- Palestinians return to north Gaza after breakthrough on hostages
- Taiwan identifies 52 'suspicious' Chinese ships for close monitoring
- Chinese lion dance troupe shrugs off patriarchal past
- India boosts domestic arms industry and looks West to pare back Russia reliance
- Troubled European carmakers to talk fines and EVs with EU
- Bird feathers and bloodstains found in Jeju jet engines: report
- World marks 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation
- West Indies win Test in Pakistan for first time in 35 years
- South Korea president's indictment: what happens next?
- Lappartient aims for IOC presidency and world harmony
- Japan's Fuji TV faces heat over sex allegations
- Jennifer Lopez bring 1950s Hollywood 'diva' to Sundance indie fest
- Chiefs beat Bills, seek Super Bowl 'three-peat' against Eagles
- Weak yuan, Trump tariff threats confound Beijing's economic puzzle
- Sinner destined for greatness -- but first comes doping hearing
- Japan's Osaka bans street smoking ahead of Expo 2025
- Mahomes and Chiefs eye historic Super Bowl 'three-peat' after beating Bills
- Asian stocks mixed as tariff fears return, new AI programme emerges
- ECB to cut rates again, with a nervous eye on Trump
- Thunder hold off Trail Blazers for bounce-back win
- Bittersweet return for Syrians with killed, missing relatives
- With Trump win, Silicon Valley's right flank takes on Washington
- Gunfire in DR Congo's Goma as Kenya pushes peace talks
- New film claims 'Napalm Girl' photo credited to wrong journalist
- Eagles reach Super Bowl with 55-23 win over Commanders
- Amorim says 63-year-old coach better chance of playing than Rashford
- Universal, Spotify ink multi-year deal
- Barca shred Valencia to restore La Liga shine
- Marseille miss chance to close gap on PSG with Nice defeat
- Man Utd grind out Fulham win thanks to Martinez winner
- Villa boss Emery interested in reunion with Villarreal's Foyth
- Palestinian voices take center stage at Sundance
- Trump slaps sanctions after Colombia defies deportation push
- DR Congo urges UN to punish Rwanda for 'declaration of war'
- Mel Gibson's 'Flight Risk' lands atop N.America box office
- Inter thump Lecce to stay in touch with Serie A leaders Napoli
- Lukashenko extends three-decade rule in election deonounced by West
- 'Who knows?': Postecoglou uncertain over future after new 'low' for Spurs
- Undersea cable between Sweden and Latvia damaged: Swedish PM
- Colombia to block US deportation flights amid growing LatAm pushback
- Son slams 'sloppy' Spurs as pressure mounts on Postecoglou
- Hoffenheim snatch last-gasp draw against Frankfurt
- Trump's first week: everything, everywhere, all at once
- Postecoglou under fire as Leicester stun troubled Spurs
- Idao de Tillard defends Prix d'Amerique crown for father and son
- UN chief calls for Rwanda to stop advance on key DR Congo city
- Van der Poel gears up for worlds with cyclo-cross double
- Lukashenko set to extend three-decade rule in Belarus
- Sinner says clear mind over doping saga helped him win in Melbourne
- 'Only thing that matters': Vonn sets sights on world championships
Fire-wrecked Los Angeles waits for winds to drop
Fire-wrecked Los Angeles waited nervously on Wednesday for dangerous winds to drop and give a much-needed break to weary firefighters still struggling to snuff out deadly blazes.
More than a week after fires fanned by hurricane-force gusts began a destructive march that has left two dozen people dead and large areas of the city in ruins, forecasters said the end may be in sight.
There will be "a big improvement for tonight and tomorrow, though there'll still be some lingering areas of concern," Ryan Kittell of the National Weather Service told AFP.
Part of Los Angeles County and much of neighboring Ventura County remained in a "Particularly Dangerous Situation," a designation that was in effect before last week's deadly blazes.
The Eaton Fire and the Palisades fire, which together have scorched more than 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares) were still smoldering Wednesday.
Battalions of firefighters from across the United States, as well as from Mexico, were working to tamp down hotspots that could still flare, Los Angeles City fire chief Kristin Crowley told reporters.
"Infrared flights last night indicated there are still numerous hot spots burning within the fire footprint, and very close attention was paid to address any flare ups swiftly as to prevent any fire spread outside of the perimeter," she said.
With tens of thousands of people still displaced by the fires, life was far from normal in America's second biggest city.
But children whose schools were damaged or still affected by evacuation orders were welcomed into other institutions.
Stay-at-home mom Caroline Nick took Emery, 11, and Andrew, 7, to Nora Stery Elementary on Wednesday after their own school was lost to the blaze.
Nick, whose home was destroyed in the Palisades fire, said the children needed whatever semblance of normality they could get.
"They don't need to be listening to the adult conversations that my husband and I are having to have. It's not good for them," she told AFP.
"They need to be here doing this: drawing and coloring, playing and running and laughing."
The confirmed death toll from the fires stood at 24, down from 25 after the Los Angeles County Coroner said one apparent body was not human.
But the number of fatalities could still rise, with hundreds of buildings still to be searched.
More than 12,000 structures have been razed, including multi-million dollar homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Estimates of the eventual cost of the tragedy have now risen to as high as $275 billion, a figure that would make it one of the most expensive in US history.
Federal authorities have launched a probe into the causes of the fires, as theories swirl over who was responsible.
"We know everyone wants answers, and the community deserves answers," said Jose Medina of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which is taking the lead.
"ATF will give you those answers, but it will be once we complete a thorough investigation."
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday ordered debris removal teams to be on standby, as emergency managers look ahead to possible winter rainstorms that could provoke mudslides.
But some Palisades locals are not waiting, working to remove scorched debris from roads and sidewalks themselves.
Contractor Chuck Hart and his crew were at a construction site in the neighborhood when the fire broke out.
After they saved his mother's house from encroaching flames, Hart said they began making rounds to clean debris from the streets.
"We just rock-and-rolled," he said. "We've just been doing that non-stop ever since."
"We're going to do everything we can to get this place back up and running as quickly as possible."
V.Dantas--PC