The death toll in the eruption of a volcano in western Indonesia rose to seven on Sunday with two others in critical condition, as an official warned of more eruptions. Mount Sinabung in the North Sumatra province blasted volcanic ash as high as 2 miles into the sky on Saturday, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said ash tumbled down the slopes as far as 3 miles westward into a river. All the victims of the eruption were working on their farms in the village of Gamber, about 2.5 miles away from the slope, within the danger area. (AP http://yhoo.it/1ToL1yf)
World Health Assembly begins in Geneva…The Zika virus is only one part of the agenda at the upcoming 69th World Health Assembly, which Chan described as “record-breaking” for the number of agenda items and resolutions member states will need to discuss and agree on at the May 23-28 event, from the operational plan to implement the Global Strategy on Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ health; draft global strategy on health workforce; to discussions on access to essential medicines worldwide. There is, however, another theme emerging from the annual event: internal reforms and initiatives taking place at WHO that will also be on the assembly’s agenda. (Devex http://bit.ly/1TCNxPB)
Quote of the day: “This is not the time to cut resources. Everybody is facing financial trade-offs, but the world has got to ante up at a much higher level than is the case right now. … The humanitarian system is both stressed and stretched to the limits … by the number and complexity of crises. It has been a relentless drumbeat of very large, most often complex crises, the majority of which are chronic.” —USAID chief Gayle Smith ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1TCKKFX)
Africa
Military offensives mounted by a regional task force and Nigerian and Cameroonian troops have pushed Boko Haram further back into the northeast corner of Nigeria, prompting the militants to scatter and ramp up attacks across the border in Niger, making life worse for people in the country. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1WaQ3id)
Up to 50 million people in Africa will need food by Christmas as a crisis across the continent triggered by El Niño worsens, the U.N. and major international charities have warned. (Guardian http://bit.ly/1swZZ97)
Burkina Faso held local elections Sunday, seen as a key step in the country’s transition to democracy from the authoritarian rule of ousted strongman Blaise Compaore. (Yahoo http://yhoo.it/1NFzZCd)
Tanzania opened peace talks over the weekend in a bid to end a political crisis in Burundi, but some opponents said the absence of several leading opposition groups made it more like a “monologue” by the government, undermining the process. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1WaQc5d)
Former militants in Nigeria’s oil-producing south said Sunday they would not resume violence and distanced themselves from a new rebel group that has claimed recent attacks on pipelines and facilities. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1NFzXKP)
MENA
The Yemeni government delegation is to rejoin UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait with Shiite rebels who control the capital, ending a four-day boycott, the UN special envoy said on Sunday. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1qDjpI4)
The top U.S. commander for the Middle East made a secret visit to Syria on Saturday to look at cooperative efforts among Arab, Kurdish and other forces to overcome Islamic State militants. (VOA http://bit.ly/1qDkaAW)
U.N. second-in-command Jan Eliasson said on Sunday it was necessary to stand up for international humanitarian law which was being disregarded, citing attacks on hospitals and “practically medieval” sieges on civilians in Syria and Yemen. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1Tx2DVw(
An Israeli NGO which tracks alleged army abuses of Palestinians told a court Sunday that it could no longer function if the government forced it to name its anonymous informants. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1NFzVT8)
A monitoring group has said that at least 60,000 people have died in Syrian government jails during the five-year conflict. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1WaQ8Cm)
Asia
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday urged Myanmar’s new civilian-led government to complete the Southeast Asian nation’s transition to democracy by implementing further reforms to enshrine free markets, development and human rights. (AP http://yhoo.it/1YPpXPC)
Hundreds of protesters on Sunday marked the second anniversary of Thailand’s latest coup with song, dance, speeches and pro-democracy banners, in the largest show of dissent since the military toppled an elected government. (Yahoo http://yhoo.it/1NFAnRa)
U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Vietnam late Sunday ahead of a three-day trip aimed at sealing the transformation of an old enemy into a new partner to help counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1Tx31Ds)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived Sunday in Iran in hopes of growing energy and development ties to the country as it emerges from its decades-long diplomatic isolation. (VOA http://bit.ly/1TCKV4i)
Cyclone Roanu battered the coast of southern Bangladesh on Saturday, forcing half a million people to flee their homes and leaving 23 people dead in floods and rain-triggered landslides. (AFP http://bit.ly/1YPpHAi)
Some 500 people on Sunday protested what they say is a lack of university student placements in their central China province, in the latest protest over education reform. (AP http://yhoo.it/1TCL1J8)
Foreign aid began arriving in Sri Lanka Saturday, bringing help to half a million people forced out of their homes by rains and landslides that have killed at least 71 in a week of extreme weather wreaking havoc in South Asia. (AFP http://bit.ly/1qDjVWu)
The Americas
Violent protests have broken out in Chile during the state-of-the-nation address by President Michelle Bachelet. Demonstrators set up barricades and hurled firebombs in Valparaiso, where Chile’s Congress meets. Police fired tear gas and water cannons. (BBC http://bbc.in/1WaR89J)
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Brazil’s two biggest cities Sunday to protest acting President Michel Temer, trying to keep up pressure on his interim administration only 10 days after he was sworn in. (AP http://yhoo.it/1NFA0X5)
Retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Bolivian President Evo Morales discussed “imperialist efforts” to undo leftist progress in Latin America during Morales’ two-day visit to the Communist-ruled island, Cuban state television reported on Saturday. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1WaQVmO)
…and the rest
The World Bank Group today launched the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, an innovative, fast-disbursing global financing mechanism designed to protect the world against deadly pandemics, which will create the first-ever insurance market for pandemic risk. Japan, which holds the G7 Presidency, committed the first $50 million in funding toward the new initiative. (World Bank http://bit.ly/1TCKuXD)
Opinion/Blogs
The humanitarian system: ‘A mammoth machinery losing track of what it is for’ (Guardian http://bit.ly/1U7MPbJ)
Rwanda Provides Lessons On How to Narrow Energy Deficit (The Conversation http://bit.ly/1ToIHY3)
Return of Chibok Schoolgirl Renews Hope (Human Rights Watch http://bit.ly/1ToILa5)
Sexual health gets little attention in a crisis, with devastating results (Guardian http://bit.ly/1TCHL0a)
Is Tanzania Ousting Kenya As Region’s Powerhouse? (DW http://bit.ly/1Tx0JEd)
How Black Bin Bags and Common Sense Helped End Ebola (African Arguments http://bit.ly/1NFyLXM)
Humanitarian Summit Must Address Weapons Shipments Too (IPS http://bit.ly/1ToKI6v)
Could Angola have prevented its yellow fever epidemic? (Africa is a Country http://bit.ly/1Tx4B8f)
GDP is rising: Why increase economic growth if you can manipulate the GDP? (Osmosis http://bit.ly/1NFB1OL)
How do we create a humanitarian system fit for today – and tomorrow? (WEF http://bit.ly/1qDlrrF)
The World Humanitarian Summit: Decoded (IRIN http://bit.ly/1qDl28z)
