The Pope and Chinese President both make their inaugural visits to the United States. The Pope arrived in D.C. yesterday afternoon, the first leg of a four day visit that includes addressing congress on Thursday and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals summit on Friday. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping arrived in Seattle on Tuesday where he was to meet with Bill Gates and an assortment of business leaders. In D.C., President Obama and Xi are expected to talk climate change.
Good rundown of the Xi visit. (Reuters http://reut.rs/1Ku1Xf2)
Useful day-by-day breakdown of the pope’s visit to the United States. (USA Today http://usat.ly/1V93om2)
Long read of the day
A year ago, 43 students disappeared in Mexico after they were attacked by the police in the middle of the night, and their relatives are still looking for answers. BuzzFeed News’ Karla Zabludovsky tells the story of a year of grief for the Abraján family. http://bzfd.it/1L3plmX
All the news not fit to print
The local printer of the International New York Times decided not to publish Tuesday’s edition in Thailand because of an article on the future of the Thai monarchy that it called “too sensitive to print” in the country, where strict laws limit open discussion of the royal family. (AP http://yhoo.it/1PozmJc)
- Africa
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Cameroon’s army killed 11 Boko Haram militants in clashes in the northern town of Amchide early on Tuesday, the Ministry of Defense said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1Jn868J)
Several people were wounded as supporters of rival political factions clashed in northern Guinea, witnesses said Monday, as tension mounts in the race to elect a new president. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1LtTESz)
Mali’s government says it is postponing regional elections that have been opposed by a separatist group in the north. (AP http://yhoo.it/1Ktd6wz)
Northern Kenya, an arid region inhabited by nomadic pastoralists, is increasingly prone to droughts, a problem that has depleted livestock, water and pasture. Migration during drought periods exposes animals to diseases as they converge on remaining grazing land and watering points. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1NRft03)
Even as an international court tries Bosco Ntaganda for alleged war crimes, other ex-rebels hold key posts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from President Joseph Kabila to government ministers, senators and generals. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1LtTMkS)
China’s Shanghai Zendai Property on Tuesday launched the first phase of an $6.4 billion new city project in South Africa, saying the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy would not affect construction. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1NRfqRR)
A Somali man has filed a complaint against the German government alleging it is partly responsible for the death of his herdsman father in a 2012 U.S. drone stroke. (AP http://yhoo.it/1V7TtlL)
In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, many people without formal addresses are denied access to services and a legal identity. But technology is set to change that. (Guardian http://bit.ly/1OsAwGd)
- Burkina Faso in Turmoil
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The leader of a coup in Burkina Faso said on Tuesday he was still in charge despite the passing of a deadline set by loyalist soldiers for his forces to surrender or face attack. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1PoubZP)
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday that events in Burkina Faso, where loyalist soldiers moved to disarm the leaders of a coup last week, had undermined international efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to the crisis. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1PoudB2)
The head of Burkina Faso’s transitional parliament, who has declared himself the West African nation’s interim leader, issued a decree on Tuesday dissolving the elite presidential guard, which carried out a coup last week. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1Poueok)
Burkina Faso’s Yacouba Isaac Zida, who had been held hostage since a coup led by the West African nation’s elite presidential guard last week, was freed on Tuesday, an adviser and a senior army officer loyal to the government said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1LtOTYZ)
- MENA
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Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Egypt’s military of having “violated international law” through mass home demolitions and evictions over the past two years along its border with Gaza. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1PozjgE)
Half of school-aged Syrian refugees in Lebanon will receive a free education under a new campaign launched Monday by the host country and the U.N.’s child and refugee agencies. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1LtTH0A)
The U.N. envoy to Libya has presented the country’s warring factions a final draft of a peace deal and urged all parties to accept it. (AP http://yhoo.it/1PozlFk)
- Asia
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Protests against Nepal’s new constitution were abating, Nepal said Tuesday, just hours after police opened fire on a crowd and injured three in the east of the Himalayan nation. (AP http://yhoo.it/1Ktd08n)
The Indian government backtracked Tuesday on a proposed requirement for all messages sent on social media and mobile chatting apps to be saved for several months as a way of defeating encryption technology. (AP http://yhoo.it/1LtUIWA)
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Tuesday denied there was ever a policy for forces to ignore Afghan officials’ sexual abuse of minors, days after a newspaper reported troops were told to look the other way to preserve relations with allies. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1PoArRb)
The Asian Development Bank cut its growth forecast for the region’s developing economies, citing a softer outlook for China and India and a delayed recovery in the world’s advanced industrialized nations. (AP http://yhoo.it/1PozdW7)
On the occasion of World Car Free Day, India’s business hub of Gurgaon adjoining New Delhi experimented with encouraging people to leave their vehicles at home. It was not entirely successful, but was hailed as a much needed initiative to reduce alarming levels of pollution and traffic woes in Indian cities. (VOA http://bit.ly/1Poz9pq)
- The Americas
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Hillary Clinton has come out in opposition of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. (NBC http://nbcnews.to/1V93Bpa)
Colombia and Venezuela have agreed to restore diplomatic dialogue and oversee “progressive normalization” of their border, after a meeting between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his counterpart Nicolas Maduro. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1LtTHh1)
There has been a surge of killings in El Salvador, one of the world’s most violent countries, since the breakdown a year ago of a 2012 gang truce between the Barrio 18 criminal group and their rivals, the Mara Salvatrucha. And teachers and children are among the new targets. (VOA http://bit.ly/1PoyXGD)
- ...and the rest
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Europe can expect a record 1 million people to request asylum this year as refugees flee war Syria and Iraq in droves, and EU leaders must set their differences aside to meet the challenge, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1LtTOt3)
A European Union proposal to find spaces for 120,000 refugees will not work unless reception facilities are provided for tens of thousands at any time, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1Ktd4ER)
Deep in a tranquil Dutch forest a transformation is taking place, as the Netherlands scrambles to set up camp for thousands of migrants who will start arriving this week. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1PozmsJ)
- Opinion/Blogs
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New Goals at the U.N. Reflect Failure of Imagination for International Development (Truthout http://bit.ly/1PosEmE)
Can Burkina Faso – Africa’s most coup-prone state – become a stable democracy? (Monkey Cage http://wapo.st/1LtNWQs)
Surprised that Syrian refugees have smartphones? You’re an idiot (The Independent http://ind.pn/1V7PHJg)
South-South Cooperation Crucial for Sustainable Development Goals (IPS http://bit.ly/1PotNKI)
There is no place for malnutrition in the 21st century (Guardian http://bit.ly/1gK5FpT)
The rocky road to democracy in Burkina Faso (IRIN http://bit.ly/1V7TLsU)
Public Interest, Private Sponsors (ActionAid http://bit.ly/1LtNQZ8)
How we made Mozambique mine-free (Guardian http://bit.ly/1V7Swdk)
Wanted – a Binding International Instrument On Business and Human Rights (Fahamu http://bit.ly/1V7UbzG)
Why South Africa is primed for fundamental political realignment (The Conversation http://bit.ly/1LtWIOD)
