Top stories from DAWNS Digest.
“Two groups in Ethiopia said Thursday that they will hold an anti-gay demonstration later this month, a move that puts Ethiopia in line to become the next African country to increase the public demonization of gays. Although gay sex is already outlawed in Ethiopia, the rally set for April 26 comes as the parliament considers making homosexual acts ineligible for presidential pardons. New legislation in Uganda and Nigeria this year has increased penalties for homosexual acts in those two countries, sending many gays underground or out of the country.” (AP http://bit.ly/1i6iV5P)
Police in Uganda have accused a US-funded AIDS project that they raided last week of paying young men to become homosexuals. (AFP http://bit.ly/1i6kwIY)
A new UN report shows limited progress in fighting sexual violence in the DR Congo, where too few attackers have been brought to justice. (VOA http://bit.ly/1i6mQ2F)
Cameroon has announced a special polio vaccination campaign for all children after half a dozen cases were identified. (VOA http://bit.ly/1i6mTLN)
Indians voted in the crucial third phase of national elections Thursday, with millions going to the polls in the heartland states that are essential to the main opposition Hindu nationalist party. (AP http://bit.ly/1hExOrt)
As Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar face acute shortages of water, food and medical care, a US State Department official urged the government to facilitate the return of aid groups. (AP http://bit.ly/1hEy6yC)
Myanmar’s central “dry zone”, home to a quarter of its 58 million people, is falling short on food production, pushing local people into hunger, malnutrition and debt. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1i6nkFU)