Sub-Saharan Africa Is Projected To Be the Leader in Global Rice Imports
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has undergone economic, social, and demographic transformations over the past 10 to 15 years. Among the poorest regions in the world, it faces major political and economic challenges and low food security. However, it has a young, fast-growing population and prospects for economic growth. Please click here to read more.
Quote of the Day:
“Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.”
Featured Articles
FGM Survivor Fights to Save Girls From Being Cut
Rahma Wako, 50, is an activist working to eradicate FGM 16 years after Kenya banned the practice — and 44 years after she suffered through the excruciating procedure. 
Please click here to read more.
"Borneo Atlas" to Help Palm Oil Buyers Check on Forest Damage
The map shows the location and ownership of 467 palm-oil mills on Borneo, which is shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, and is one of the biggest island producers of the cheap, edible oil.
Please click here to read more.
Citing Fatigue, Dalai Lama Appoints Personal Emissaries
Citing increasing physical fatigue, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader made the comments while meeting with a group of international youth leaders brought to Dharmsala, India, by the Washington-based Institute of Peace.
Please click here to read more.
Global Child Mortality Rate Hits New Low, But There Are Still Concerns, Study Shows
"Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2017, reveals that although the number of children dying before the age of five is at a new low– 5.6 million in 2016, compared with nearly 9.9 million in 2000 – the proportion of under-five deaths in the newborn period has increased from 41 per cent to 46 per cent during the same period," according to a new report from UN
Please click here to read more.
Statement on Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)
At the G20 leaders’ summit in Hamburg, Germany, the creation of We-Fi was announced. It is an innovative new facility to advance women’s entrepreneurship and help women in developing countries increase their access to the finance, markets, technology, and networks necessary to start and grow a business. We-Fi aims to leverage donor funding to unlock more than $1 billion in International Financial Institution (IFI) and commercial financing by working with financial intermediaries, funds and other market actors.
Please click here to read more.
Chinese Textile Giant Brings Factory Jobs to Struggling Arkansas Town
One of China’s biggest textile mills is planning its first North American factory in a small town in the southern U.S. state of Arkansas.
Please click here to read more.
Mercedes-Benz to Invest $1 Billion in US Electric Car Plant
The Tuscaloosa plant will become the first in the U.S. to produce electric vehicles and only the sixth in the world to do so, Daimler-Benz said.
Please click here to read more.
Aung San Suu Kyi Denounces Human Rights Violations in Rakhine State
Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi says her government condemns all human rights violations in western Rakhine state, where over 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have been forced to flee to safety into neighboring Bangladesh.
Please click here to read more.
Africa
WHO: Heavy Rains in DRC Worsening Cholera Epidemic
Africa
Kenya's Flower Producers Eye US Market
Africa
'Day Zero' Approaches as South African City Runs Out of Water
Africa
Ending Child Marriage Could Generate $3 Billion in Annual Benefits for Uganda’s Population by 2030
America
Gulf of Mexico ‘Dead Zone’ Is the Largest Ever Measured
"Scientists have determined this year’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone,” an area of low oxygen that can kill fish and marine life, is 8,776 square miles, an area about the size of New Jersey. It is the largest measured since dead zone mapping began there in 1985," according to a report from NOAA.
Please click here to read more.
Asia
President Trump Visits the People's Republic of China, November 9, 2017
Full article can be found here.
Asia
Far From Home, Trump Gets Enthusiastic Welcome in Seoul
Asia
Thailand Moves Up in Global Doing Business Ranks
The World Bank Group’s latest Doing Business report ranks Thailand in 26th place among 190 economies in the ease of doing business for small and medium enterprises around the world, up from 48th place when applying the same methodology to last year’s and this year’s data. The report also recognizes Thailand as one of top 10 economies that have improved most in the ease of doing business in the last year worldwide.
Please click here to read more.
South Asia
Sturdier,
Safer, Cheaper: India Urged to Build More Roads with Plastic Waste
"Plastic roads will not only withstand future monsoon damage but will also solve the problem of disposing of non-recyclable plastic"
India should use its biggest investment in road construction to make its roads safer and build them cheaper with a home-grown technology that salvages plastic waste, analysts said.
Please click here to read more.
Asia
Trump Heads to 5 Asian Countries Next Month
U.S. President Donald Trump is heading to five Asian countries early next month, looking to ramp up pressure against North Korea's nuclear weapons development, but also promote American economic interests in the region.
Please click here to read more.
Europe
EU Official Warns War a Possibility in Catalonia
"Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has threatened to suspend Catalonia’s semi-autonomy and to introduce direct rule from Madrid. He has said there can be no talks while Catalonia’s separatist leaders are threatening to issue a declaration of independence on the back of last Sunday’s unauthorized plebiscite," according to a report by VOA on October 6, 2017
Please click here to read more.
Middle East
UN Blacklists Saudi-led Coalition for Killing Children in Yemen
"The United Nations blacklisted a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition on Thursday for killing or injuring 683 children in Yemen and attacking dozens of schools and hospitals in 2016, even as it said the coalition had taken action to improve child protection,' according to a report from Reuters on October 5, 2017.
Please click here to read more.
Myanmar/Burma
Myanmar Tells U.N. Rohingya Refugees Can Return from Bangladesh
Myanmar told the United Nations refugee agency on Monday its top priority was to bring back Rohingyas who have fled to Bangladesh, but much work was needed to "consolidate stability" in its troubled northern region of Rakhine.
Win Myat Aye, Myanmar's Union Minister, Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, addressed the U.N. refugee agency's (UNHCR) Executive Committee after U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi called for resolving issues related to Rohingya citizenship and rights.
Myanmar/Burma
VOA: Burmese Decry Vast 'Muslim Media Conspiracy' in Rohinya Coverage
Conspiracy theories have hounded media coverage of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, which many view as biased against the largely Buddhist country.
These include allegations that Muslims have undue influence at the BBC and that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is paying foreign journalists to produce the stories they want.
Please click here to read more.
Myanmar's Suu Kyi Condemns Abuses in Rakhine
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday condemned human rights violations in Rakhine state and said violators would be punished, but she did not address U.N. accusations of a campaign of ethnic cleansing by the military, drawing a cool international response.
She made the remarks in her first address to the nation since attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents on Aug. 25 led to a military response that has forced 421,000 Rohingya Muslims, more than half of them children, into neighboring Bangladesh.
U.S. and India to Co-Host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit
The U.S. and India will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit November 28-30 in Hyderabad, India. Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump will lead the United States’ delegation to the Summit, which will focus on supporting women entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth globally.
Please click here to read more.
Myanmar Says Aid Access to Conflict Area Not Blocked But Security an Issue
Myanmar said on Friday a visiting U.S. official would not be allowed to go to a region where violence has triggered an exodus of nearly 400,000 Rohingya Muslims that the United Nations has branded a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
Please click here to read more.Asia
Amid Escalating Political Tensions, Hun Sen Cancels Military Remains Recovery Program
More than 1,600 Americans remain unaccounted for as a result of the Vietnam war, with about 48 thought to be missing in Cambodia. In response to new U.S. visa sanctions on Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on Friday Cambodia was suspending its program to recover the remains of U.S. service personnel missing since the Vietnam war.
Please click here to read more.
World
UN Renews Push to Abolish Female Genital Mutilation
The United Nations says more than 200 million girls and women in 30 countries are currently living with the harmful and dangerous consequences of female genital mutilation. Young girls between infancy and 15 years of age are subjected to the practice, which mainly occurs in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Please click here to read more.
Asia
Meet India’s Lifesavers
Europe
Homeless man wins "dream" place at Britain's Cambridge University
"A 52-year-old man who spent most of his adult life sleeping rough and selling copies of a magazine to help the homeless has enrolled at Britain's illustrious Cambridge University," according to a report from Reuters on November 9, 2017.
Please click here to read more.
Africa
UN Chief: Worldwide Famine Averted, but Numbers of Hungry Growing
The United Nations secretary-general says early action by the international community has helped avert widespread famine, but the number of people in need is continuing to grow.
In February, António Guterres warned that 20 million people were facing starvation in South Sudan, Somalia, North East Nigeria and Yemen, and he appealed for more than $5.6 billion for 2017.
Please click here to read more.
South Asia
A Center of Excellence for Urban Development Launched in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has experienced some of the most rapid urbanization in South Asia, yet the cities offer inadequate infrastructure and low levels of urban services, particularly in district towns and municipalities. A new Center of Excellence for Urban Development will support cities and its local agencies to collaborate and share efforts to improve the lives of citizens," according to a report from the World Bank on October 4, 2017.
Please click here to read more.
Central Asia
Glass Half Full in Tajikistan: Ensuring Greater Access to Safe Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Households
A new World Bank report, Glass Half Full: Poverty Diagnostic of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Conditions in Tajikistan, finds that despite the progress made in providing access to improved drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, Tajikistan - which abounds in water - continues to have some of the poorest conditions in Central Asia.
Please click here to read more.
"It’s been a remarkable year for lava activity at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The astounding power of nature can be easy seen at lava lakes, surface flows and the Kamokuna
ocean entry, where lava is streaming out into the Pacific, creating huge
clouds of gas and steam," according to a report from the U.S. Department of
Interior on 09/19/2017.
Please click here to read more.
"Last week, Glacier National Park in Montana received its first snow of the season. While it closed Going-to-the-Sun Road from St. Mary to Logan Pass for a short time, that section of the road has reopened, offering visitors as chance to enjoy a beautiful, wintery world," according to U.S. Department of Interior.
