LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Wildfires that tore through California’s forests this year killed thousands of giant sequoia trees, officials say in the first full-scale assessment of the toll on the rare species. Two huge lightning-sparked blazes affected up to 3,600 of the trees, each of them more than four feet (120 centimeters) in diameter, leaving them dead or expected to die within the next five years. The figure represents five percent of the planet’s entire reserve of the trees -- the largest species by volume in the world -- and comes after up to 14 percent of them were wiped out by fires a year earlier. “These fire impacts represent a significant threat to large sequoia persistence,” a statement from the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks said. California and other parts of the western United States were ravaged by huge, hot and fast-moving wildfires this year, driven by years of drought and a warming climate. Scientists say human activity, including the unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is a major contributor to this planetary heating.

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BERLIN (Daily Mail) – Germany has turned into “the established hub for criminal trafficking gangs” in Europe, who purportedly plot migrant Channel crossings to Britain, the Daily Mail cited an unnamed UK government source as saying. The insider described Germany as a key location in the trafficking gangs’ supply chains aimed at providing illegal migrants with small boats, life jackets, and other equipment. The claims came as other Downing Street sources told the Daily Mail that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is frustrated over the ever-increasing surge in Channel crossings and that he ordered a Whitehall review into the issue. The sources asserted that Johnson perceives the resolution of migration-related problems as one of his biggest priorities and that he is concerned that “after two years there are still no viable solutions”. “Boris is exasperated. He’s told ministers to redouble efforts to fix this, no matter how difficult it is. If it looks bad now, it’s going to look much worse in spring when it’s warmer,” the insiders claimed.

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NAIROBI (Arab News) – Somalia’s “rapidly worsening” drought has left more than two million people facing severe food and water shortages, the United Nations says, warning of a fourth consecutive season of poor rainfall in the conflict-wracked country. “About 2.3 million people in 57 of 74 districts... are ravaged by serious water, food and pasture shortages as water pans and boreholes have dried up,” raising the risk of water-borne diseases, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. The Horn of Africa was “on the verge of a fourth consecutive failed rainfall season,” it added in a statement. The dire situation has already forced nearly 100,000 people to flee their homes in search of food, water and pasture for their livestock, the UN agency said.

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HYDERABAD, India (AP) – At least 17 people have died and dozens are reported missing in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after days of heavy rains, authorities said Saturday. The state has been hit by intense torrents since Thursday, sparking massive floods in at least five districts. The death toll rose to 17 late Friday night after three people were killed when a building collapsed, police said. Ten people trapped under the debris were rescued but two are still missing. Earlier on Friday, at least a dozen people died as heavy floods washed away the bus they were on. Search and rescue efforts for missing passengers continued on Saturday. Deaths from various districts have been reported over the past few days, with officials warning that the numbers could rise as rescue operations carry on. Teams of the National Disaster Relief Force have been deployed to worst-hit and vulnerable districts, and local authorities have rescued and evacuated hundreds of families to shelter homes.

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TBILISI (REUTERS) – Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has agreed to end a 50-day hunger strike once authorities transferred him to a military hospital, his lawyers said. Lawyer Dito Sadzaglishvili told Reuters the former leader would be moved from a prison hospital in the capital Tbilisi to the military hospital in the town of Gori on Friday night. The transfer, proposed by Georgia’s Justice Ministry earlier in the day, appeared to mark a breakthrough in a long stand-off that had prompted the United States and others to raise concerns for his health. The 53-year-old was arrested on Oct. 1 after returning from exile to rally the opposition on the eve of local elections. He faces six years in prison after being convicted in absentia in 2018 of abusing his office during his 2004-2013 presidency, charges he rejects as politically motivated.

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PARIS (RT) – France imposed a curfew on its overseas territory of Guadeloupe and is sending extra police to the island, citing days of “violence”, unrest and vandalism in response to harsh pandemic restrictions. “Given the ongoing social unrest and acts of vandalism, the prefect of Guadeloupe has decided to establish a curfew starting today from 6 pm to 5 am,” Alexandre Rochatte, who represents the archipelago as prefect, said on Friday, RT reported. The French Interior Ministry noted that 200 French police officers and gendarmes would be shipped into Guadeloupe in the coming days to crack down on the “violence” and “restore republican order”. The move comes after nearly a week of heated protests over local COVID-19 policies – which include mandatory vaccinations for healthcare staff and other ‘essential’ workers, among other things.