AFRICA: In Mali, Al-Qaeda released a proof-of-life video of six foreign hostages, including elderly Australian surgeon Arthur Kenneth Elliott and Frenchwoman Sophie Petronin.
AMERICAS: A huge power outage hit Central America, causing blackouts from Panama to Costa Rica to Nicaragua.
AFRICA: In Morocco, several thousand people took to the streets to demand the release of Nasser Zefzafi, the leader of months of protests in the neglected northern Rif region.
AMERICAS: Mexico’s top diplomat Luis Videgaray said Venezuela is no longer a functioning democracy.