NYTimes: Sudan: Top U.N. Aid Official Warns of Food Crisis in 2 Southern States – Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese civilians are trapped in two isolated southern states in Sudan because of conflict between rebels and the Sudanese government. Tens of thousands of people in South Kordofan and Blue Nile may be “dying of malnutrition and disease, while others were subsisting on roots and leaves.” The director of UN emergency relief implored the Security Council to ensure that aid teams can gain access to the two states. (Rick Gladstone)
Reuters: Sudan Secures $1.5 Billion Loan From China as It Battles Currency Slide – The Chinese state oil firm, China National Petroleum Corp, has loaned $1.5 billion to Sudan as it battles its worst economic crisis for decades. Sudan has “been unable to stop a slide in its currency since losing three-quarters of its oil production when South Sudan seeded in 2011.” Oil served as the main revenue source for the Sudanese budget. China is Sudan’s biggest trading partners aside from Gulf Arab oil producers.
VOA: Saving lives, saving money – Every year, road crashes kill more than a million people around the world and injure more than 20 million people. Dr. Margie Peden, the coordinator for Unintentional Injury Prevention at the World Health Organization, argues that these crashes should be viewed as a public health issue. North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa are two of the regions where road traffic deaths are the worst. Peden explains that road crashes are often due to a lack of infrastructure, distracted driving, and poor safety measures. Road traffic crashes are predicted to rise over the next decade from the ninth to the fifth leading cause of death in the world. (Joe DeCapua)
Al Jazeera: Clashes during South Africa’s farmers’ strike – Striking farm workers in South Africa’s Western Cape Province clashed with police after blocking roads as part of a protest for higher wages. The strikers are asking for daily wages to be more than double to 150 South African rand ($17.50). The Western Cape produces almost 60 percent of the country’s farming exports.
CBC: Harper, African Union meet in Ottawa on Tuesday – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with the head of the African Union and president of Benin, Thomas Boni Yayi, on Tuesday. When asked if Canada was considering sending more foreign aid to Mali, International Cooperation Minister Fantino said that “if we can translate our aid to the people … we will continue to do all we can.” Mali is currently one of the biggest recipients of Canada’s foreign aid.
