More than 40 civilians, including children, have been killed in a military airstrike on Kyuknimao village in Ramri township, controlled by the Arakan Army (AA), in Myanmar's western Rakhine state. The death toll is expected to rise.

The attack was carried out on Wednesday (January 8), the AP news agency reported.

Local authorities said that at least 20 residents were injured in the Kyuknimao area in the airstrike. In addition, at least 500 houses were destroyed in the north-south and Manchaliya areas. Among the injured are children, women and the elderly.

Residents said that the fire caused by the bombing quickly spread to densely populated surrounding areas, burning down hundreds of houses. Most people have taken refuge in the Kyuknimao area due to clashes between the Arakan Army and the junta in the township.

A resident of Kyaw Knymaw told The Irrawaddy on Thursday, "The number of people injured in this attack is higher than the number of people killed. But there is no medical equipment to treat them. The death toll could rise."

The AA took control of Ramri Township, an island off Myanmar's west coast, on March 11 last year. Although there was no war, the junta has carried out airstrikes in the area for several days.

Myanmar's 2021 military coup toppled the civilian government led by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a nationwide anti-junta insurgency.

Arakan Army spokesman Khaing Thu Kha told AFP that military aircraft bombed Kyaw Knymaw township on Ramri Island in Rakhine state at around 1:20 p.m. on Wednesday, setting off a fire that burned more than 500 houses.

He called the attack "cowardly" and said "launching deadly airstrikes on civilians is a brutal war crime."

At least two people were killed in a wildfire in the US state of California, Los Angeles. Los Angeles is one of the country's major industrial, commercial and financial centers.

The BBC reported this news on Wednesday (January 8) citing the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Fire Chief Anthony Marone said that the Palisades Fire has burned more than 5,000 acres of land and the fire is growing. He also said that about 1,000 structures have been destroyed in the fire.

The head of the Los Angeles County Fire Department told a news conference on Wednesday that two people have died and several others have been injured in the Eaton Fire near Pasadena.

The latest fire has now almost doubled in size to 2,227 acres.

Like other wildfires that have spread across Southern California, it has not been able to be contained to zero percent. The fire department says they are dealing with terrain and strong winds.

700 firefighters are working to contain the fire, with local officials saying it is burning dangerously in both the east and west directions. 

Unprecedented rains and severe flooding have occurred in the desert country of Saudi Arabia. The country's meteorological department, the National Center for Meteorology (NCM), has already issued a red alert in the two holy cities of Makkah and Medina due to the flooding.

This information was published in a report by the Anadolu Agency on Wednesday (January 9).

The report said that severe flooding has begun in Saudi Arabia due to continuous heavy rains over the past few days. As a result, roads and residential areas in several cities in the country have been severely damaged.

According to the Saudi Meteorological Department's forecast, this weather depression may continue for several more days.

A red alert has been issued for the two holy cities of Makkah and Medina and some areas in the eastern region. In addition, a low-level orange alert has been issued in the capital Riyadh, the central region and the southwestern provinces of Asir and Jazan. However, citizens have been asked to be careful there too.

The Saudi Disaster Management Authority and the International Humanitarian Aid Organization Red Crescent said in a statement that all preparations have been completed to rescue those trapped in the floods. Several photos and videos of the floods in Saudi Arabia have been published on social media. The photos and videos show cars being swept away by floodwaters. The water is rising due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, which is a rare sight in Saudi Arabia.

The Israeli attack on Gaza continues. The death toll is increasing every day. In the last 24 hours, 49 more Palestinians have been killed in the brutal Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. This brings the total number of deaths in the valley to nearly 45,900.

This information was reported by Al Jazeera on Wednesday (January 8).

In addition, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been injured in the attack that has been going on since October 2023.

The media said that at least 49 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Tuesday, including five children in the so-called “safe zone” of Al-Mawasi and eight people in the attack in Jabalia.

Al Jazeera said that Israeli forces are intensifying their attacks across the Gaza Strip, including the “humanitarian zone” of Al-Mawasi, and are causing significant destruction of residential homes and civilian infrastructure.

The Israeli attack has essentially reduced Gaza to rubble. According to the United Nations, about 85 percent of the Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced due to Israel’s brutal attack. And all of Gaza is now food insecure amid severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

In addition, 60 percent of the infrastructure in the besieged territory has been damaged or destroyed.

It is worth noting that Israel has been carrying out continuous air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7. Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, schools, refugee camps, mosques and churches, have been damaged or destroyed in the Israeli attack.