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⏳ Wednesday Fix: State of Emergency

⏳ Wednesday Fix: State of Emergency

Morning all,

Departures from Glasgow, a state of emergency in Ethiopia, a remarkable upset for Democrats, and a rare happy ending in Western Australia.

Until tomorrow,

Your Fixers


GOOD LISTENER?

Here's a podcast version of today's newsletter.


CLIMATE COVERAGE

Biden and other world leaders have left Glasgow with two deals but few details. Below is our Instagram explainer of the deals unveiled on Tuesday - ending deforestation by 2030, and reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030.

Meanwhile, the top story in The Irish Times this morning is about how despite the taoiseach (a prime minister's counterpart) signing the methane pledge, the Irish government's climate action plan will not outline that target. It is expected to be published on Thursday.

"The plan is understood to include methane reductions of about 10 per cent but with larger reductions in other greenhouse gases to meet Ireland’s target of a 50 per cent reduction by 2030." - The Irish Times

BAD NEWS FOR BIDEN

A Republican has won a tightly fought race for Governor of Virginia, in what has been described as a "major victory". The New York Times described it as a "remarkable upset" for Democrats.

Glenn Youngkin beat a former Democrat governor of the state, Terry McAuliffe.

What is so significant about this? The Republican victory represents the challenges Democrats will face next year in midterm elections, where they try to maintain their majority in the House and Senate. It's the first time since 2009 that a Republican has won "statewide office" in Virginia. In the presidential election last year, Biden won the state "by double digits".


PIN DROP- WHAT'S GOING ON IN ETHIOPIA?

Ethiopia has declared a nationwide state of emergency.

Why? Because Tigrayan forces have taken control of two strategic towns that have a main route to the country's capital, Addis Ababa, and could advance further south.

What is the background here? The Tigray region in northern Ethiopia borders Eritrea. For nearly three decades, the TPLF from that region played a pivotal role in the running of the country. In 2018, Abiy Ahmed came to power and brought a wave of change to the country - including winning the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with neighbouring Eritrea.

Anyway, the TPLF expected Abiy Ahmed would keep them in a position of influence and saw him as a trusted pair of hands - though he is ethnically Oromo and not from the Tigray region. It wasn't long before relations deteriorated.

This month marks a year since the conflict between the TPLF and Abiy Ahmed's government really escalated. Ahmed sent troops into the Tigray region in what he said was a response to TPLF attacks on an army base. The TPLF denied this, saying the Ethiopian government - with support from Eritrea to the north - launched a "coordinated attack" on them.

Over the past year, there have been multiple harrowing reports on the situation on the ground, including clear signs of famine, rape, and executions. CNN say around 2.5 million people in the north of the country have had to leave their homes. The Ethiopian government has also been accused of imposing communication blackouts and blocking food aid to the Tigray region, something it denies.

Here is a very helpful article if you would like to read more about this important story. Also, journalists I would highly recommend following on Twitter for this story are Declan Walsh and Katie Polglase.

Source: Al Jazeera map 

HOPEFUL HEADLINES

Source:: WA Police

A four-year-old girl who was missing in Australia for more than two weeks has been found alive.

Cleo Smith went missing at a campsite while sleeping in the second room of a tent. Her mother woke up on October 16 to find Cleo missing and the door of the tent open.

She was found in the home of a 36-year-old man, who has now been arrested and is not believed to have any connection to Smith's family.

According to a BBC News report, the man's neighbours noticed he had recently been spotted buying nappies.

Below is police footage of the moment Cleo was rescued.


MOST READ


TODAY MARKS...

One whole year since Americans took to the polls in the 2020 presidential race. As I'm sure you'll remember, the election started off extremely close before mail in ballots were counted.

Despite votes being cast on Tuesday, it took until Saturday for US networks to call the election in Biden's favour - something Trump disputes to this day.


ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

This is not a joke...r.