A favela goes up in flames in Rio, Morocco's most dangerous road, and more

Story 1: Brazil

Our first observer today is an IT maintenance technician, who lives in a slum in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A very flammable slum. José Cicero de Lima was at his home in the Sonia Ribeiro favela when a fire broke out in the neighborhood. It ended up destroying two-thirds of the favela. No one was killed but more than 1000 people were left without homes. It was the fifth such fire in the last 10 years.

Story 2: Morocco

Next up, a bus crash in Morocco that killed 42 people. It happened in the mountains southeast of Marrakesh, on the notorious Tizi n'Tichka road. The bus came off the road at night, and plunged down a ravine. While the exact cause still hasn't been determined, our observer Omar El Hyani, who is an engineer, says the authorities have known for years about the dangers, and should have done something about it.

Story 3: World

Now for our weekly roundup of the best images and stories sent in by our Observers.

First stop, Sidi Bouzid, the city that launched the Tunisian revolution. The country is now run by a democratically elected government of moderate Islamists. But extreme Islamists, known as Salafists, are flexing their muscles around the country. In this case, they are smashing bottles as part of an anti-alcohol campaign. It happened in the hotel run by our Observer Jamil Horchani. He says the authorities did nothing to protect him, and he's thinking of hiring a private security force like in Iraq.

Now a back-to-school story from northern Mali in west Africa, which has been taken over by radical armed Islamists. They've been destroying historic sites, amputating limbs, and terrorizing the population. Our observer Amadou says it's critical to keep the school system going. Children need to catch up on their studies, but also the schools are the only vestige of central government in the north. They've made one concession to the Islamists: girls and boys are now separated in the classrooms.