A French-American standoff over the vast, dangerous Sahel region of Africa is over: On Wednesday, after weeks of tense negotiations, the Security Council approved a resolution welcoming the deployment of a new multinational military force to fight terrorist groups operating in the area. France had pushed for the force, from five African countries, to combat terrorism, drug traffickers and people smugglers thriving in the Sahel. The United States had objected to giving the force the authority to “use all necessary means,” which is the most robust form of Security Council authorization. The counterterrorism force is to be made up of 5,000 troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. (NY Times http://nyti.ms/2tRR3ME)
Stat of the day: The world’s population will break through the 8 billion mark in 2023, there are more men than women, and next year the number of over 60s will top 1 billion for the first time, according to the latest findings and forecasts from the United Nations annual population survey. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2sVR1GQ)
And the most expensive city for expats is…Luanda, the capital of Angola, has regained top spot as the world’s most expensive city for expats, pushing Hong Kong back into second place. (BBC http://bbc.in/2sWvopQ)
Top Stories
Pope Francis is offering 460,000 euros in aid for South Sudan to help finance two hospitals, a school and farm equipment. (VOA http://bit.ly/2tOXEqZ)
The European Union is assuming the leadership of a global initiative to prevent gender-based violence during humanitarian crises. (VOA http://bit.ly/2tOMmDm)
Egypt began to deliver one million liters of fuel to the Gaza Strip, in an attempt to ease the Palestinian enclave’s desperate electricity crisis. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/2rVKJ5s)
The effort to get more children into school is grinding to a halt as the numbers are stagnating, according to a new report that warns of grave consequences for world poverty. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2sWo9y6)
Economic analysts say many foreign investors are finding an upside to the suppression of dissent in Vietnam, taking comfort in the expectation of business stability as the country’s one-party government moves toward a landmark economic summit later in the year. (VOA http://bit.ly/2sWka4s)
People with disabilities in the Central African Republic have faced violent attacks, forced displacement, and ongoing neglect in the humanitarian response, Human Rights Watch said. (HRW http://bit.ly/2sW8rmt)
The nearly 1 million South Sudanese refugees in Uganda face shortages of food, water and medical care, but they have also brought with them the trauma of the war they fled. Aid agencies are struggling to meet the need for counseling for survivors of gender-based violence. (VOA http://bit.ly/2sRftZa)
Opinion/Blogs
A new UN report just calculated the percentage of women who can’t find work because of sexism (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/2sWjige)
Can Oxfam do the Doughnut? A conversation with Kate Raworth (From Poverty to Power http://bit.ly/2sBPsuL)
Mali: The stoning that didn’t happen, and why it matters (African Arguments http://bit.ly/2tOJqGC)
Euroscepticism waning, EU wants to be seen as a solution, says EU’s Tusk (CSM http://bit.ly/2sRdjZD)
The Rehabilitation of Africa’s Most Isolated Dictatorship (Foreign Policy http://atfp.co/2sUbdZU)
The US shares the blame for a massacre in Mexico (PRI http://bit.ly/2rSgC3t)
East Asia’s real lessons (IPS http://bit.ly/2sWAoL7)
Disposable Africans – migration and its consequences (IRIN http://bit.ly/2rDuLO3)
When Will Smartphones Reach the Last Five Billion? (CFI http://bit.ly/2sBRDyx)
Q&A: Sweden’s aid chief on Trump, multilateralism and the securitization of aid (Devex http://bit.ly/2sBJDh3)
