Despite a peace agreement signed this week between the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and different political and military groups active in the country, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams are witnessing renewed fighting today in the town of Bria, in the east of the country, amid ongoing tensions elsewhere. Violence flared as international donors were meeting in the capital today to discuss funding urgently needed humanitarian efforts. The latest fighting in Bria comes after clashes in the town a month ago that led to the displacement of 41,000 people out of a total of 47,000 inhabitants. Left with little assistance, most have not returned home: about 6,000 people sleep overnight in the hospital compound, while about 25,000 stay at a site called PK3, near a UN base. MSF teams in Bangassou and Alindao also reported gunfire. (MSF http://bit.ly/2sQ3SdP)
A kleptocrat stands trial….The son of Equatorial Guinea’s president went on trial on Monday in his absence in Paris on charges of using money plundered from his country to buy Parisian luxury properties and exotic cars…Teodorin Obiang, eldest son of President Teodoro Obiang and a vice president himself, denies charges of laundering embezzled public funds, for which he risks a sentence of 10 years in jail and huge fines if convicted. The case is the first of several to reach court in a broader judicial investigation into allegations of illicit acquisitions in France by long-time leaders and family relatives in several African countries including Gabon and the Congo Republic.” (Reuters http://bit.ly/2tKjL1E)
Stat of the Day: An astounding 82 percent of Syrian refugees in Jordan are living below the poverty line, says a new study from CARE International. http://bit.ly/2sQ1R1b
Top Stories
Two Dutch journalists have been captured by Marxist ELN rebels in a conflict area of northeastern Colombia, the military said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2rzyn3h)
Starbucks has announced plans to hire 2,500 refugees in its European stores by 2022, as part of a global program announced in January. The Seattle-based coffee house chain said that the figure will be part of Starbuck’s commitment to hire 10,000 refugees around the world. (AP http://apne.ws/2tpgTYW)
Israel’s prime minister says ground has been broken for a new West Bank settlement, the first in about two decades, to replace one demolished this year as President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy arrives in the region. (AP http://bit.ly/2sSWw9c)
A Venezuelan teenager taking part in an anti-government protest was killed in Caracas, the chief prosecutor’s office has confirmed. (BBC http://bbc.in/2smP6dj)
One million doses of an emergency oral cholera vaccine from a global stockpile have been approved for urgent use in Yemen, IRIN has learnt. It is the largest quantity ever deployed at once and is intended to help combat a deadly outbreak sweeping across the war-torn country. (IRIN http://bit.ly/2sMx7gD)
Activists, human-rights lawyers and journalists in Mexico filed a criminal complaint following a report that their smartphones had been infected with spying software sold to the government to fight criminals and terrorists. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2sSSm0Y)
This week, Uganda welcomes U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other high-level international guests and donors for the two-day Refugee Solidarity Conference to raise $8 billion. (VOA http://bit.ly/2sMkpyI)
U.S. student Otto Warmbier’s tragic death, after being released from a North Korean prison in a coma, has again put an international focus on the widespread human rights violations allegedly being committed by the Kim Jong Un government. (VOA http://bit.ly/2sSFzvi)
A fall armyworm infestation is currently wreaking havoc on crops across six regions in Ethiopia and is spreading at an alarming rate. (OCHA http://bit.ly/2smIGuD)
Opinion/Blogs
It’s Not Just Syria. A Record Number of Refugees Are Fleeing from New Conflicts. (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/2sQB5Wm)
Something is happening in Congo-Brazzaville (African Arguments http://bit.ly/2rRjMzy)
Sudan Hires U.S. Lobbyist to Roll Back Sanctions (Foreign Policy http://atfp.co/2smxBty)
India Is About to Upend the Global Beef Trade (Bloomberg View https://bloom.bg/2rzKVaR)
After second US policy flip in as many years, Cubans ask, ‘What’s next?’ (CSM http://bit.ly/2rzLn93)
5 Surprising Facts About The Refugee Crisis (NPR Goats and Soda http://n.pr/2smP44W)
I want to stroll Tehran’s streets at night, like men can: writer Fereshteh Ahmadi (Guardian http://bit.ly/2sM5tk2)
The World Society Needs to Express Greater Solidarity for Refugees Worldwide (IPS http://bit.ly/2sMszH9)
Disturbing civilian death trends in Iraq-Syria air war: A researcher’s view (IRIN http://bit.ly/2sMlir8)
Slippage in the DR Congo: Where are the UN and South Africa? (African Arguments http://bit.ly/2smohWk)
How to Tell a Story of Kidnapping and Climate Change in Somalia (Foreign Policy http://atfp.co/2rRmHIA)
