The Sahel
Something that doesn’t make international headlines as much as it should these days: hunger. A disturbing report from the UN has warned that almost 30 million people will this year need some form of food aid in the Sahel and Lake Chad basin region.
[Al Jazeera graphic]
“In conflict-affected regions, civilians are facing an ever-increasing dramatic protection crisis. Millions of people had to flee their homes. Insecurity and violence are threatening lives and livelihoods, increasing human rights violations, and jeopardising social cohesion.”
More from the Guardian here.
China
[China Daily]
China’s ambitious space program continues apace. Beijing now plans to launch the core module for its first permanent space station this week, a major step.
“The Tianhe, or “Heavenly Harmony” module is set to be hurtled into space aboard a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan. The launch could come as early as Thursday night if all goes as planned.”
More from Al Jazeera here.
India
The headline on India and COVID-19 on BBC’s website this morning read: “A horror story on repeat”. That, tragically, is a very accurate summation of what is unfolding.
BBC has now started keeping a liveblog on the story. It’s here. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, Al Jazeera is doing the same here. And Indian novelist and campaigner Arundhati Roy has written a powerful piece in the Guardian here.