Ethiopia, Mexico, DR Congo.
Today's three stories you should know.
Ethiopia
The Ethiopian government today said it had appointed a seven-person negotiating team for possible talks with rebels it has been locked in a brutal war with for 20 months. The rebels, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, did not immediately comment but they have recently said they are open to talks. The conflict, mainly centered in the northern Tigray region, has killed tens of thousands of people, forced millions from their homes and pushed entire communities to the brink of starvation. Kenya’s capital Nairobi has been mooted as a possible neutral location for the talks.
More from AP here.
Mexico
Antonio de la Cruz, a journalist with Mexico’s Expreso newspaper, has become the 12th journalist to be murdered in the country so far this year. De la Cruz, who had worked for the paper for nearly 30 years, was shot dead as he left his house in the city of Ciudad Victoria in the state of Tamaulipas, which has a significant organized crime presence. His daughter was seriously wounded in the attack. Mexico has become the most dangerous country in the world for journalists outside of active war zones.
More from Al Jazeera here.
DR Congo
A Congolese human rights group today delivered horrific testimony at the UN Security Council. The UNSC was meeting for a regular session on the Democratic Republic of Congo as violence between the government and armed groups spirals. Julienne Lusenge, president of women's rights group Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development, recounted the story of a woman who was kidnapped by a rebel group and forced to cook and eat human flesh. Though DRC’s government and a patchwork of rebel groups have fought over land and resources for years, violence has surged since last month when the M23 group launched a renewed offensive.
More from Reuters here.