At least 26 people died from hunger in the semi-autonomous Jubbaland region of southern Somalia in just a day and a half, federal government radio said on its website. Somalia, like other countries in the region, is facing a devastating drought that has killed livestock, cut harvests and left 6.2 million people, about half its population, in need of food aid. The acute hunger gripping Jubbaland caused an exodus of hundreds of families into the capital Mogadishu seeking help. The website quoted Mohamed Hussein, the Jubbaland assistant minister of interior, as saying severe drought had killed the people over a span of 36 hours to Monday, all in various towns in middle Jubba and Gedo areas. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2nNIsYZ)
A peacekeeping success story … An unofficial vote count shows a former guerrilla leader has won East Timor’s presidency in the first election without U.N. supervision since peacekeepers left in 2012. The tally announced Tuesday by the country’s election office indicated that Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres had a commanding lead over the Democratic Party’s Antonio da Conceicao, who is minister of education and social affairs. Official results are not expected until next week, but with more than 70 percent of the ballots tallied, Lu-Olo, a 62-year-old former guerrilla commander representing Fretilin, the traditional party of resistance to Indonesian rule, had 60 percent of the votes. Da Conceicao had 30 percent and said he would accept the outcome. The remaining votes were divided among six other candidates. (VOA http://bit.ly/2mLmJzg)
Top Stories
A deadly car bomb blast targeting a security checkpoint near the Presidential Palace in the Somali capital has killed at least five people and wounded several others. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/2nPotcr)
The violence that has engulfed the southeastern province of Tanganyika since July 2016 and forced over 370,000 people into displacement places it firmly among “the most urgent humanitarian hotspots in a country experiencing a worsening humanitarian situation,” the Humanitarian Coordinator in the DR Congo has stated. (OCHA http://bit.ly/2nw5ypU)a
An Australian government probe has found no evidence taxpayer money was misused by the NGO World Vision in the Gaza Strip, after Israel alleged millions of dollars were diverted to Hamas. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2nwc4ga)
Syrian rebels stormed a government-held area in northeastern Damascus for the second time in three days, sources on both sides said, pressing the boldest assault on the capital by opposition fighters in several years. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/2nPFIdK)
Timelapse satellite iamges show the staggering growth of cities such as Shenzhen, Dongguan and Yiwu, which three decades ago were barely on the map. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2nPAxul)
Opinion/Blogs
Will the Trump Administration Abandon the Human Rights Council? (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/2nPf8Bo)
Africa: The Hidden Opportunity of the Lake Chad Basin Crisis (ISS http://bit.ly/2nO2Zwv)
Hate Group” Inclusion Shows U.N. Members Still Divided on LGBT Rights (Inter Press Service http://bit.ly/2nw4Vg2)
International calls for innovation to support women refugees who want to work (ODI http://bit.ly/2mLoUTf)
Cholera – How African Countries Are Failing to Do Even the Basics (The Conversation http://bit.ly/2mLkDzv)
