Ethiopia
Back to the most glaringly underreported major story in the world: the brutal civil war in Ethiopia. Government forces today launched bombing raids on Mekelle, capital of the rebel-held Tigray region, for the second time this week. The government said it was targeting rebel weapons caches, while the TPLF rebels said a residential building was hit. At least three children were killed in government air raids on Monday, according to the UN. The Tigray region is cut off from the world by a government-imposed blockade, a communications blackout and a lack of electricity.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Syria
Refugees returning to Syria have been killed, tortured, kidnapped, and subjected to sexual violence, according to a new report from the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW). Several nations are considering sending Syrian refugees home, deeming it now safe to do so. “The government continues to commit human rights abuses against Syrians, and so long as this continues any talk of returns would be premature,” HRW said, demanding an immediate halt to all plans to return refugees.
More from HRW here.
Maldives
Aminath Shauna, the Maldives’ environment minister, warned today that a failure to tackle the climate crisis would be a “death sentence” for small island nations. The Maldives is made up of 1,200 islands, which average just a meter above sea level.
More from AP here.