On 23rd February 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in South Sudan announced that they have enough evidence to charge at least 41 senior officers and officials with war crimes and crimes against humanity during the four-year civil war. Background on the conflict in South Sudan South Sudan,
“Wars are hard to stop, famines are not” (Michael Bowers, Mercy Corps). On Tuesday 13th February 2018, Sudan’s government opened a border point for trade with South Sudan for the first time since Southern Independence in 2011. This is a step in the right direction for improving the economic concerns
Soldiers in the southern Farah and Helmand provinces of Afghanistan awoke to the sound of explosives as a series of raids were carried out and claimed by the Taliban on Saturday. The wave of attacks consisted of three separate incidents which resulted in the death of at least 20 Afghan
Cape Town, South Africa, is facing the greatest drought in its recorded ninety-seven-year history. The city has battled a severe drought for the past 3 years. Water levels steadily declined in the city’s six dams and were at 28.5% capacity in January 2018. The final 10% of the water in
Since last week, galvanized Syrian regime forces entered into a new phase in the seven-year conflict, trying to quash what is left of rebel resistance in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. The capital, the Syrian state argues, has been suffering attacks from “terrorists” living in the suburb and as such
More than 500 civilians, including over 121 children, in Eastern Ghouta, have been killed since February 18, marking one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. According to the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organization (UOSSM), 12 hospitals and clinics have been bombed since
Will the Syrian ceasefire called by the UN be enough? The United Nations Security Council has successfully approved a 30-day ceasefire in Syria this week in order to deliver adequately much needed humanitarian and medical aid to the region. This event, covered by the BBC and Guardian news organizations, epitomizes
Last week the Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency following the resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. After spending five turbulent years in office, Hailemariam made the surprise announcement amid widespread anti-government protests, in which citizens demanded the release of imprisoned opposition leaders, including Bekele Gerba, who were
On February 24th, 2018, a foreign New York Times correspondent, Rob Nordland, wrote an article titled ‘Women Are Free, and Armed, in Kurdish-Controlled Northern Syria,’ where he talks about a 30-year-old Arab, Radwan, who was trying to take back the gold he gave to his 17-year-old second ex-wife, Amira, as a
