SAN MARCOS, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters aided by calmer winds made progress Thursday against a series of wildfires burning across San Diego County, and authorities collected clues and solicited the public's help to determine what caused so many blazes to occur simultaneously.

While some of the nine fires were extinguished and thousands of people were able to return to their homes, the San Marcos blaze roared back in the afternoon. Flames raced along scrubby hillsides as massive black plumes filled the skies.

Smoke limited visibility to a few feet at times in the city of 85,000 about 35 miles north of San Diego. On one street, five horses wandered nervously in a paddock as firefighters worked to protect nearby homes and barns.

The flare-up prompted 18,400 new evacuation notices. San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said it was a "reminder to everybody just how volatile this can be."

Firefighters found a badly burned body in a transient camp in Carlsbad, a north San Diego suburb that was one of the hardest hit areas by this week's fires. The city of Carlsbad said it had no information about the person who died — apparently the first fatality of the fires.

A Camp Pendleton Fire Department firefighter received medical treatment for heat exhaustion while fighting a square-mile fire on the Marine base, the first injury from the fires.

Raw: Crews Make Gains on San Diego FiresPlay Video

The fires have destroyed at least eight houses, an 18-unit condominium complex and two businesses, as well as burned more than 15 square miles, causing more than $20 million in damage so far. The hardest-hit areas were in San Marcos and Carlsbad, a suburb of 110,000 people that lifted evacuation orders late Thursday.

Firefighters who have worked in temperatures sometimes topping 100 degrees this week were expected to get relief on Friday. The forecast called for temperatures to peak around 90 and lighter winds. A bigger cool-down was forecast for the weekend.

While drought conditions and unusually high temperatures made the area ripe for wildfires, there are suspicions that at least some of the blazes were set. Gore said arson is being looked at but so are many other possibilities, such as sparks from vehicles.

Fire and police investigators are working together to determine where how the fires started. Gore encouraged the public to contact and authorities with any information.

Since the fires began Tuesday, 125,000 evacuation notices have been sent. Schools and parks across the county were shut down.

Crews Make Gains on Worst of San Diego FiresPlay Video

While local authorities congratulated themselves for the cooperative effort among agencies and the bravery shown by firefighters, not everyone was pleased.

Greg Saska stood in front of his charred Carlsbad home Thursday in sandals that showed his soot-covered feet. He said he was not impressed with the fire response.

"I don't want to complain, but I wish they had just made a little more effort to put the fire out," Saska said. "The end of the house ... was still burning. And they (firefighters) just left. And I'm just kinda going, 'What would've been the big deal to stay here another 10 minutes and put that out totally?' I just don't get it."

In San Marcos, firefighters on the ground and in the air fought to save homes as the flare-up sent flames running up a slope in a heavily vegetated area. The fire was being driven by fuel and topography, said Division Chief Dave Allen of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"It's created its own weather pattern there as it sucks oxygen in," he said.

Raw: Thousands Told to Flee San Marcos FirePlay Video

State fire Capt. Kendal Bortisser said the fire was running east along hillsides behind California State University, San Marcos, which canceled graduation ceremonies because of the danger from the flames.

The 1 1/2-square-mile blaze was only 5 percent contained by late Thursday afternoon.

Calmer winds allowed aircraft to make a heavy contribution to the firefighting efforts. Four air tankers and 22 military helicopters were being used, in addition to local agency helicopters.

Ten of the military helicopters were being used to battle a blaze that grew to almost 9 1/2 square miles on the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton.

___

Watson reported from San Diego. Contributing to this report were AP photographer Lenny Ignelzi and videographer Raquel Maria Dillon in San Marcos, and AP writers Robert Jablon and John Antczak in Los Angeles.

Protesters gather during a sit-in protest in support of the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls at the Unity Fountain in Abuja May 15, 2014. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has cancelled his first visit to the village from which more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted by Islamist rebel group Boko Haram a month ago due to security fears, senior government sources said on Friday.

Jonathan will instead fly directly from the capital Abuja to Paris on Friday for a regional summit to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency and wider insecurity and will not now make a stop in the northeastern village of Chibok, said one of the sources.

"The president was planning to go but security advised otherwise on the visit," said the source of the last-minute decision to cancel the Chibok part of the trip.

Some Nigerians have criticized the government's initial response to the plight of the girls, who were abducted on April 14, and U.S. officials this week said the government had done too little to adapt to the threat posed by Boko Haram.

Jonathan asked France last week to arrange a security summit with neighbors Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, and officials from the United States, Britain and the European Union to discuss a coordinated response. The summit will take place on Saturday.

Jonathan, the former vice-president, assumed the presidency of Africa's most populous nation in 2010 on the death in office of his predecessor Umaru Yar'Adua and won an election the following year. Nigeria will go to the polls again next year.

(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Bate Felix and Janet Lawrence)

Nigerian leader cancels trip to traumatized town

Security concerns cause the nation's president to not visit the area where more than 300 girls were abducted.
Media role

Pro-Russian insurgents retreat in Ukraine's east

MARIUPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Local patrols by steelworkers have forced pro-Russia insurgents to pull out of the government buildings they had seized in this city, a setback to anti-Kiev forces that have established footholds in eastern Ukraine.

Mariupol is the second-largest city in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region — one of two regions that declared independence Monday from the central government in Kiev. Citizen patrols began here earlier this week as Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man, urged steelworkers at his factories to help police restore order.

In a report Friday, the United Nations raised concerns about increasing human rights abuses in eastern Ukraine as armed groups took advantage of the breakdown in law and order.

Akhmetov's company, Metinvest, agreed with steel plant directors, police and community leaders Thursday to help improve security in the city and get insurgents to vacate the buildings they had seized. A representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, which had declared independence, was also a party to the deal.

Metinvest has two steel plants Mariupol, a city of half a million people. The port and industrial center lies on the main road between Russia and Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Moscow in March. The city saw heavy fighting in the past weeks, including a shoot-out outside a police station that left one policeman and several insurgents dead. Without the city, Ukraine would lose a chunk of its coastline on the Sea of Azov, which links to the Black Sea.

The Associated Press journalists did not see any insurgents Friday morning in the city.

German Mandrakov, once the commander of Mariupol's occupied government building, told The Associated Press on Friday that his associates fled while he was "forced" to leave the building they had controlled for weeks.

"Everyone ran away," he said, using a vulgar Russian word for cowards. "Someone is trying to sow discord among us, someone has signed something, but we will continue our fight."

View gallery

Pro-Russian rebels man a fortified front line rebel position near the eastern Ukrainian town of Slav …

Several dozen Metinvest workers in overalls and helmets cleared out barricades of rubbish and tires outside the Mariupol government building Friday. Trucks carried it away and by midday, the barricades were nearly gone.

"(Locals are) tired of war and chaos. Burglaries and marauding have to stop," said Viktor Gusak, one of the Metinvest employees cleaning the street.

A few hundred meters (yards) away, three men sat in the park cooking soup. One of them, unemployed Serhiy Atroshchenko, told the AP they were all that was left of Mariupol's pro-Russian separatist force.

"We were duped," Atroshchenko said. "Akhmetov used to keep his eyes closed (to what was happening), but now he decided to make a deal with Kiev authorities."

Atroshchenko said other separatists fled and only he and his two friends —the "men of ideas," he claimed — were left "to fight till the end." None of them was armed.

While groups of armed men were seizing one town hall after another in eastern Ukraine, a region widely believed to be Akhmetov's turf, the billionaire industrialist kept mum, attracting angry comments across the country.

Among the graffiti aimed at Akhmetov in Kiev was this: "Want to make money? First, make some peace!"

View gallery

Workers of the Ukrainian company Metinvest clear away debris in a government building in the eastern …

On Wednesday, Akhmetov broke his silence to call for Donetsk to remain part of Ukraine, arguing that independence or absorption into Russia would be an economic catastrophe.

Since President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster in February, Ukraine's new leadership has reached out to oligarchs for help — appointing them as governors in eastern regions where loyalties to Moscow were strong.

Ihor Kolomoisky, a metals, banking and media tycoon who was appointed governor of his native region of Dnipropetrovsk, was among those praised for preserving order. Others like industrialist Serhiy Taruta, governor of the Donetsk region, seemed helpless as district after district fell into the insurgents' hands.

In Mariupol, the first major citizen patrol sponsored by Akhmetov's Metinvest was held Thursday, police spokeswoman Yulia Lafazan said, adding there were now 100 groups of men consisting of two policemen and six to eight steelworkers patrolling Mariupol.

Lafazan credited the patrols for a "drastic improvement" in the city's crime rate.

Burglaries and carjackings became the norm after the pro-Russia insurgents asserted themselves earlier this month, bringing in a wave of marauding, she said.

Associated Press journalists saw two steelworker patrols Friday afternoon. One consisted of two policemen and six workers patrolling a major avenue on foot; the other consisted of two policemen and three workers driving around town.

Ukraine: Cold War Redux Or New Global Challenge?Play Video

Steelworker Alexander Zhigula said the volunteered to help because "someone has to bring order back to the streets."

"The city is sick of crime and chaos," he said. "People can finally see that they've got someone to rely on."

Valentyna Tochilina, a 47-year-old resident, said she was relieved to see the insurgents disappear from the streets.

"For the first time (in weeks), I can go out shopping without fear," she said.

In other areas in eastern Ukraine, however, the pro-Russia insurgents were fortifying their territories.

Outside the strategic city of Slovyansk, an insurgent stronghold for more than a month now, armed separatists installed a new checkpoint on the eastern approaches to the city. That checkpoint blocks a major highway that links Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city — with the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don across the border.

Associated Press journalists saw several dozen heavily armed men fortifying the new checkpoint with concrete slabs, helped by residents.

In Kiev, Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov on Friday urged residents of the eastern regions to stop helping the separatists and support the central government.

"You've got to support the anti-terrorist operation so that we could defeat terrorists and separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions together," he told the parliament. "The actions of the terrorists are threatening lives and welfare of the people."

Kiev on Wednesday launched the first round of European-brokered talks to solve the crisis, but it brought little visible results since the insurgents haven't been invited. The insurgents in their turn insisted that they will agree to the negotiations only if they focus on the withdrawal of the Ukrainian troops and the recognition of their independent state.

The next round of talks will be held in the eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday, which has not seen major insurgent activity, the government announced late Friday.

___

Nataliya Vasilyeva in Kiev, Alexander Zemlianichenko in Slovyansk and John Heilprin in Geneva contributed to this report.

View Gallery

New hope for end of anarchy in Ukraine city

Ukraine's richest man steps in, and his directive in Donetsk's second-largest city is paying off.
'Everyone ran away'

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Two blasts hit Kenya's capital on Friday, killing 10 people and injuring 70 more in the latest in a string of increasingly frequent terror attacks.

The blasts came the same week the United States and the U.K. issued renewed warnings about possible terror attacks in Kenya, leading to a bristling response from the country's president Friday, who said such warnings strengthen the will of terrorists.

Nairobi Police Chief Benson Kibue, who announced the casualty figures, said two improvised explosive devices detonated in a market area near downtown Nairobi. One blast hit a mini-van used for public transportation.

Before the blasts, the U.S. embassy sent out a new travel alert Friday to American citizens warning of a continued terrorist threat in a country where the U.S. Embassy suffered a devastating attack in 1998.

An earlier U.S. warning this week said for the first time that the embassy itself is taking new steps to increase security "due to recent threat information regarding the international community in Kenya."

Britain's government also warned its citizens this week to avoid the coastal city of Mombasa and beach towns nearby, prompting a travel company to cut short the vacations of hundreds of British citizens and fly them home.

View gallery

British tourists queue with their luggage to leave by charter flight from the international airport …

Security concerns have long been high in Kenya because of its proximity to Somalia and the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group that operates there. In September, four al-Shabab gunmen attacked an upscale mall in Nairobi, killing at least 67 people. The 1998 embassy bombing killed more than 200.

The U.S. Embassy says that more than 100 people have been killed in shootings, grenade attacks and small bombs in Kenya over the past 18 months.

Since the mall attack, Kenya has suffered numerous smaller bombings in Nairobi and Mombasa. Kenyan authorities, with the help of the FBI, also discovered a huge car bomb that could have caused massive damage.

Armed Marines now patrol the U.S. Embassy grounds in Nairobi in bullet proof vests and helmets. Increasingly frequent emergency drills tell embassy staff: "Duck and cover, duck and cover."

"We know from experience whether it's been in Yemen where embassies have been attacked or in Benghazi where our consulate and ambassador was attacked, anything that is a symbol of a foreign country is a potential target," said Scott Gration, the immediate past U.S. ambassador in Kenya.

View gallery

British tourists queue with their luggage to leave by charter flight from the international airport …

Gration, a retired U.S. Air Force major general who runs a technology and investment consultancy in Nairobi, said embassies "are always a target, whether you have a warning out or not, they tend to be a magnet for people that have ideological intentions."

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who began a previously planned news conference only minutes after the Nairobi blasts, offered his condolences but dismissed the U.S. and U.K. travel warnings, saying that terrorism is a common problem, including in New York and Boston.

Kenyatta said he was aware of Britain's warning and the decision to evacuate tourists.

"I don't want to refer to anybody in particular. Acts like were done yesterday, by the people you just mentioned, only strengthens the will of terrorists as opposed to helping us defeat that war," Kenyatta said.

Kenya sees a big drop in tourism activity — a major money maker here — whenever such alerts are issued. Kenyatta said the government would install 2,000 security cameras in Nairobi and Mombasa to help combat terrorism.

TUI Travel, which owns the British tourism companies Thomson and First Choice, canceled all flights to Mombasa until October because of the security alert. The company also evacuated customers in Kenya on flights Thursday and Friday.

Gration said many tourism companies have insurance policies that don't allow travelers to be in high-risk locations. He said Kenya's coast is a beautiful and mostly safe location.

"My belief is that everywhere there are issues and we all need to be prudent in when we go and where we go," Gration said. "So I don't travel at night, avoid big crowds and lock my doors. Whether you are in Newark, New Jersey or Nairobi, Kenya, we can all fall victim to crime or terrorism."

___

Associated Press reporter Tom Odula contributed to this report.

Related video

Blasts rock Nairobi shortly after terror warning

The U.S. and U.K. step up alerts shortly before the violence, drawing a bristling response.
10 dead, dozens wounded

VIENNA (AP) — Iran nuclear talks stalled Friday, casting a shadow on earlier advances and denting hopes that Tehran and six world powers will meet a July 20 target date for a deal meant to curb Iran's atomic program while ending sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged the meeting made "no progress" in its ambitious goal of starting to draft an agreement meant to ease a decade of Western distrust about Tehran's nuclear agenda in exchange for sanctions relief.

In that, "we failed," he told reporters. But while saying he was disappointed, he insisted that the result of the three-day talks that ended Friday represented no more than a setback at this point in continuing attempts to reach a deal.

A senior U.S. official — who demanded anonymity under U.S. briefing rules — said there was "great difficulty" in trying to move toward common positions and spoke of "significant" differences. Both Araghchi and the official said further meetings were planned in June, but no dates were announced.

The failure to advance diminished a sense of optimism that had been growing since talks began Feb. 18 on a comprehensive deal. But while diplomats had spoken of some progress before the three-day round that ended Friday, they had also warned of difficult talks ahead on some issues, such as Iran's enrichment program.

Iran says it has no interest in nuclear arms, and wants to enrich only to make reactor fuel. But because the technology can also create weapons-grade uranium for warheads depending on the level of enrichment, Washington and its allies want strict constraints on its size and scope.

Preview: "60 Minutes" goes inside Iran t …Play Video

The talks are being closely watched by Israel for signs that Tehran is using them as a cover while trying to reach the ability to make a nuclear weapon — something the Jewish state has vowed to prevent by any means, including force.

While saying diplomacy is the best path, Washington has said all options remain on the table to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. In Jerusalem Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Israeli leaders that the U.S. "will do what we must" to ensure that goal.

Araghchi said that differences remained on more than a dozen issues and a Western official with detailed knowledge of the talks said that enrichment was among the most divisive topic.

The official declined to go into the specifics of what separated the two sides on enrichment and demanded anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the confidential talks.

But general differences have long been known. Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, has said publicly that Tehran needs up to 100,000 centrifuges — the enriching machines — for a future nuclear network.

View gallery

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel w …

That's about five times as many as the centrifuges Iran now has standing but idle, 10 times that of the machines actually enriching — and much more than the few thousand that diplomats say the U.S. and its allies are prepared to allow.

Related differences focus on length of constraints on enrichment and other nuclear activities that could be proliferation-relevant. The diplomats say the U.S. and other Western countries want decade-long limits, whereas Tehran is pushing only for a few years before all restrictions are lifted.

Other disagreements include how — or whether — the talks should also focus on Iranian missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead and suspicions that Tehran worked secretly on trying to make atomic arms — allegations the Islamic Republic denies.

Diplomats said before this week's round that there was tentative agreement on some topics, including rough consensus on the need to re-engineer a partially built reactor so that it would produce less waste plutonium — material that also can be used for the core of a nuclear weapon.

They also said Iran is ready in principle to sign an agreement with the U.N. atomic agency that would allow its experts to visit any declared nuclear site at very short notice, investigate suspicions of undeclared nuclear activity and push for deeper insight into all atomic work.

But Araghchi's remarks indicated that the devil was in the detail of putting any general ideas on what needed to be done into the form of a precisely worded unambiguous text.

And he suggested more discussion might be needed between his country and the six — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany —before drafting actually began. Such delays could push negotiations past the July 20 target date, but the two sides have agreed they could be extended by up to six months if needed.

"In previous rounds of negotiations we only had brainstorming sessions," he said. "The goal of this round was to draft an agreement (and) we feel that differences are still there. And we should wait for the time when ... the positions are closer."

___

Margaret Childs in Vienna, and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, contributed to this report.

View Gallery

Big setbacks for Iran nuclear talks

Iran and six world powers are at odds on several key issues, a top Iranian official says.
Dispute over enrichment