Hundreds evacuated as fire spreads in Russian city

Russian authorities evacuated hundreds of people as a blaze spread across a residential neighbourhood of the southern city of Rostov-on- Don while helicopters doused the flames with water.
Efforts to contain the fire were hampered by strong winds of more than 50 kilometres (34 miles) per hour.
"The fire has engulfed up to 30 houses, 560 people were evacuated," the government for the Rostov region said in a statement. Rostov-on-Don is the regional capital and is around 960 kilometres (600 miles) south of Moscow.
The regional authorities said the cause of the fire was not clear, but that it apparently began in an abandoned house and spread to neighbouring buildings in an area of low-rise private houses.

A total of 22 people required medical attention and three were hospitalised with burns, a spokesman for the regional health ministry told TASS state news agency.