Christmas Day bushfire destroys 100 homes in popular tourist spot of Lorne in Victoria

A Christmas Day bushfire has destroyed more than 100 homes in the popular tourist spot of Lorne in Australia's Victoria state. A total of 98 homes had been razed in Wye River and 18 at Separation Creek but, there is no report of any injuries. Firefighters have been battling the blaze along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria's south-west, popular with holidaymakers.
The fire had started with a lightning strike on 19 December and, fanned by strong winds and intense heat in recent days, has already burned across 2,200 hectares (5,437 acres).
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 26 December 2015.

Due to cooler weather and rains, the threat has reduced considerably but some emergency warnings continue to remain in place as some 1,600 residents and tourists from the popular tourist spot of Lorne have been moved out because of fears that a wind change would push the fire towards the town. However, later, they were allowed to return. Many of those who were forced to leave their homes had to spend Christmas night in alternate, hastily-arranged shelters.
It seems more than 500 firefighters, 60 tankers and 18 aircraft have been pressed into service to battle the blaze and fight the flames. Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner has indicated that although the immediate threat had receded, the fire had the "potential to burn" for weeks to come.
As a result of the fires, the Falls Music and Arts Festival, held annually near Lorne, may not go ahead.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 25 September 2015.

Taking cognizance of the warnings, the Malaysian police have detained three men, including two foreigners, for questioning. They are a Malaysian, an Indonesian and a Syrian, aged between 30 and 51 years. They were picked as part of an ongoing counter terrorism operation.
One of them often visited Yemen and had entered Malaysia a few days ago. Investigation is on to determine if they are involved in any plans to launch attacks in Malaysia.
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This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 18 August 2015.

There are four foreigners who died in the twin blasts, two of them have been identified as Chinese and a Philipino. There are 117 others injured and the death toll could increase because of the large number of injured.
The Erawan Shrine is situated in downtown Chidlom district and is on a main road through the commercial hub of Bangkok. The first explosion was from an improvised explosive device that was fastened to a utility pole in front of the temple at the Ratchaprasong intersection. Immediately after that detonation, there was a motorbike bomb blast that resulted in two nearby taxis to explode.
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The authorities have indicated that officers would stop and question anyone they found on the streets after nightfall to ensure that they had legitimate business at that hour – the directives are as good as curfew.
The measure has been introduced to allay security concerns following days of looting of everything from convenience stores to big-box retailers and it has gone to the extent that some of the residents are worried that private homes and condos could be next.
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