Police who raided a group home in Mexico have rescued 458 children who were forced to beg for money and suffered sexual abuse while being held against their will in filthy conditions.

At least 14 firefighters died while trying to control a forest blaze that destroyed about 12,000 acres of woodland and forced hundreds of people to evacuate their villages in drought-stricken Spain.

At least 14 firefighters died today while trying to control a forest blaze that destroyed about 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of woodland and forced hundreds of people to evacuate their villages in drought-stricken Spain, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.