Briefly

MEXICO

Govt rejects proposals on steel, aluminum

Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Sunday his country would not accept a US proposal for steel and aluminum production under a proposed trade deal. During a meeting with senators to discuss details of negotiations for the United States-Mexico-Canada treaty, Ebrard said the US proposed that 70 percent of steel for automobile production come from the North American region. The proposal would put Mexico "at a very great disadvantage", said Ebrard, because cars produced in Mexico also use components made in Brazil, Japan and Germany. The new treaty is to replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

INDIA

Firemen hailed as heroes in horror blaze

Two firefighters who rescued 27 people were hailed as heroes on Monday after Delhi's deadliest fire in decades killed 43. The blaze early on Sunday ripped through a four-story building housing small factory units in the congested lanes of the Old Delhi district while migrant workers inside were asleep. Firefighter Rajesh Shukla, who carried out 11 people and was injured in the dangerous and difficult operation in the area's narrow lanes, said he was shocked so many people were inside. Ashish Malik, who managed to carry out 16 people from the blazing building, said firefighters "had to take huge risks" carrying people down the only staircase on a rickety floor.

AUSTRALIA

Thousands of koalas feared dead in bushfires

More than 2,000 koalas are feared to be dead as the result of an ongoing bushfire in the Australian state of New South Wales, according to a government hearing on Monday. In an unprecedented start to the country's bushfire season, more than 2 million hectares of forest have already been scorched. Mark Graham, an ecologist from the Australian Nature Conservation Council, told an inquiry into koala conservation that it is impossible to know the exact number of lost wildlife due to the widespread carnage, but its impact on koalas is likely to be substantial and long-lasting.