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Outrage In Los Angeles As Residents Demand Reason For Wildfires

Published

11 months ago

January 12, 2025

Californians on Friday demanded to know who is at fault for the vast devastation caused by the raging Los Angeles wildfires, as a strict curfew went into force to prevent looting and lawlessness.

At least 11 people died as flames ripped through neighbourhoods and razed thousands of homes in a disaster that US President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene.”

While Angelenos grapple with the heart-rending ruin, anger has risen over officials’ preparedness and response, particularly for a series of false evacuation alarms and after hydrants ran dry as firefighters battled the initial blazes.

Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered a “full independent review” of the city’s utilities, describing the lack of water supplies during the initial fires as “deeply troubling.”

“We need answers to how that happened,” he wrote in an open letter.

Residents like Nicole Perri, whose home in the upscale Pacific Palisades burnt down, told AFP that officials “completely let us down.”

“They let us, the ordinary people, burn,” added Nicholas Norman, across the city in Altadena.

A flare-up late Friday prompted new mandatory evacuations from ritzy neighbourhoods along the fire’s eastern flank, which include the famous Getty Center.

Built at a cost of $1 billion and constructed partly of fire-resistant travertine stone, the acclaimed museum boasts 125,000 artworks.

Meanwhile, as fears of looting grew, a sunset-to-sunrise curfew took effect in evacuated areas.

Around two dozen arrests have already been made across Los Angeles, where some residents have organized street patrols and kept armed watch over their own houses.

“If we see you in these areas, you will be subject to arrest,” Los Angeles Police Department chief Jim McDonnell said.

Violators face up to six months in prison or $1,000 fines, he said.

The National Guard has been deployed to bolster law enforcement.

Five separate fires have so far burned more than 37,000 acres (15,000 hectares), destroying around 10,000 buildings, California’s fire agency reported.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed an additional fatality on Friday, bringing the overall death toll so far to 11.

“It reminded me of more of a war scene, where you had certain targets that were bombarded,” said Biden, as he received a briefing on the fires at the White House.

Winds calmed Friday, providing a much-needed if fleeting window of opportunity for firefighters battling blazes around the clock for a fourth consecutive day.

At the biggest of the blazes, in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, firefighters said they were starting to get the fire under control, with eight per cent of its perimeter contained.

“Braveheart” actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was “devastating.”

Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire in the Altadena area was three per cent contained, with fire chief Jason Schillinger reporting “significant progress” in quelling the blaze.

A third fire that exploded Thursday afternoon near the wealthy Hidden Hills enclave, home to celebrities like Kim Kardashian, was 50 per cent surrounded.

But emergency chiefs warned the situation is “still very dangerous” and reprieve from the intense gusts that spread embers will not last.

“The winds have died down today, but… are going to increase again in the coming days,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Authorities have said it was too early to know the cause of the blazes.

Biden took a veiled swipe at incoming president Donald Trump, who has spread misinformation over the flames that has then been amplified on social media.

“You’re going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage of it,” Biden said of the fires.

Governor Newsom, who has been blamed for the disaster by the president-elect, invited Trump to visit Los Angeles and survey the devastation with him.

“In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines,” said Newsom.

Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes.

Two wet years in southern California have given way to a very dry one, leaving ample fuel on the ground primed to burn.

Emergency managers apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts were erroneously sent to millions of mobile phones, sparking panic.

“I can’t express enough how sorry I am,” said Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.

Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley blamed recent funding cuts, telling Fox News affiliate KTTV her department was chronically “understaffed” and “under-resourced.”

AFP

Headline

Canada Flags Nigeria, 16 African Countries As High-risk In New Travel Advisory

Published

2 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

The Government of Canada has issued a new advisory urging citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Nigeria, including the capital city, Abuja, citing an increasingly unpredictable security environment marked by terrorism, crime, armed attacks, and kidnappings.

The Canadian government dropped one of its biggest travel‑risk updates in years, warning citizens to steer clear of 17 African countries because of spiraling insecurity, political turmoil and extremist violence.

Canadian officials point to a perfect storm of threats: expanding extremist networks in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, a wave of military coups, communal clashes, mass protests, cross‑border crime, and fragile governance that leaves many states barely holding together.

On the ‘Avoid All Travel’ hot spots destinations are: South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia and Sudan while the ‘Avoid Non‑Essential Travel’ list includes Madagascar, Ethiopia, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Mauritania, Nigeria and Tanzania.

The advisory, released yesterday, highlights that while the entire country faces elevated risks, certain regions are considered so dangerous that Canadians are urged to avoid all travel.

The only exceptions to the broader warning are the cities of Lagos and Calabar, where travellers are advised to exercise a high degree of caution rather than avoid travel altogether.

According to the travel advice, wide swaths of northern and central Nigeria are experiencing sustained instability driven by extremist violence, banditry, and inter-communal clashes.

The government specifically names the northwestern states of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara; the northcentral states of Plateau, Niger and Kogi; and much of the northeast, including Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Taraba and Yobe.

According to the travel advice, the Niger Delta region also remains volatile. Canada advises avoiding all travel to Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states, though it stops short of a blanket ban on Port Harcourt itself, recommending instead that travellers avoid non-essential trips there.

Canada’s updated advisory places Nigeria among the most high-risk destinations for Canadians worldwide. The government urges anyone currently in the country to remain vigilant, limit movement, and monitor local media for developing threats.

Headline

Condom Distribution Dalls 55% In Nigeria

Published

3 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

The agency launched its 2025 World AIDS Day report, Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response, on Tuesday, warning that the global HIV response is experiencing its most significant setback in decades.

In its report, UNAIDS highlighted widespread disruption to HIV prevention, testing, and community-led programmes.

The agency noted that across 13 countries, the number of people newly initiated on treatment has also declined.

“Nigeria recorded a 55 per cent drop in condom distribution,” the report stated. The agency also drew attention to the effect on women in sub-Saharan Africa, noting that approximately 450,000 women have lost access to “mother mentors,” community workers who support their connection to care.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, said the decline is linked to abrupt funding cuts and a worsening human rights environment.

Speaking from Geneva, she said, “The funding crisis has exposed the fragility of the progress we fought so hard to achieve. Behind every data point in this report are people. Babies missed for HIV screening, young women cut off from prevention support, and communities suddenly left without services and care. We cannot abandon them.”

UNAIDS stressed the particular vulnerability of adolescent girls and young women, who were already severely affected prior to the crisis, with an estimated 570 new HIV infections occurring daily among females aged 15 to 24.

“This is our moment to choose,” Byanyima said. “We can allow these shocks to undo decades of hard-won gains, or we can unite behind the shared vision of ending AIDS. Millions of lives depend on the choices we make today.”

The report indicated that dismantled prevention programmes have increased risk for young women and that community-led organisations, essential to HIV outreach, are under severe pressure.

More than 60 per cent of women-led organisations reported having to suspend essential services. UNAIDS modelling suggests that continued disruption could result in an additional 3.3 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2030.

The agency warned that international assistance has declined sharply, with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development projections indicating external health funding may drop by 30 to 40 per cent in 2025 compared with 2023.

“The impact has been immediate and severe, especially in low- and middle-income countries highly affected by HIV,” the report noted.

UNAIDS urged world leaders to maintain and increase HIV funding, particularly for countries reliant on external support, while investing in innovations such as affordable long-acting prevention.

The agency noted the importance of upholding human rights and empowering communities as central to an effective response to HIV.

Headline

UK Rejects Nigeria’s Request To Transfer Ekweremadu

Published

2 days ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

The United Kingdom has rejected a request from the Nigerian government to transfer former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to Nigeria to complete his prison sentence.

Ekweremadu is serving time in a UK facility after he was found guilty in 2023 of plotting to harvest the kidney of a young man.

He received a jail term of nine years and eight months following the conviction, which stemmed from a high-profile organ-trafficking case that drew international attention.

With the latest decision, Ekweremadu will remain in the UK to serve out the remainder of his sentence.