UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday extended his condolences to the families of those killed and injured in Russia's raging wildfires. "The secretary general is saddened by the loss of life and suffering caused by the fires that have affected the territory of the Russian Federation outside Moscow," dpa cited a UN statement as saying. Ban said he was aware of the tremendous efforts being undertaken by the Russian government to bring the situation under control and reaffirmed the UN's commitment to provide assistance should Russia request it. Hundreds of thousands of emergency workers have tried for weeks to control the devastating forest and peat-bog fires, as Russia faces the hottest temperatures in a century and persistent drought. The fires have scorched more than 7,600 square kilometres - an area tenfold that of New York City. Authorities said that more than 26,000 fires have burned over the past week alone.
