Algeria
“These burned down forests. It’s a part of me that is gone. It’s a drama for humanity, for nature. It’s a disaster.”
More wildfires, this time in Algeria. At least 25 soldiers were killed while saving residents from forest fires raging east of the capital Algiers, the government announced today. The deaths brought the number of people killed this week to 32 as firefighters battled to control at least 41 blazes. Government officials have suggested arson might be the cause but no evidence for that claim has been offered.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Mexico
A drug cartel in Mexico has issued a sinister threat to one of the country’s most prominent news anchors. "I will make you eat your words even if they accuse me of femicide," a masked man surrounded by six armed men said in a video message that directly addressed journalist Azucena Uresti. The man said he was speaking on behalf of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of the country’s most feared criminal organizations, and accused Uresti of unfair coverage. Journalists publicly rallied to her defence and President Andrés Manuel pledged to protect her.
More from the BBC here.
Ethiopia
Regular newsletter readers know that I believe the war in Ethiopia to be one of the most criminally underreported stories in the world. It now appears to be spreading and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office today issued a statement calling on “all able-bodied Ethiopians who are of age” to join the military in its fight against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The war has been marked by horrific sexual violence and has pushed hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of starvation.
More from Africa News here.