Top stories from DAWNS Digest.
South Sudan Expels UN Human Rights Investigator
In a move that does not reflect well on the new government in Juba, South Sudanese authorities booted out of their country a UN official who wrote a critical human rights report. “UN. sources, who named the officer as Sandra Beidas, said the expulsion may have been related to an August report accusing the army of torturing, raping, killing and abducting civilians. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in July last year under a 2005 peace deal that ended a decades-long civil war in which some 2 million people died. Sporadic conflict has continued in disputed border areas. Human rights groups accuse the new nation, which depends heavily on Western donors, of allowing abuses by its security forces, mostly composed of poorly-trained former guerrilla and militia fighters.” (Reuters http://reut.rs/R64KiW)
UK Government Reportedly Ending Bilateral Development Aid to India
A big shift is reportedly in the works regarding the British government’s foreign aid relationship with India. “Justine Greening, the new International Development Secretary, is expected to announce that the UK’s commitment to India will radically change at the end of the current eight-year funding programme. A review of aid last year led to a reduction in the sums going to the India, but it committed the UK to spending an average of £280 million a year in the country’s poorest states until 2015. Ms Greening plans to travel to India in the next few months for talks with the government about a timetable for winding down aid payments which have long been criticised by Tory MPs.” (The Independent http://ind.pn/R65B36)