Top stories from DAWNS Digest
Peacekeeping Troops in DRC Start Offensive Operations Against Rwandan Hutu Militias
The UN is opening a much anticipated second front after defeating the M23 last month. “Defeating Rwandan FDLR insurgents, who have long been used as a pretext for intervention in Congo by neighboring Rwanda, is seen as the next step in ending decades of conflict along the veteran foes’ shared border, weeks after the Congolese Tutsi-led M23 rebels were defeated. General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz said on U.N.-backed Radio Okapi on Tuesday that his troops would attack the FDLR rebel forces in a bid to secure a road between the eastern Congolese towns of Kitchanga and Pinga.” (VOA http://bit.ly/1buyHQg)
Uruguay Becomes First Country to Legalize Marijuana Trade
A law legalizing and regulating a domestic pot market will enter into force in 120 days. “Uruguay’s attempt to quell drug trafficking is being followed closely in Latin America where the legalization of some narcotics is being increasingly seen by regional leaders as a possible way to end the violence spawned by the cocaine trade. Rich countries debating legalization of pot are also watching the bill, which philanthropist George Soros has supported as an ‘experiment’ that could provide an alternative to the failed U.S.-led policies of the long ‘war on drugs.’” (Reuters http://reut.rs/1buz4dE)