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☆ In southern Ethiopia, drought kills livestock amid fears of what comes next
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Roba Galgalo, 26, walks next to his emaciated cows at Kura Kalicha camp for the people internally displaced by drought near Das town, Oromiya region, Ethiopia March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Tiksa NegeriKURA KALICHA, Ethiopia, April 6 (Reuters) - After three years of failed rains, the animals in the southern Ethiopian village of Kura Kalicha are dying. Like its neighbours Somalia and Kenya, southern Ethiopia is enduring the Horn of Africa's worst drought in decades. “Collectively, as communities they have run out of coping mechanisms,” said Kate Maldonado from international aid agency Mercy Corps, who recently visited southern Ethiopia's Somali region. The population across much of southern Ethiopia's lowlands relies overwhelmingly on its livestock, with diets supplemented by basic crops like maize.

☆ China's growing influence threatens to undermine global human rights, new research finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Campaigners stand opposite the Chinese embassy in London to protest human rights violations by the Chinese government against its Uyghur community. Mark Kerrison | In Pictures | Getty ImagesChina's growing global influence poses a serious threat to international human rights, according to a new report, which suggests that the United Nations Human Rights Council — the body established to safeguard such international protections — is failing to counter the risks. Beijing's increasingly active role in the international human rights system comes at a precarious period of global democratic deterioration. Sofia Nazalya senior human rights analyst at Verisk MaplecroftThe research, part of the firm's wider annual Human Rights Outlook, is based on quantitative data from sources including the U.N., the U.S. State Department and Human Rights Watch, as well as Verisk Maplecroft's internal qualitative analysis. More than half of members also ranked similarly poorly across the three other metrics the research deemed essential for upholding humanitarian protections: labor rights, human security and human development.

☆ Matt Gaetz's legislative aide is a convicted war criminal who murdered an Afghan civilian and dumped his body in a latrine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sonam Sheth | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A legislative aide who works for GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz is a convicted war criminal, The Intercept reported. The aide, Derrick Miller, spent eight years in prison after murdering an Afghan civilian, the report said. Gaetz's office defended its decision to hire Miller, saying he was "wrongfully convicted." According to The Intercept, Miller shot Mohammed in September 2010. The Florida congressman also repeatedly criticized the war in Afghanistan before President Joe Biden withdrew US troops in 2021.

☆ Another SEAL parachuting death highlights the inherent danger of US special operators' go-to infiltration method
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Deadly accidentsNaval Special Warfare operators perform a free-fall jump in Alaska in September. The incident, which likely happened during as part of a pre-deployment workup, is still under investigation, according to Naval Special Warfare Command. Despite that danger, however, free-fall parachuting is also extremely valuable as an insertion method for special-operations units. The Navy SEAL community — especially the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, formerly known as SEAL Team 6 — is well-versed in free-fall operations. Most US special-operations units have recognized the value of free-fall parachuting and have incorporated it into their training.

☆ Factbox: Legal hurdles faced by LGBT+ people in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Africa accounts for nearly half of the countries worldwide where homosexuality is outlawed, according to the review, which was last updated in December 2020. - Life imprisonment is the maximum penalty for same-sex relations in Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, while jail terms of up to 14 years are possible in Gambia, Kenya and Malawi. - Broad protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation exists in three countries: Angola, Mauritius and South Africa. - South Africa is the only African country where gay marriage is legal and where the constitution protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, South Africa has high rates of rape and homophobic crime.

☆ Somalia Drought Killed 43,000 People Last Year, Study Finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Gabriele Steinhauser | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

In Somalia, nearly half of the 17-million-strong population depend on humanitarian aid. An estimated 43,000 Somalis—around half of them children under the age of 5—died from the effects of a devastating regional drought last year and thousands more are expected to die in the first half of 2023, according to a study published Monday by Somalia’s health ministry, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund. The Horn of Africa region has experienced five consecutive below-average rainy seasons since 2020, leaving some 22 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia without sufficient food and water to meet their daily needs, according to the World Food Programme. No country has been hit harder than Somalia, where the drought has coincided with a government campaign against al Qaeda-linked militants and nearly half of the 17-million-strong population depend on humanitarian aid.

☆ Water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The latest is research published last Thursday by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water. The sum, though, is just $140 million, and the U.S. government’s International Development Finance Corporation is pouring in three-quarter of the proceeds. But there is a decent investment case for water without state or supranational support. Without them, water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds. Follow @AntonyMCurrie on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe United Nations 2023 Water Conference starts on March 22, World Water Day, in New York.

☆ A top US general warns ISIS will be able to strike Western interests from Afghanistan within 6 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

ISIS could strike Western interests from Afghanistan within months, a top US general says. Gen. Michael Kurilla warned the terror group's Afghanistan affiliate could stage attacks abroad. Its "ultimate goal" is to strike the US homeland, Kurilla told lawmakers, which would be difficult. The terror group continued to carry out attacks across Afghanistan in 2022 — targeting everything from schools to mosques, and killing scores of people. In the latter two countries, US and partner forces have carried out nearly 100 operations against the terror group since the start of 2023, according to CENTCOM fact sheets.

☆ Mozambique records rise in cholera cases, Malawi sees decline - WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Eliza Tangwe, 18, takes a dose of oral cholera vaccine at a health centre in response to the latest cholera outbreak in Blantyre, Malawi, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Eldson Chagara/March 15 (Reuters) - Mozambique recorded an increase in the number of cholera cases in the last few weeks, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, even as many other African countries reported a decline. Mozambique's neighbor Malawi, which has been battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, was now seeing a sustained decline in cases and deaths, WHO official and epidemiologist Dr Otim Ramadan said. Overall, cholera cases and deaths in Africa have been declining over recent weeks. So far this year, more than 40,000 cases have been reported in Africa, with Malawi accounting for more than half and Mozambique recording about 15%, WHO reported.

☆ Factbox: Cyclone Freddy among Africa's deadliest storms
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 15 (Reuters) - Cyclone Freddy has killed more than 270 people in southern Africa since it first made landfall last month, making it one of the deadliest storms to hit the continent in the last two decades. Below are some of the deadliest storms recorded in Africa since 2000. CYCLONE FREDDY, 2023Cyclone Freddy has killed more than 270 people, mostly in Malawi but also in Mozambique and Madagascar. CYCLONE GALIFO, 2004Cyclone Galifo killed about 170 people when it struck Madagascar in 2004, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. SOMALIA CYCLONE, 2013A tropical cyclone that hit Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region in 2013 killed about 160 people, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

☆ Stop human traffickers, Pope Francis says after Italy's migrant shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, March 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday called on authorities to stop human traffickers operating in the Mediterranean, as he expressed his sorrow over last week's migrant boat disaster off Italy's Calabrian coast, in which dozens of people were killed. May traffickers of human beings be stopped," the pope said in his weekly address to crowds in St. Peter's Square. Three alleged traffickers were arrested this week and prosecutors began looking into the way emergency services responded to the disaster, after accusations that authorities were slow to react. "I pray for the many victims of the shipwreck, for their families and for those who survived," the pope said. The government was "continuing to deploy all necessary forces to combat human traffickers and stop deaths at sea," she said in a post on Facebook.

☆ Actor Tom Sizemore, known for tough-guy roles and scandal, dead at 61
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Actor Tom Sizemore, known as much for his struggles with drug addiction and run-ins with the law as for his tough-guy roles in such films as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Black Hawk Down," died on Friday at age 61, said his manager, Charles Lago. Sizemore's first major leading role came in the 1997 horror thriller "The Relic," again playing a police detective. On television, Sizemore won plaudits for his starring role as a police detective in the short-lived CBS television drama "Robbery Homicide Division." He was arrested again on suspicion of domestic abuse in 2016 and the following year pleaded no contest, the legal equivalent of guilty in California, and was sentenced to three year's probation. Sizemore chronicled his turbulent life in the 2013 memoir, "By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There."

☆ Former Pakistan woman hockey player killed in Italian shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 2 (Reuters) - Former Pakistan women's hockey player Shahida Raza was among at least 67 people killed on the weekend in a migrant shipwreck off the coast of Italy, officials in her home province said. Those on board were mostly from Afghanistan but also from Pakistan, Syria, the Palestinian Territories, Iran and Somalia, Italian authorities said. "Pakistani authorities have informed Raza's family that the Pakistani national team hockey player perished in the boating accident off the coast of Italy," Qadir Ali Nayel, a legislator from Balochistan province, told Reuters late on Wednesday. The chief minister of Balochistan expressed grief over Raza's death saying in a statement she had brought honour to the province and the country. Reporting by Gul Yousafzai in Quetta, Pakistan; Writing by Manasi Pathak; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ "I was unable to save them," mourns fisherman after Italian migrant shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Fisherman Vincenzo Luciano looks on in the aftermath of a deadly migrant shipwreck in Steccato di Cutro near Crotone, Italy, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Remo CasilliSTECCATO DI CUTRO, Italy, March 2 (Reuters) - It was a Sunday that Italian fisherman Vincenzo Luciano will never forget. Well before dawn he ran to the beach near his house and started pulling bodies from the sea, victims of a deadly migrant shipwreck that has so far claimed 67 lives. I saw 10 bodies all on top of each other," he told Reuters, adding that other would-be rescuers had also reached the scene quickly. Italian authorities say between 150-200 migrants were on board the wooden boat that, after setting sail from Turkey, broke apart off Steccato di Cutro in southern Italy.

CROTONE, Italy, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Rescuers pulled the body of a man out of the sea on Tuesday, raising the death toll from a migrant shipwreck near the southern Italian coast to at least 64, including about 14 children. Rescuers said most of the migrants came from Afghanistan, as well as from countries including Iran, Somalia and Syria. Pakistan's foreign ministry said 20 Pakistani citizens had been on the boat, and 16 of them had survived but four were missing. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an interview on Monday that she had written to European Union institutions calling for immediate action by the bloc to stop migrant boat trips so as to prevent more deaths. Reporting by Angelo Amante, Remo Casilli writing by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Keith Weir and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fleeing drought, Somalis face malnutrition and cholera in Kenya
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In a ward for severely malnourished children, Ismael said her baby's condition had not improved since arriving at Dadaab. Severe malnourishment had made the baby's head swell with liquid - a common effect of malnutrition in children. In the past two years, the drought has displaced one million Somalis and about 100,000 have fled to Kenya, according to the United Nations. In the past year, 32 children have died of malnutrition in the section of the camp run by the IRC, Ngao said. "This was the worst drought I have ever seen," he said.

☆ Three dead after African peacekeeping mission helicopter crashes in Somalia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOGADISHU, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Three people died and eight others were injured when a helicopter operated by the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia crashed on Saturday in the country's Lower Shabelle region, the mission said in a statement on Sunday. In the statement the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) said the helicopter, carrying eleven passengers including soldiers from Somalia military, was participating in training drills for casualty evacuation when the crash occurred. Eight injured officers have been evacuated to Mogadishu for urgent medical attention," ATMIS said in the statement. ATMIS is assisting Somalia's central government in its war against the Islamist al Shabaab insurgency. The al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab group has been fighting for more than a decade to topple Somalia's government and establish its own rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

☆ Migrant boat breaks apart off Italy; dozens are dead, 80 survive
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Rescuers recover a body after a migrant boat broke apart in rough seas, at a beach near Cutro, southern Italy, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. Rescue officials say an undetermined number of migrants have died and dozens have been rescued after their boat broke apart off southern Italy. The Italian Coast Guard said at least 80 people were found alive, "some of whom succeeded in reaching the shore after the shipwreck." One survivor was taken into custody for questioning after survivors indicated he was a trafficker, Rai state TV said. "It's an enormous tragedy," Crotone Mayor Vincenzo Voce told RAI state TV.

☆ Elon Musk accuses Ralph Nader of 'lying' over claims he took 'taxpayers to the cleaners' with Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk accused Ralph Nader of lying after claiming he took "taxpayers to the cleaners" with Tesla. Nader, 88, accused Musk of taking "taxpayers to the cleaners for his factories and for Starlink. Musk responded: "Ralph Nader, you are lying – shame on you! I personally provided almost all Tesla funding, based on my proceeds from PayPal." Musk added in his tweet to Nader that the "first meaningful government funding" Tesla received was in the second quarter of 2010.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the West formed what looked like an overwhelming global coalition: 141 countries supported a United Nations measure demanding that Russia unconditionally withdraw. South Korea Indonesia Israel Thailand Japan Saudi Arabia Philippines Afghanistan CambodiaBy contrast, Russia seemed isolated. Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus Syria Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus SyriaBut the West never won over as much of the world as it initially seemed. But like many other African countries, South Africa appears careful to balance its growing ties with Russia against maintaining a relationship with the West. Others that provided Ukraine with military support have declined to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

☆ India's sugar output could fall further as cane matures early
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lower sugar output could prevent the world's second-biggest exporter from allowing additional exports, potentially supporting global prices , , and helping rivals Brazil and Thailand to increase their shipments. Another global trade house has reduced output estimate to 32.4 million tonnes, anticipating a big drop in Maharashtra's production to around 11.3 million tonnes. Maharashtra's sugar cane commissioner was expecting the state to produce 12.8 million tonnes. "The cane crop is just 10 months old, but started flowering last month and losing weight," Avinash Thombare, a sugar cane grower from Satara district, said, as he showed the crop with white flowers. India has allowed sugar mills to export only 6.1 million tonnes of the sweetener in the current season, down from the record 11 million tonnes exported in the previous season.

☆ African countries are charged 'extortionate' rates on debt, U.N. chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We need a new debt architecture that provides debt relief and restructuring to vulnerable countries," he said. "The global financial system routinely denies (developing countries) debt relief and concessional financing while charging extortionate interest rates." Governments on the continent, including Ethiopia, sought debt restructuring deals under an IMF programme to help them navigate the crisis, but conclusion of the process has been delayed. Others, which have not sought to restructure their debt, like Kenya, have seen their debt sustainability indicators worsen after the pandemic hit their finances. "African countries cannot... climb the development ladder with one hand tied behind their backs," he said.

☆ Debt-laden African countries charged 'extortionate' rates, U.N. chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - African countries are getting a raw deal from the international financial system which charges them "extortionate" interest rates, the U.N. chief said on Saturday, as he announced $250 million in crisis funding, including for famine risk on the continent. "The global financial system routinely denies (developing countries) debt relief and concessional financing while charging extortionate interest rates," he said. The coronavirus pandemic pushed many poor countries into debt distress as they were expected to continue servicing their obligations in spite of the massive shock to their finances. Public debt ratios in sub-Saharan Africa are at their highest in more than two decades, the International Monetary Fund said last year. "African countries cannot... climb the development ladder with one hand tied behind their backs," Guterres said.

☆ A senior ISIS leader is dead, but the raid went sideways when an explosion injured several US troops and a dog
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces carried out a joint helicopter raid in Syria on Thursday. The target, a senior Islamic State leader named Hamza al-Homsi, was killed during the operation. Although the target, Hamza al-Homsi, was killed, the operation went sideways when an explosion wounded the four Americans and their working dog. Meanwhile, the US military and its partner forces continue to hunt down ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria. Local Syrian forces killed the Islamic State's leader, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, during an October raid.

☆ The most dangerous cruise routes, ports, and destinations are in parts of the world where conditions are unpredictable — and help is nowhere nearby, travel analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But some cruise destinations and routes are prone to dangerous conditions and risky activity. These are some of the most dangerous cruise locations around the world. AntarcticaThe world's southernmost continent is among the most beautiful — and dangerous — cruise destinations, according to Chiron and Klein. Cruise passengers during a lifeboat drill in the Northwest Passage near Nunavut, Canada. National Park Service via APCruise lines avoid dangerous portsWhile rough seas and high winds can make ocean travel dangerous, uncertainties on land pose their own risks for visitors.

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