International organizations warned that Islamic State militants could be using chemical weapons against civilians in eastern Mosul. Police confirm a bomb and another that hit a home in the nearby Mishraq neighborhood the same day contained homemade chemical poisons. Victims among the 15 people treated in the West Emergency hospital in Irbil say they are from Garage Shmel and Zahoor, two other east Mosul neighborhoods. The International Committee of the Red Cross says testing is not yet conclusive, but symptoms of the hospitalized patients suggest the weapon was mustard gas. Two victims are in critical condition and at least five are children. (VOA http://bit.ly/2mbT8lk)
Another travel ban expected….President Donald Trump is expected to sign a revised travel ban today, just over a month after his original decree sowed controversy across the United States and chaos at airports, US media reported. The president will sign the new executive order at the Department of Homeland Security, according to Politico, which cited senior government officials. It was unclear what changes Trump planned to make, according to the publication. Trump’s original January 27 order was widely criticized as amounting to a ban on Muslims, and also for being rolled out sloppily — with virtually no warning to the public or preparation of the agencies tasked with enforcing it. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2mbnW5L)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warned Sunday the world’s second-largest economy faces severe challenges, signalling a further deceleration as he announced a trimmed 2017 GDP growth target of “around 6.5 percent.” (AFP https://yhoo.it/2lOBJNd)
Top Stories
Somalia’s prime minister announced the deaths of at least 110 people due to hunger and diarrhea in the country over the past 48 hours amid a drought in the Bay region. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/2lOyOE9)
At least 30,000 civilians have fled clashes in northern Syria between regime forces and the Islamic State group in the province over the past week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2lOaH8M)
Mexican federal police rescued 31 Cuban immigrants who had been held in a house in the resort city of Cancun, the government said. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2mHv1g2)
At least five members of the Afghan security forces were killed early Sunday morning when their checkpoint came under an insurgent attack in northeastern Kunduz province, an Afghan official said. (AP https://yhoo.it/2lOrWGJ)
Hundreds of thousands of people in South Sudan will starve unless relief workers gain access to needy populations and more funding is raised, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today warned after meeting malnourished children who fled the raging conflict in the country. (UN News Center http://bit.ly/2lOqLXZ)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday to voice opposition to what the Israeli leader charged were Iran’s attempts to establish a permanent military foothold in Syria. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2mHDeAZ)
China will work to clear its skies by increasing investment in clean energy and punishing polluters, Premier Li Keqiang said in comments aimed at mollifying public anger over chronic smog. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2lOAjCn)
The government will continue paying millions of South Africa’s most vulnerable people social security payments on April 1, despite not signing a new deal with an existing service-provider, the minister of social development said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2mbdrzm)
Mexico opened legal aid centres at consulates in 50 US cities, in a move designed to protect its citizens from tougher immigration enforcement. (BBC http://bbc.in/2lOsXi1)
Caribbean leaders worry that with climate change sceptic Donald Trump in the White House, it will be more difficult for small island developing states facing the brunt of climate change to secure the financing necessary to adapt to and mitigate against it. (IPS http://bit.ly/2mTLiLO)
Opinion/Blogs
A Doctor On Why He Volunteered To Fight Ebola In Liberia (NPR http://n.pr/2mTGohL)
What We Know About Mexican Immigration (IBT https://yhoo.it/2mbmCA9)
What does Tillerson’s low profile mean for US leadership on human rights? (CSM https://yhoo.it/2mbcQh4)
How not to present survey data- 2017 UN Global Staff Survey edition (Aidnography http://bit.ly/2mTzklb)
Menstruation 101 For Boys: A Comic Book Is Their Guide (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/2mHHtfK)
Nigerians let train take the strain on new Kaduna to Abuja line | Emmanuel Akinwotu (Guardian http://bit.ly/2mTAcq2)
The case for metadata (Devex http://bit.ly/2n2x3n6)
Women’s economic empowerment at international level (ODI http://bit.ly/2n2NNul)
Nigeria: the International Criminal Court’s Next Challenge in Africa? (Justice in Conflict http://bit.ly/2mq7XRO)
