International
‘Incinerated’: Before and after California’s monster wildfire
AFP
Before one of California’s worst-ever wildfires hit Greenville, the sky turned dark red like a warning. After the flames tore through the tiny town, all that remained was charred walls, ash and smoke.
The horrific consequence of the Dixie Fire was captured by AFP in a series of before and after photos from the monster blaze that has consumed hundreds of structures and forced thousands to flee.
“I watched in shock as a post office, fire station, bank, museum and countless other businesses were incinerated and reduced to smoldering piles of rubble,” wrote AFP photographer Josh Edelson. “Dead animals lay on roadsides.”
He watched “firefighters make futile attempts to stop 350-foot (105-metre) high flames towering over them – saving a few homes and losing most.”
Edelson, who has extensive experience covering wildfires, was at one point forced to drive through a “corridor of flames” roaring on either side of the road.
“I went into emergency mode and immediately started making mental notes of where my fire shelter was,” he wrote after making it to safety.
As of Sunday, the fire had destroyed 489,287 acres (198,007 hectares), authorities said. It was then covering an area larger than Los Angeles.
Over the weekend, it surpassed the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire to make it the second-worst fire in state history.
Governor Gavin Newsom visited the charred remains of Greenville on Saturday, expressing his “deep gratitude” to the teams fighting what he termed “climate-induced wildfires.”
Climate change amplifies droughts, creating ideal conditions for wildfires to spread out of control and inflict unprecedented material and environmental damage.
Authorities estimate the fire, which began July 13, will not be fully extinguished for weeks.
Tami Kugler, sitting beside her tent at an evacuation station after fleeing Greenville, told AFP: “It was like driving out of a war zone that you see in a movie.”
“My neighborhood is gone — I mean gone, gone,” she added.
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
International
Venezuela authorizes return flights as U.S. continues deportations amid rising tensions
The arrival of U.S. aircraft carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued regularly despite rising tensions between Washington and Caracas over President Donald Trump’s military deployment in the Caribbean.
Trump maintains that the deployment is part of an anti-narcotics operation, while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro insists the true objective is to remove him from power and seize the nation’s oil resources.
Venezuela’s aviation authority has “received a request from the United States government to resume repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants from that country to Venezuela,” the Ministry of Transportation said in a statement .
“Under the instructions of President Nicolás Maduro, authorization has been granted for these aircraft to enter our airspace,” it added.
Caracas will permit two Eastern Airlines flights to land on Wednesday and Friday.
Migration remains one of the Trump administration’s flagship issues. On Monday, the U.S. president held a meeting with his National Security Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela, a day after confirming he had spoken with Maduro by phone, without offering further details.
According to the Venezuelan government, roughly 75 deportation flights have been carried out this year, returning at least 13,956 Venezuelans from the United States.
International
20,000 rounds stolen from german army after driver leaves cargo unattended
The German army confirmed the theft of a shipment of ammunition that occurred a week ago while it was being transported by a civilian delivery driver, a military spokesperson told AFP, confirming earlier media reports.
According to Der Spiegel and the regional broadcaster MDR, around 20,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen from an unguarded parking lot near Magdeburg, in eastern Germany, while the driver was asleep in a nearby hotel. No information has been released regarding the identity of the suspects, and the military declined to specify the exact type or amount of ammunition taken.
Authorities have also not indicated how the perpetrators knew the cargo would be left unattended.
“The theft was discovered upon delivery at the barracks,” the German army spokesperson said.
A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that an investigation has been opened but refused to provide further details “for tactical reasons.”
Sources close to the German military, cited by Der Spiegel, believe it is unlikely the theft was a coincidence. They suspect the thieves waited for the driver to stop for the night before striking.
Der Spiegel also reported that the Defense Ministry normally requires two drivers for this type of transport to ensure the cargo is constantly monitored. However, in this case only one driver was assigned, meaning the civilian transport company failed to comply with the security protocols.
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Venezuela authorizes return flights as U.S. continues deportations amid rising tensions
20,000 rounds stolen from german army after driver leaves cargo unattended
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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