CALMER weather has allowed US fire crews to step up containment efforts on wildfires after three weeks of winds fanned blazes across California.
The fires led utilities in the US state to cut electricity to prevent winds from blowing branches into power lines and igniting an inferno.
Winds have subsided in virtually all parts of California, though red flag warnings for fire danger because of winds and ultra-dry conditions remained in place through until yesterday evening for some inland areas to the north and west of Los Angeles.
Lingering winds were blamed for churning up a fresh wildfire that erupted on Thursday evening and quickly spread from a hilltop near Santa Paula, north of Los Angeles.
Authorities in Ventura County ordered evacuations for about 7500 people in an area with 1800 buildings.
READ MORE: EAW issued for former Catalan minister exiled in Scotland
MEANWHILE, Spaniards have voiced outrage after five men were acquitted of rape on the grounds that their 14-year-old victim had been unconscious at the time.
The Barcelona-based court ruled that the men were guilty of the lesser crime of sexual abuse and sentenced them to 10-12 years.
It ruled that their act could not be considered sexual assault since the girl was unconscious after consuming alcohol and drugs and so they did not need to use violence or intimidation, a requirement for a rape conviction in Spain.
Barcelona mayor Ada Colau and other politicians and feminist groups have condemned the ruling.
ELSEWHERE, changes to France’s jobs market are entering into force as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s (left) plan to make the labour market more flexible and revitalise economic growth.
The new rules make it more difficult for the unemployed to claim benefits, which could encourage more people to get back to work more quickly.
Critics argue they fray an important social safety net.
France’s unemployment rate decreased to its lowest level in a decade this summer, at 8.5%, but still remains among the highest in the European Union.
The new rules increase the amount of time people have to work to be entitled to unemployment benefits.
They also reduce by 30% the benefits that wealthier workers get after six months of unemployment.
FINALLY, four people have been killed and several others wounded in a US shooting on Halloween night in northern California.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said it is working with the police department in the city of Orinda.
Video from the scene posted by KGO-TV showed multiple patients being loaded into ambulances.
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