Gunmen killed at least 29 people in two coastal areas of Kenya in raids the deputy president indicated on Sunday were the work of political rivals, despite Somali Islamists al Shabaab claiming responsibility. The raids will hammer Kenya’s beleaguered tourist industry after a wave of militant attacks and will deepen public frustrations about poor security, a day before a big opposition rally in the capital.The Interior Ministry said one of the Saturday night attacks killed nine in the trading town of Hindi in Lamu County, close to where 65 people were killed by gunmen last month in Mpeketoni. Another was further south in the Gamba area, where 20 died. (Reuters)
Clashes Reported in Remote Uganda Border Region… Ethnic tensions are likely to blame. “A Ugandan military official said Sunday more than 40 gunmen were killed in clashes between Uganda’s security forces and a tribal militia near the country’s border with Congo, in what appeared to be coordinated attacks targeting police posts and military barracks in three districts. Ugandan troops killed at least 41 gunmen and repulsed others before containing the situation, Ugandan military spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said.” (CBC)
Africa
Nigeria’s military said on Saturday that it had killed 53 Boko Haram Islamist fighters when it repelled an attack on a military base in the northeast Nigerian town of Damboa. (Reuters)
Access to water and sanitation are major challenges for thousands of new IDPs in Zamzam, Kalma and Al Salam camps in Darfur, according to the WASH sector. (OCHA)
MENA
The Israeli police have arrested a group of Israeli suspects in connection with the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian youth from East Jerusalem who was found beaten and burned in a Jerusalem forest last week, a spokesman for the Israeli police said Sunday. (NYT)
ISIS has expelled more than 30,000 people from their homes in the eastern Syrian town of Shuheil, a monitoring group said on Sunday. (Al Arabiya)
Under the new restrictions, Palestinians from Syria cannot enter Lebanon unless they have permission from the Lebanese General Security and meanwhile the Syrian authorities are not giving permission for any Palestinians to leave for Lebanon without prior consent from the Lebanese embassy. (IPS )
Asia
India wants to join the nuclear suppliers group of 48 countries, created to ensure that civilian trade in nuclear materials is not diverted for military purposes, as was done by India itself.
Indonesia’s upcoming presidential election is too close to call, according to regional analysts. Some pollsters give Jakarta governor Joko Widodo a slight edge over former military general Prabowo Subianto in Wednesday’s vote, but nothing is certain they say. (VOA)
Thousands of refugees fleeing an offensive by Pakistan’s army have poured across the lawless border into ramshackle camps on rugged hills in Afghanistan, stirring unease that Taliban militants may be hiding among them. (Reuters)
Eleven construction workers were killed Sunday in southern India after the boundary wall of a warehouse collapsed, in the country’s latest building disaster. (AP)
The Americas
Cuban President Raul Castro told parliament on Saturday the communist country’s market-oriented reforms must remain gradual, a clear signal he would resist calls to accelerate change in order to address an underperforming economy. (VOA)
Opinion/Blogs
What you need to know about the Iran Nuke Talks. Mark Goldberg speaks with journalist Laura Rozen and Darly Kimball of the Arms Control Association who take listeners inside the negotiations. (Global Dispatches Podcast )
Malawi: 50 years after independence education remains a big challenge (Guardian)
The Litmus Test of Karzai’s Leadership (VOA)
Reflections on the new aid paradigm, part 1: continuity in Australian aid policy (DevPolicy)
What the Dutch court ruling against blackface figure Zwarte Piet means (Africa is a Country )
Three ways to avoid being misled by humanitarians who lie (WhyDev)
The Ethics of Political Science in Practice (Dart Throwing Chimp)
