Just two weeks after Cyclone Mora swept through South Asia, heavy monsoon rains triggered the most deadly landslides in Bangladesh’s recent history yesterday. At least 156 people have died, including four soldiers during a rescue operation. However, officials warn that number could rise as rescuers reach cut-off areas.
In a rejection of the U.S. government’s military-based approach to illegal migration, Mexico is now working with Guatemala to make their shared border safer and more humane for refugees fleeing violence in Central America. Many refugees travel to Mexico or the U.S., where they fall victim to criminal organizations, violence or other abuses that can leave them injured and traumatized.
Sixty thousand public school teachers gathered on the streets of the Colombian capital on Tuesday to demand reforms in an education system plagued by poor funding and inequitable access. Experts say reducing inequities in education will be critical to breaking Colombia’s historical cycle of violence and civil war, which was recently halted in a peace deal.
Five farmers were killed today in Madhya Pradesh, India, during violent protests against what they contend are unfair pricing and debt obligations. Demonstrations by Indian farmers over allegations of excessive debt and improper financing that began last Thursday in the neighboring state of Maharashtra have escalated as they also spread to other regions.
Foreign aid spending has increased by about 20 percent since 2010, but spending on children’s education has declined by four percent. The increase in aid has been in response to the global refugee crisis, which disrupts educational development for children in crisis. Advocates are calling for more education funding.
Researchers in the U.S. and Scandinavia have compared leaked evidence of global tax evasion with officially reported tax records in their countries to show how wealth concentration is both under-reported and fueling inequality.
The numbers just came in today, and India’s economic growth rate is the lowest it’s been in two years. But according to a new report by the World Bank, it could achieve double-digit growth if it brings large numbers of women into the workforce with “safe, flexible and well-paying jobs.”
Torrential rains over the weekend buried Sri Lanka under mudslides and the worst floods since 2003. Although the storm – now Cyclone Mora – has left for Bangladesh, the effects are far from over. Aid agencies are bracing for more possible rains as well as an uptick in dengue, cholera and other water-borne diseases.
A new headline-grabbing report shows that despite all of the aid money, remittances sent home from expats and loans sent to Africa, $40 billion more is actually leaving the continent in the form of debt payments, tax avoidance and resource extraction. But some question the figures, and argue that the report doesn’t tell the whole story.
A legal battle over executive orders limiting the number of refugees resettled in the U.S. is not deterring the Trump administration. The number of refugees arriving in the U.S. has dramatically declined since October, according to a new Pew study.