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World NeWs Diasabra 9 Juli 2022

900 firefighters battle massive fire in southeast France

(AP) — Hundred of fire- efforts to contain the blaze the fire “for several days.”
fighters backed by water- in the Gard region but its fire
dropping planes battled a service said prospects were The fire threaten the
large forest fire Friday in “more favorable” Friday. Cévennes, a mountainous
southeastern France that Other smaller fires have been region partially protected as
has forced the evacuation extinguished. a UNESCO World Heritage
of nearby villages. The service said 880 hectares site that crosses a large sec-
(2,100 acres) have burned tion of southeast France.
Thirteen firefighters have so far in two different sites.
been injured in Bordezac More than 900 firefighters The regional administra-
— the village where the fire and two planes fought the tion or prefecture on Friday
started. Overall, 18 firefight- flames in the region. banned people from enter-
ers have been injured amid ing several forests in the area neighboring areas on red er countries in Europe this
several forest fires that have Near the Bordezac fire, vil- until Monday, “to reduce the alert Friday for fire risks and summer, from Greece to Por-
burned for days in the region, lages were evacuated and risk of new fires starting” France’s Environment Min- tugal. Scientists say climate
according to France Info. roads closed. Laurent Joseph, while firefighters work to ex- istry warned citizens in the change brings more drought
a top official in the neighbor- tinguish those still ablaze. area to pay careful attention and higher temperatures that
Unfavorable weather — ing Bouches-du-Rhone re- to fire risks. make it easy for fires to start
drought, heat and strong gion, told BFM TV that au- France’s national meteoro- and spread.
winds — are complicating thorities expect to deal with logical service put several Wildfires have also hit oth-

EU, Morocco renew migration deal after Spanish border deaths

(AP) — The European At the time, Moroccan au- Videos showing count-
Commission vowed Friday thorities said the migrants less Black men lying on the
to step up its work with had died as a result of a stam- ground that day, some mo-
Morocco to fight human pede. But several human tionless and bleeding as Mo-
smugglers who are using rights organizations have roccan officers stood over
“new, extremely violent called for an independent them, sparked public outrage
methods” — a move that investigation into the deaths and condemnation from the
comes two weeks after 23 and condemned authorities United Nations chief. Oth-
people died at the border on both sides of the border er images showed groups of
between Morocco and the for excessive use of force. men climbing a fence while
Spanish enclave of Mel- hurling rocks at Moroccan
illa. Morocco’s Human Rights anti-riot police and then col-
Association says 27 migrants lapsing on the ground.
EU Commissioner for Home died, four more than Morro- “We profoundly lament the
Affairs Ylva Johansson and vilians were injured. European Commission said can authorities have reported. death of those migrants,”
Spanish Interior Minister it would enhance police co- Many of the victims were Grande-Marlaska said Friday
Fernando Grande-Marlaska “We have discussed how we operation with Morocco, in- believed to be Sudanese, it while calling the events “a vi-
met with Morocco’s Interior can further cooperate on cluding with joint investiga- tweeted. olent assault on our borders.”
Minister Abdelouafi Laftit in fighting the smugglers, pre- tions. “The Commissioner and the
Rabat to discuss the events venting such violent and dan- two ministers welcomed the Both Grande-Marlaska and
of June 24, when hundreds gerous situation as we saw Mustafa Baitas, a spokes- fact-finding commission set Johansson praised Morocco
of sub-Saharan migrants and two weeks ago,” Johansson man for the Moroccan gov- up by the Moroccan National for its work, which accord-
asylum-seekers attempted to said in a video message after ernment, said Thursday the Human Rights Council,” the ing to the European Com-
storm through a border post the meeting. events at the Nador-Mellila EU Commission statement mission has prevented 26,000
and scale a border fence into border were “planned and said. Spanish prosecutors also irregular departures and dis-
Melilla. In addition to the There were no further de- orchestrated” in a way that announced last week they mantled around 100 criminal
deaths, some 200 Moroccan tails on what exactly the new, was not typical of other at- had launched an investiga- trafficking networks.
and Spanish law enforcement violent methods being used tempts to storm the border tion into June 24.
officers and more than 70 ci- by smugglers were but the into Spain.

Russia sticks US, UK embassies with ‘unrecognized’ addresses

(AP) – Moscow has taken addresses if they want to re- the Soviet nuclear physicist
a page out of Washing- ceive their mail. and leading human rights ac-
ton’s playbook to troll tivist and dissident.
both the U.S. and the U.K. A sign went up Friday re-
by renaming the streets in naming the street in front Since 2018, the section of
front of their embassies in of the British Embassy the Wisconsin Avenue in front of
the Russian capital. Luhansk People’s Republic the new Russian Embassy has
Square. The U.S. Embassy been symbolically called Bo-
The streets are now officially in Moscow since last month ris Nemtsov Plaza. Nemtsov,
named for the two separatist has been located on Donetsk an opposition leader who
regions of eastern Ukraine People’s Republic Square. led anti-Putin protests and
where fighting is now the worked to expose official cor-
fiercest. Russian President The U.S., however, has ruption, was shot dead near
Vladimir Putin recognized played this game far longer. the Kremlin in 2015.
their independence in Feb- In the 1980s, the section of The Russian Embassy in
ruary just before sending 16th St. outside the Soviet London, for now at least, has
in troops to “liberate” them The U.S. and Britain have publics,” but Moscow of- Embassy in Washington was kept its more genteel address
from Ukraine. not recognized the Donetsk ficials said they will at least symbolically renamed Andrei at Kensington Palace Gar-
and Luhansk “people’s re- have to recognize the new Sakharov Plaza, in honor of dens.