The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details.

“China is thought to have suffered at least 43 deaths in the Galwan clash,” the magazine said.

Citing Cleo Paskal of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, it said the number of Chinese killed could exceed 60.

“Indian troops fought back ferociously. Beijing won’t admit the extent of the debacle,” it said.

It said that late last month, for the first time in a half-century, India carried out an offensive against China, taking back high ground the Chinese recently grabbed.

“China’s forces were surprised when Indian troops mounted their attempt to retake strategic high points. Stunned Chinese soldiers retreated,” it said.

“China’s subsequent efforts to counter the Indian moves proved ineffective. At least for the moment, India’s troops, in the southernmost of the three areas of conflict, are in control of territory once in Chinese hands,” it added.

It said the PLA Ground Force can move against undefended targets.

However, it is not clear how effective it is in battle.

“The Ground Force does not have a track record of success in contested situations. Its last major engagement was in 1979 when, in the effort to ‘teach Vietnam a lesson,’ the Chinese troops were repelled and humiliated by their much smaller neighbour,” the magazine noted.

“India is not giving the invaders the opportunity to improve,” it said, adding that India’s troops are displaying “newfound boldness”.

“The game has changed,” Paskal said.

“You can say the Indians are more aggressive or more aggressively defensive, but they are in fact bolder and better.”

“The setback in the Himalayas poses problems for Xi, which means it poses a problem for everyone else,” it added.

It said that in China’s highly politicised system, the setbacks in Ladakh cannot be perceived as Xi’s fault, so he will almost surely purge elements of the military.

“PLA leaders begin to see little choice but to undertake offensive military actions to avoid becoming a victim of Xi’s internal terror,” said Richard Fisher of the Virginia-based International Assessment and Strategy Center.

The Indian Army and the PLA have been locked in a tense standoff in multiple areas along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since early May.

Following fresh confrontation around the southern bank of the Pangong lake, India further bolstered its military presence in the region by sending additional troops, battle tanks and other weaponry.

Amidst the very tense situation in eastern Ladakh, India and China reached an agreement to resolve their border row at a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet.

The agreement included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management, and steps to restore peace along the LAC.

It also mentioned that the two sides should expedite work to conclude “new confidence-building measures” to enhance peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

However, the agreement has not mentioned any timeline for the disengagement of troops.

SEOUL: South Korea has reported its lowest daily virus tally in about a month as it began easing its tough social distancing rules in the greater Seoul area.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday that the 109 new cases added in the past 24 hours took the country’s total to 22,285 with 363 deaths.

It’s the 12th consecutive day for South Korea’s daily jump to stay in the 100s. The 109 additional cases are also the lowest daily tally since mid-August.

The government on Sunday relaxed its physical distancing guidelines in the Seoul metropolitan area, citing a downward trend in new infections and worries about public livelihoods.

Under new distancing rules that are formally effective from Monday for two-weeks, franchise cafes and bakeries are allowed to have customers drink and eat inside their shops while indoor gyms and after-school academics can reopen. A ban on dining at restaurants after 9 p.m. was also lifted.

These facilities are still required to impose some distancing rules like having visitors sit at least one seat apart from each other or wear masks.

Fire officials suspect accumulated gas from a leaked pipeline triggered a spark and all six air conditioners on the ground floor of the mosque exploded.

DHAKA: The death toll from an explosion of air conditioners in a mosque on the outskirts of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka rose to 24, with three more victims succumbing to their injuries on Sunday, doctors said.

A gas leak in an underground pipeline caused six air conditioners to explode almost simultaneously during Friday evening prayers at the Baitul Salat mosque in the central district of Narayanganj.

Twenty-one victims of the blasts died until 11 pm Saturday.

Three more victims died on Sunday during their treatment, the Daily Star reported, quoting doctors of the Dhaka-based Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

A seven-year-old boy was among the 24 dead. Another 13 people are battling for their lives at the hospital, according to bdnews24.com.

Fire officials suspect accumulated gas from a leaked pipeline triggered a spark and all six air conditioners on the ground floor of the mosque exploded.

“A gas pipeline passes beneath the mosque. We are suspecting that gas leaked from the pipeline and accumulated inside as the windows were closed. The explosion was probably triggered due to sparks when someone tried to switch on or off the ACs or fans,” Narayanganj Fire Service’s Deputy Assistant Director Abdullah Al Arefin said on Saturday.

According to reports, the mosque committee had recently filed a complaint over leakage of the gas pipeline of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited.

The members of the committee said the Titas Gas authorities asked for a Tk50,000 bribe.

As the bribe was not paid, the authorities neglected the matter which resulted into this catastrophe, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Four separate probe committees — by Narayanganj district administration, Fire Service, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd, and Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) — have been formed to investigate the incident, it said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed concern over the incident and issued directions to ensure all possible medical care for the victims.

Witnesses said they found five to six people coming out of the mosque as soon as the blast occurred. Worshippers, most of them severely burnt, were found lying on the floor, they said.

“He was a true friend of Bangladesh since our 1971 Liberation War,” Hasina told the maiden session of Parliament called for the second time since the outbreak of pandemic.

NEW DELHI:  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday paid rich tributes to former president Pranab Mukherjee and said he was a true friend of Bangladesh, as the country’s Parliament adopted a condolence motion over his death. 

“He was a true friend of Bangladesh since our 1971 Liberation War,” Hasina told the maiden session of Parliament called for the second time since the outbreak of pandemic.

Mukherjee died on Monday in New Delhi. The Bangladesh government on Tuesday announced that it will observe a one-day state mourning at the death of the country’s ‘real friend’.

Hasina recalled Mukherjee’s personal support for her and her family particularly during her life in exile in India after the August 15, 1975 coup in Bangladesh.

The putsch killed her father and Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members and toppled his post-independence government.

Sharif’s younger brother and Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif has also made it clear that Nawaz cannot return till he is medically fit.

LAHORE:Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan “only after getting well’, his party announced on Friday, indicating that the former prime minister may not meet the judicial deadline of September 10 to appear for a hearing in a corruption case against him.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) early this week had directed the three-time prime minister and the supremo of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), currently in London, to appear before it and surrender to the authorities by September 10 or face legal proceedings for absconsion.

A division bench of the high court — comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Aamer Farooq — had also directed the Deputy Attorney General to verify the medical condition of 70-year-old Sharif through the Pakistani High Commission in London.

The bench had issued the directives while hearing appeals filed by Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Mohammad Safdar against conviction in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills cases.

“It is not possible that Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan by September 10 and faces cases against him, before getting well.

“His heart- related surgery is scheduled in London in a couple of weeks and he has to undergo the treatment,” a senior PML-N leader told PTI on Friday.

“Today we also had a conference call of the main party leadership that was unanimous on one point that ‘Mian Sahib’ should not return to the country till he gets well,” the leader said, adding that on the next hearing of the case in IHC on September 10 the court will be apprised of Sharif’s ‘serious condition’ with his fresh reports from London doctors and his treatment schedule.

He said Sharif was keen to return but his family and party leaders were against it.

The PML-N leader further said it will be difficult for Prime Minister Imran Khan to face Sharif in Pakistan.

(Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) government is only doing politics on the health of Nawaz Sharif, otherwise it is not interested in bringing him back because of his ‘massive political clout’ in the country,” he said.

Sharif’s younger brother and Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif has also made it clear that Nawaz cannot return till he is medically fit.

“Nawaz Sharif will return to the country if doctors in London allow him. Nawaz Sharif’s health is serious and once he gets well he will appear before courts,” Shahbaz said, who now holds the position of PML-N president.

Shahbaz asked Imran Khan and the PTI leaders to stop doing politics on someone’s health.

“His condition is serious and his treatment is scheduled in London shortly,” he added.

The last time the Sharif family had submitted Nawaz’s medical report to the Lahore High Court was over a month ago.

Signed by Dr David Lawrence, a London-based consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, the report said medical investigations and opinions are indicative of significantly reduced blood supply to Nawaz’s heart and its impaired functionality.

“Nawaz must undergo coronary catheterisation as a significant part of his heart is at risk.

A multidisciplinary approach was warranted for his safety while undergoing an invasive procedure due to underlying ITP (unstable platelet count) and co-morbidities (hypertension, diabetes and kidney disease) which carry a significant risk of bleeding and possibility of a procedural or peri-procedural adverse cardiac event,” the report said.

The report said Nawaz will be scheduled for an invasive cardiac procedure once the hospital starts planning elective procedures amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further, at the time of the procedure Nawaz must be in stable condition as he is in the high-risk category.

Sharif has been in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treating the heart disease and an immune system disorder.

The three-time premier was sentenced to seven years in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case.