Veld fires in Zimbabwe have killed 18 people this year, with the hectarage burnt up 58.6 percent from last year, a cabinet minister said Tuesday.
‘The nation is being informed that the year 2022 is showing an upsurge in uncontrolled fire problems threatening the gains made in the past,’ said Monica Mutsvangwa, minister of information, publicity and broadcasting services.
A total of 5,386 fire incidents have been reported countrywide so far this year, burning 244,227.34 hectares of land, according to a post-cabinet media briefing.
Mutsvangwa said the cabinet had strengthened strategies to manage veld fires, including constituting fire coordination teams at district, provincial and national levels, acquiring modern firefighting equipment and imposing stiffer penalties.
Ten farmworkers were burned to death last week, some of whom beyond recognition, in a veld fire in Esigodini, Matabeleland South Province, prompting Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa to call for the development of a national veld fire strategy.
XINHUA
2 (Port-au-Prince, Oct 19, 2022 (AFP) – Cholera cases are rising in Haiti, according to Health Ministry figures obtained by AFP on Tuesday, fueling fears of a new disaster in a country already deep in a humanitarian and security crisis.
As of Monday, 606 suspected cases and 66 confirmed cases had been identified, according to a ministry report.
That constitutes an increase of 222 new suspected cases between October 13 and 17. In addition, 22 deaths were recorded in medical facilities.
Suspected cases have also been recorded in new regions of the impoverished Caribbean country, in particular in the central region.
One of the epicenters of the disease is the civilian prison in Port-au-Prince, with 271 suspected cases, 12 confirmed and 14 people dead, the ministry report said.
AFP
3 (ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — The Ethiopian government on Tuesday said preparations are ongoing to resume humanitarian aid and services in recently captured areas in the conflict-hit northernmost Tigray region.
The Ethiopian Government Communication Service, in a statement issued Tuesday, disclosed that the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) have taken control of the towns of Shire, Alamata, and Korem, pushing back the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
‘The government of Ethiopia is carrying out the necessary preparations and will coordinate with the relevant humanitarian agencies to provide humanitarian aid through these areas that have come under the control of the ENDF, including via the Shire Airport,’ the statement read.
Noting that the maximum care ENDF has taken thus far has succeeded in protecting civilians from harm, the statement indicated that government forces have ‘averted the grim scenario some have predicted by echoing TPLF’s propaganda.’
The Ethiopian government said in coordination with humanitarian operators, it is making preparations to expand the routes through which humanitarian assistance could be transported. It said concerted efforts are underway to open the North Gondar route to Shire as well as the Kombolcha-Dessie-Woldiya-Kobo-Alamata route. The ongoing preparations will also include technical assessments and some of the groundwork needed to restore services to the conflict-affected areas.
XINHUA
4 (Mexico City, Oct 19, 2022 (AFP) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday discussed migration, drug trafficking and economic development with his US counterpart Joe Biden, officials said, amid a simmering trade dispute between the neighbors.
Biden confirmed he would attend the so-called ‘Three Amigos’ summit in Mexico with Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Mexican leader said.
A date has yet to be announced for the three-way talks, which are expected to be held sometime in December.
‘We had a cordial conversation with President Joe Biden on migration, security and development cooperation,’ Lopez Obrador tweeted after the phone call.
‘He confirmed to me that he will visit Mexico to participate in the North American Summit,’ he added.
AFP
5 (LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — California’s wildfire carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions in 2020 were approximately two times higher than California’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions since 2003 to 2019, a latest study showed.
The study, titled ‘Up in smoke: California’s greenhouse gas reductions could be wiped out by 2020 wildfires,’ was published in this month’s edition of the journal Environmental Pollution.
The historic megafires of 2020 released an estimated 127 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air. That compares to the 65 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions California was able to reduce between 2003 and 2019, according to the study.
California experienced its most disastrous wildfire year on record in 2020. CalFire, the state agency responsible for leading California’s wildfire prevention and suppression, reported that over 17,000 square kilometers got burned in 2020.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
