Ebola Outbreak ‘Out of Control’…A very dire warning from MSF about the outbreak in western Africa. “MSF is having difficulty responding to the large number of new cases emerging in different locations.“We have reached our limits,” said Janssens. “Despite the human resources and equipment deployed by MSF in the three affected countries, we are no longer able to send teams to the new outbreak sites.” The scale of the current Ebola epidemic is unprecedented in terms of geographical distribution and the numbers of cases and deaths. There have been 528 cases and 337 deaths since the epidemic began, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures. An Ebola epidemic in West Africa is out of control and requires massive resources from governments and aid agencies to prevent it from spreading further, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders said Monday.” (MSF http://bit.ly/1pbLBjM)
Egypt: Al Jazeera Journalists Sentenced to Prison…The verdict comes one day after John Kerry visited Cairo, with promises to resume military aid. “Two of the journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison, and the third was given 10 years, the three additional years apparently for his possession of a single spent bullet. The case has drawn condemnation from international rights groups and Western governments because there was no publicly available evidence that the journalists had either supported the Brotherhood or broadcast anything inaccurate.”
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Africa
Chinese workers have abandoned road construction and mining exploration sites in northern Cameroon in the wake of last month’s kidnapping of 10 workers by suspected Boko Haram rebels. (VOA http://bit.ly/1lLUi1O)
Thousands of people have fled their homes in northern Liberia following an invasion of caterpillars – which have overtaken houses and schools, destroyed crops and contaminated water sources. (VOA http://bit.ly/1lLUldX)
A Sudanese woman on death row for refusing to renounce her Christian faith had her sentence canceled and was ordered released by a Khartoum court on Monday, the country’s official news agency, SUNA, reported. (VOA http://bit.ly/1lLUw9b)
South Africa’s AMCU union declared a five-month platinum strike “officially over” on Monday as thousands of miners roared their approval when leader Joseph Mathunjwa asked if they wanted to end the longest work stoppage in the country’s history. (VOA http://bit.ly/1lLUL4a)
Residents of the Central African Republic city of Bambari say that a militia attacked a nearby Muslim village and killed 18 of its inhabitants. (AP http://apne.ws/ToTl32)
At least 20 people were killed in inter-clan violence in northern Kenya on Sunday, the police said, further destabilising one of Kenya’s most volatile regions. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1rrgUEj)
Two million children under five die each year in central and western Africa, accounting for almost a third of all deaths worldwide in that age range, the UN children’s agency said. (AP http://yhoo.it/1rrh7qZ)
The first-ever United Nations Environmental Assembly is underway in Nairobi, Kenya, where more than 150 high-level delegations are addressing environmental sustainability challenges. (AP http://yhoo.it/1nYynmv)
MENA
Middle East analyst Nezar al-Sayyad said US Secretary of State John Kerry’s call on Egypt’s new leaders to embrace democracy and press freedom may fall on deaf ears because Egyptians do not seem to be interested. (VOA http://bit.ly/1rraVix)
A group of Egyptian human rights activists is calling on the United Nations to send a fact-finding mission to Egypt to investigate human rights violations against women, including sexual abuse and rape. (VOA http://bit.ly/1lLUf5Z)
The international chemical weapons watchdog charged with ridding Syria of its stockpile says it has received the last of the country’s toxic chemicals identified for removal. (VOA http://bit.ly/1rrbWXX)
Non-state armed groups in Syria have used children as young as 15 to fight in battles, sometimes recruiting them under the guise of offering education. (Humano Rights Watch http://bit.ly/1rrfQAf)
Asia
A Thai police general has announced he will give cash rewards to those turning in photos or videos of anyone illegally expressing a political stance. (VOA http://bit.ly/1lLU4HX)
Sri Lanka’s government should take action to prosecute acts of communal violence and promote peace, say observers, following the worst clashes in five years that left at least two dead and over 80 injured. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1rrewx7)
A shortage of viable evacuation centres in areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan has humanitarians and officials in the Philippines concerned that survivors will not have alternative accommodation in case of another one. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1rreJk3)
A mine in China, where people have worked for decades, leaves a nearby village poisoned by arsenic and hundreds of residents stricken with cancer. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1nYzsL8)
The Americas
The World Health Organization says it found a strain of the polio virus at an international airport in Brazil in March, but there are no human cases. (BBC http://bbc.in/1lLVrqf)
The Argentine government publishes an advert in US newspapers denouncing the recent US Supreme Court ruling in favour of hedge fund investors holding its defaulted bonds. (BBC http://bbc.in/1lLW0QJ)
Starting this fall, 25 percent of all US hospitals — those with the worst records for infections and injuries — will lose 1 percent of every Medicare payment for a year. (NPR http://n.pr/1rrg4ak)
Opinion/Blogs
The Good and Bad News in the Fight Against Polio (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/Tp8tNU)
Oxfam tweet stirs UK controversy for being too political (Humanosphere http://bit.ly/Tp9s0D)
Analysis: Looking beyond IGAD in South Sudan (IRIN http://bit.ly/1lLVwdo)
Eastern DRC: Stop Fixating on Conflict Minerals (Think Africa Press http://bit.ly/1rreFAR)
Somaliland’s leading lady for women’s rights: ‘It is time for men to step up’ (Guardian http://bit.ly/1lLVXED)
Transforming Development: Tackling sexual violence in war needs gender justice in peace too (IDS http://bit.ly/1nYze6E)
Is China’s Anticorruption Crackdown Really a Crackdown on Anticorruption Activists? (Global Anticorruption Blog http://bit.ly/Tp8jpY)
Pacific women and contraceptive use: what are the barriers? (DevPolicy http://bit.ly/Tp8O32)
Using Knowledge to Fight Poverty in Africa (AfricaCan End Poverty http://bit.ly/Tp9lST)
Research/Reports
Landmine ban success reaps results; strict adherence, rapid clearance, and assistance for victims remain crucial (Campaign to Ban Landmines http://bit.ly/1rrfE3X)