Wildfires tearing through northern Algeria have now killed at least 65 people, including 28 soldiers deployed to help the firefighters.

The blazes in the mountainous Kabylie region are some of the worst in the country’s history. Officials have blamed arson for many of them.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has declared three days of national mourning for the victims.

A total of 69 fires were burning on Wednesday, amid a heatwave sweeping across North Africa. The flames have been fanned by strong winds and tinder-dry conditions.

In the worst-affected district of Tizi Ouzou, residents have fled and many homes have been destroyed. Many of the victims live in remote villages.

Several people have been arrested on suspicion of starting fires, but officials gave no details.

A new BBC investigation has revealed the scale of operations by a shadowy Russian mercenary group in Libya’s civil war, which includes links to war crimes and the Russian military.

A Samsung tablet left by a fighter for the Wagner group exposes its key role – as well as traceable fighter codenames.

And the BBC has a “shopping list” for state-of-the-art military equipment which expert witnesses say could only have come from Russian army supplies.

Russia denies any links to Wagner.

The group was first identified in 2014 when it was backing pro-Russian separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Since then, it has been involved in regions including Syria, Mozambique, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

Wagner’s fighters appeared in Libya in April 2019 when they joined the forces of a rebel general, Khalifa Haftar, after he launched an attack on the UN-backed government in the capital, Tripoli. The conflict ended in a ceasefire in October 2020.

The Ethiopian military and its allies are responsible for widespread sexual violence against women in Tigray, using rape as a strategy of war, Amnesty International says.

The scale of violations during the nine-month conflict in the north of the country amounts to war crimes, the human rights group says.

One woman reported being gang-raped in front of her children.

Ethiopian officials have not responded to the allegations.

Amnesty says “overwhelming evidence” shows sexual violence has been rampant since the very first days of the conflict.

It began last November when the region’s Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) party stormed a military base after falling out with the prime minister over his political reforms.

Zambia is expected to hold tightly contested presidential and parliamentary elections on Thursday, with many voters – especially the youth – worried about the economic turmoil that has hit the copper-rich nation.

The governing Patriotic Front (PF) swept to power in 2011 on the promise of “less taxes, more money in people’s pockets and more jobs”. It says it has remained true to its pro-poor policies.

“A lot of work has gone into stopping the bleeding of the economy and we are now on the path to recovery,” PF campaign spokesman Amos Chanda said.

But the main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) says that President Edgar Lungu – who is running for office again – has not met the expectations of Zambians.

The view is supported by University of Zambia political science lecturer Charity Musamba.

The PF says that during its 10 years in office it has improved the lives of people through its huge drive to expand infrastructure.

It highlights new power stations, schools, hospitals and international airports in Lusaka, the capital, and Ndola, the gateway to the copper-mining region that lies at the heart of Zambia’s economy.