More Australian Towns Threatened by Massive Bushfire 

A CFA strike team is seen at a fire near Raglan in Victoria, Friday, February 23, 2024. (AAP)
A CFA strike team is seen at a fire near Raglan in Victoria, Friday, February 23, 2024. (AAP)
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More Australian Towns Threatened by Massive Bushfire 

A CFA strike team is seen at a fire near Raglan in Victoria, Friday, February 23, 2024. (AAP)
A CFA strike team is seen at a fire near Raglan in Victoria, Friday, February 23, 2024. (AAP)

Fresh evacuation warnings were issued on Friday for dozens of rural Australian towns as around 1,000 firefighters battled a bushfire in Victoria state which has destroyed properties, killed livestock and is threatening to spread through towns.

More than 2,000 people on Thursday fled from towns in Victoria's west after emergency evacuation orders were issued to leave while it was still safe and head east to the nearby regional hub of Ballarat, 95 km (59 miles) west of Melbourne.

Firefighters, supported by more than 50 aircraft, battled to contain the massive blaze on Friday. Roughly 11,000 hectares (110 square kms) have been burnt, authorities said.

"We are sadly hearing reports of property loss that are starting to come through," Victoria state Premier Jacinta Allan said during a press briefing.

"Given the active nature of the fire and the difficult terrain in the area, it is going to take some time to assess the full extent of the damage."

At least two schools have been closed and students in four have been relocated to other schools, while around 5,000 properties are without power across Victoria.

Stronger-than-expected winds are spreading fires faster and closer to towns as emergency crews urged residents to take shelter indoors if unable to leave.

A cold front off Australia's south coast moved overnight to the regions in the east battling bushfires, pushing temperatures down but strong winds continued to fan the wildfires.

"Unfortunately, those winds did not drop to where we thought they were going to be and that is what led the fire to accelerate where it did," said Jason Heffernan, chief officer of Victoria state fire department.

Emergency crews would begin taking stock of damages from Friday though early reports indicate significant losses of sheds and livestock as the fire spreads through several farms, Heffernan said. One home has been confirmed lost.



Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just as the Paris Olympics start.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized dip last week in a bid to ease fears. The Seine will be used for marathon swimming and triathlon.

Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.

Tests by monitoring group Eau de Paris show that at the Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules on June 17, when the mayor took a dip.

The site reached a value of 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.

At two other measuring points further downstream, the results were below the threshold.

The statement by Paris City Hall and the prefecture of the Paris region noted that water quality last week was in line with European rules six days out of seven on the site which is to host the Olympic swimming competitions.

It noted that "the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than twice the usual flow in summer," explaining fluctuating test results.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.