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Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the region, but it also survived the Arab Spring without a horrible amount of bloodshed. In recent weeks, though, things have come to a head. Now, the government is firing on protesters. We need only look to Syria to see where that could lead. “Pro-government forces in the capital opened fire on Tuesday at thousands of demonstrators from the Shiite religious minority, killing six and injuring dozens, officials and witnesses said. The killings marked the first outbreak of violence inside the capital, Sana, after three weeks of escalating pressure by thousands of Shiite protesters who have held daily rallies on the outskirts of the city demanding that the government roll back cuts to price subsidies and then step down. Security forces seeking to dismantle a roadblock that protesters had erected near the city’s main airport also killed two people in clashes on Sunday, setting the stage for the violence in the capital.” (NYT http://nyti.ms/1uHPFqc)
And Here’s the International Crisis Group’s Conflict Alert on the crisis. http://bit.ly/1uHPMSO
Bad News For Displaced Children…”Almost 30 million children are out of school in emergency or conflict affected countries following the targeting of schools and the displacement of millions of children forced from their homes and studies, the United Nations Children’s Fund said today…’Last year, global emergency education programmes supported by UNICEF only received 2 per cent of all funds raised for humanitarian action, resulting in a $247 million funding shortfall. Education is an essential part of humanitarian response, requiring support and investment from the very onset of a crisis,’ Ms. Bourne said.” (UN News Centre http://bit.ly/1trseAo)
Ebola Outbreak
Republican Members of the US House of Representatives have indicated that they will approve less than half of an $80 million budget request from the White House to respond to ebola. (The Hill bit.ly/1nJsDez)
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has ordered the lifting of an Ebola quarantine on a town near the capital, Monrovia, and an adjustment in the hours of a nationwide curfew. (VOA http://bit.ly/1truiIS)
The death toll from the worst Ebola outbreak in history has risen to at least 2,296 out of 4,293 cases in five West African countries, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1uijqzs)
Liberia, the country worst hit by West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, should see thousands of new cases in coming weeks as the virus spreads exponentially, the WHO said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1uijXlb)
Africa
A watchdog group says more than 70 women and children have been freed over the past month from the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group, whose leader is the subject of an international manhunt involving US troops. (AP http://yhoo.it/1uinAr9)
Sudanese authorities on Tuesday released a senior member of the opposition Umma Party who was detained last month after the party reached a deal to cooperate with rebels. http://yhoo.it/1uilHLa
According to Cameroonian media, twenty-two cholera cases and one fatality have already been recorded since the 28 August outbreak. Recent flooding has made matters more difficult, says the IFRC. http://bit.ly/1trOcn2
Although most residents of Sierra Leone’s capital have yet to witness Ebola firsthand, the outbreak has nevertheless affected virtually all aspects of daily life. (Think Africa Press http://bit.ly/1trPRck)
MENA
Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli government of coercing thousands of African asylum seekers to return home where they could face imprisonment and possible torture. (VOA http://bit.ly/1uiiZFn)
More than 12,000 foreigners from 74 countries have gone to fight with rebels in Syria, 60 to 70 percent from other Middle Eastern countries and about 20 to 25 percent from Western nations, a leading expert on terrorism said. (AP http://yhoo.it/1uikmDZ)
Oxfam called Tuesday on rich nations to commit to accepting between them at least five percent of Syria’s three million refugees and urged them to increase aid contributions. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1uinHCZ)
Asia
Few issues get more attention nowadays in Afghanistan’s aid circles than insecurity-engendered restrictions on humanitarian access. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1trsSy4)
A decade after the assassination of Indonesian human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, the case remains unsolved but not forgotten. On the eve of the inauguration of the country’s reform-minded president-elect Joko Widodo, pressure is growing to re-open the investigation. (VOA http://bit.ly/1truesE)
The death toll from floods in Pakistan and India reached 400 on Tuesday as armies in both countries scrambled to help the victims and authorities in Islamabad warned hundreds of thousands to be prepared to flee more flooding in the days ahead. (AP http://yhoo.it/1try199)
The Americas
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet says a bomb attack which left 14 people injured in the capital Santiago was a “cowardly act of terrorism.” (BBC http://bbc.in/1uiipaN)
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has insisted a corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras does not involve her government, as she fends off a new threat to her re-election bid. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1uikGCH)
Four Peruvian anti-logging activists and tribal leaders have been killed by suspected illegal loggers, officials say. (BBC http://bbc.in/1trBuof)
Opinion/Blogs
Why Asia is probably poorer than we think (Guardian http://bit.ly/1trt28v)
Can donors support civil society activism without destroying it? Some great evidence from Nigeria (From Poverty to Power http://bit.ly/WOhTUU)
How Will the Death of Its Leader, Ahmed Godane, Impact Al Shabaab? (African Arguments http://bit.ly/1trNJkD)
Corruption and dirty elections are a symptom not the disease (Chris Blattman http://bit.ly/1lTVMZ0)
Why You Should Start Paying Attention to a Crisis in Lesotho (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/YukhBD)
Expanding Budget Literacy in Nepal (World Bank http://bit.ly/1lTXs4L)
A Global Carbon Tax or Cap-and-Trade? Part 1: The Economic Arguments (CGD http://bit.ly/WOeGEM)
Voice & Matter Festival 2014: Welcome to the cross-border C4D & ICT4D extravaganza! (Aidnography http://bit.ly/1lTXUjA)
Here’s why Unrest in Lesotho Matters So Much (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/1nJiwXb)
Research/Reports
Norway says Hungarian police raids on the offices of civic groups critical of the government are unacceptable and show Hungary is distancing itself from European democratic norms. (AP http://yhoo.it/1trBTHs)
Concept notes have been written, regional consultations have started, and online forums are open for comments – all leading up to the World Humanitarian Summit itself, scheduled to take place in Turkey, probably during May 2016. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1uipLet)