Wildfires in Russia Spread to Central Regions   

Russia's central regions on Wednesday battled "extreme" wildfires fueled by an unusual heatwave that comes after forest fires linked to climate change ravaged Siberia for most of the summer.    

Authorities were fighting 15 wildfires in the Urals region of Sverdlovsk, the Emergencies Ministry said.     The region — which lies on the border of Europe and Asia — faced "extreme fire hazard" due to a heatwave, it added.     Images on social media Tuesday showed flames on either side of a federal highway between regional capital Yekaterinburg and the Urals city of Perm, forcing the road shut for most of the day, according to reports.