Devastating Wildfire in Argentina Destroys More than 500,000 Hectares

^{PHOTO: AERIAL VIEWS OF WILDFIRE, SMOKE RISING FROM FLAMES OF WILDFIRE, LOCAL RESIDENTS AND FIRE-FIGHTERS TRYING TO EXTINGUISH FLAMES}

INTERNATIONAL: A devastating wildfire fuelled by an unprecedented drought are ravaging hundreds of thousands of hectares of land in the northeastern province of Corrientes, causing serious economic and environmental damage. More than 519,000 hectares, six percent of the region's total area, underscoring the impact of dry weather due to the Nina weather pattern in the South American nation.

A Civil Defense source says that the fire-fighters were working to bring the fire under control, with houses and a hotel near the provincial capital located about 800 kilometres north of Buenos Aires were evacuated as a precaution on Tuesday ,February 15.

Corrientes produces farm products including citrus fruits, rice, tobacco, yerba mate, cotton, livestock and forestry.

The president of the Rural Society of Corrientes Nicolas Pino says he hopes for strong rains to douse the blaze. He has also said that the fields eventually will recover.

The National Meteorological Service is forecasting scant rain for the next few days with only 5-10 millimetres expected.

Argentina is in the midst of a second consecutive La Nina, a weather event that typically brings less rainfall to its central agricultural regions, which are key to the country's exports and foreign currency revenues.

Ukraine Says Russian-Backed Artillery Strike Hits Kindergarten Building

^{PHOTO: PILE OF RUBBLE INSIDE KINDERGARTEN THAT UKRAINIAN MILITARY SAYS WAS SHELLED BY RUSSIAN-BACKED SEPARATISTS}

Ukraine's military on Thursday ,February 17, has accused Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine of firing shells at a village in the Luhansk region, hitting a kindergarten.

The military has said there were no injuries.

Video released by Joint Forces Operation press service showed pile of bricks inside kindergarten room, hole in a wall and shell crater in the ground outside the kindergarten.

Earlier Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have accused government forces of opening fire on their territory four times in the past 24 hours and said they were trying to establish if anyone had been hurt or killed.

Hurricane-Force Wind in Poland Kills 2, Dozens Injured and Damages Homes

^{PHOTO: VARIOUS AERIALS OF COLLAPSED CRANE SOUNDBITE OF KRAKOW POLICE OFFICER VARIOUS AERIALS OF DAMAGED HOUSES SOUNDBITES OF LOCAL POLISH RESIDENTS}

Hurricane in Poland tore off roofs, knocked down trees and left hundreds of thousands of houses without electricity, on Thursday, February 17.

One of the residents recalls, the wind blew seriously for not more than five minutes, then they heard a loud 'swoosh' and that's it the whole street is demolished, all the roofs are taken off. Houses collapsed and stones were falling from the sky. It only took just a few seconds. Then all he saw were those whirlwinds.

Two construction workers were killed , after heavy winds toppled a 20-meter-tall crane.

The crane operator and three workers were injured after the crane has collapsed under the wind's pressure, according to a Krakow police spokesperson. Many people were also injured on the street.

Aerial footage from the scene showed the crane lying horizontally across the construction site, with debris scattered amongst cars and buildings.

The wind has also caused significant damage to housing and infrastructure.

In Dobrzyca, a village in Poland's western Wielkopolska province, violent wind damaged the roofs of dozens of houses early on Thursday morning.

According to Poland's State Fire Services, fire brigades have intervened over 1400 times across the country on Thursday, removing fallen trees as well as helping residents to secure roofless homes from further damage and rain.