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27 May 2016
Burma
- The Myanmar government will allow exiled opposition activists who are still on an official “no-entry” blacklist to return to the Southeast Asian country within 100 days, said deputy foreign affairs minister Kyaw Tin on Thursday.
BBC News – Myanmar jade mine landslide kills at least 12 in Kachin https://t.co/IG39FGuCoQ
— HART-UK (@HARTnews) May 24, 2016
India
- Interesting new developments have taken place in India’s public transport systems as, according to The Independent, “Buses in India will be fitted with panic button alarms in an effort to protect women from sexual violence on public transport.” It has also been claimed that these buses will be equipped with CCTV and GPS tracking systems so that authorities are able to monitor public transport incidents in realtime. These claims have also been reported by The Daily Mail and The Guardian.
- The World Weekly has documented how social media is empowering “India’s Dalits to wage a 140-character war on the oppressive caste system”. This comes at a crucial time when, according to The Diplomat, “violence against Dalits is on the rise”.
- Meanwhile, Business Insider has shed light on how the drought is affecting “women and lower-caste Dalits disproportionately”.
Nagorno-Karabakh
- Spokesman of the Nagorno Karabakhi President D. Babayan says the most important imperatives are the issues of security of those who left their homes as a result of the 4 day war and the issue of them remaining in Nagorno Karabakh.
Nigeria
- It has been one year since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as Nigeria’s new leader. The BBC published this report recounting how Nigeria has changed under Buhari in his first year as President.
- Yet, social media has had a strong reaction to Buhari with tags like #BuhariIsTheProblem and #Buhari1YearOfSuffering trending on Twitter.
A man who promised to create 3 million jobs per year took thousands of jobs away in a year. Companies are crashing #Buhari1YearOfSuffering — Badmus Bello Shuaibu (@BADMUSBELLO) 26 May 2016
- Reuters has reported on the effects of economic hardship in Nigeria’s Delta region and how this has spurred insurgency and insecurity. The report also highlights the wider implications of such insurgencies on the oil production and also the locals who rely on the Delta for their livelihoods.
South Sudan
- South Sudanese women from across the nation on Wednesday have gathered in Juba for a two day peace conference aimed at updating women on the status of implementation of the peace agreement and the process of reconciliation for women in the country.
- South Sudanese government soldiers have carried out a wide range of often-deadly attacks on civilians in and around the western town of Wau. Soldiers have killed, tortured, raped, and detained civilians and looted and burned down homes.
- The council of ministers has resolved to set free more than 200 prisoners of war, who were captured during the conflict between the government and the SPLA opposition forces. The prisoners of war include 59 opposition forces under Government detention and 165 government forces detained by the Opposition.
Sudan
- For the past month, aerial bombardments have caused thousands to flee from Shali and El Rom in Blue Nile state. Military operations against the armed rebels began last April, affecting populated areas and causing approximately 30,000 civilians to flee. Activist Ishraga Ahmed Khamis described the situation, “very bad, as they are now living in the open without food. Malaria and diarrhoea has spread among children and displaced people in camps in El Maban.”