At least 20 nursery school children died in Niger on Tuesday in a fire that trapped them in straw-hut classrooms in a school in a poor neighbourhood of the West African nation's capital, government officials said.

Big waves break on the coast of Sorsogon City in the central Philippines. Thousands of residents in the Bicol region have evacuated as Typhoon Surigae, packing sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour, brings heavy rains and adverse weather.

When Nyiragongo volcano erupted, residents of Goma in DR Congo were evacuated by authorities and many fled to Rwanda where they now live in a shelter in a camp set up by the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR).

A firefighting plane works on extinguishing a fire raging in a forested area west of Jerusalem. The massive fire on the outskirts of Jerusalem has paralysed traffic as dozens of firefighters and 10 aerial tankers battle the blaze.

The Paris Court of Appeal is considering whether to extradite eight Italians convicted of murder in their native country more than 30 years ago. These former members of far-left groups are wanted by Rome for taking part in violent attacks and murders between the 1960s and 1980s. They were arrested in France in April and later released on bail. For decades, France gave refuge to these individuals under the "Mitterrand doctrine", which granted asylum to people convicted or wanted for "acts of a violent nature, but of political motivation". The case is being closely watched in Italy, as our correspondents report.

Dozens of firefighters battle to contain a blaze that ignited in a fabric shop in the Indian capital Delhi. The fire spread quickly to neighbouring stores in a busy shopping district, according to local news media. There are no reports of casualties.

A huge blaze engulfs more than a dozen yachts in a Hong Kong typhoon shelter. The Fire department said it took six hours to put the fire out, adding that about twenty people were evacuated and a boy was sent to hospital. Some of the yachts in the Aberdeen marina are occupied full time by locals and expats. Ten boats sank according to local media.

Crews from the Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue use bulldozers to construct firelines to help stop the spread of an "aggressive" fire near Reno, Nevada. A combination of two blazes sparked by lightning near the California-Nevada border last week, the Beckwourth Complex fire has rapidly grown to some 90,000 acres. It is reportedly California’s largest fire so far this year and has prompted evacuations in both states.

A firefighter drives through flames and sparks from the Tamarack Fire in Markleeville, California, as he races to protect a housing development from the blaze. Wildfires continue to ravage the western US and Canada amid oppressively hot, dry weather.

Typhoon In-fa has made landfall near Shanghai, where authorities canceled hundreds of flights and warned residents to remain indoors.

Smoke columns from fires in the US state of California could spawn lightning storms that cause more blazes, experts warn. Several communities have been evacuated.

A total of 141 firefighters have been mobilised to contain a forest blaze at the base of Mount Penteli north of Athens. The fire service are backed by 10 helicopters and eight firefighting planes, but said strong winds were complicating operations.