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Africa’s most populous country has confirmed its first ebola death, from a traveller from the Liberia. In the meantime, Liberia is going on lockdown and two American aid workers have been sickened. Jina Moore of Buzzfeed offers an excellent dispatch from Lagos, Nigeria. “Nigeria has begun medical testing at all ports of entry for passengers coming from Ebola-affected countries after a Liberian traveler died of the disease in Lagos on Friday. Passengers from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia — as well as any passenger from any departure point who appears ill upon arrival — must be tested for Ebola, an often fatal virus. Anyone positive will be quarantined.” (BuzzFeed http://bzfd.it/1rxj30S)
The Liberian government closed most of its border crossings and introduced stringent health measures to curb the spread of the deadly Ebola virus that has killed at least 660 people across the region. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1q9Hkcq)
A second American aid worker stationed at a Liberian hospital tested positive for the Ebola virus on Sunday, a week after an infected man brought the disease by plane to Nigeria. (Fox News http://fxn.ws/1rxi0Ou)
Security Council Calls for Gaza Ceasefire. It Breaks Down Quickly…”A fragile truce in Gaza for a Muslim holiday broke down Monday as a mortar shell fired from the Palestinian territory killed four Israeli soldiers, prompting the army to resume attacks on Hamas militants. The renewed fighting killed a fifth Israeli soldier inside Gaza, Israel said, while Gaza health officials said at least 18 Palestinians were killed…An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council called for “an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire,” echoing U.S. President Barack Obama’s appeal in a phone call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.”(WSJ http://on.wsj.com/1rxk8G3)
Africa
Sweden has resumed financial aid to Uganda after suspending some assistance in March over a law widely condemned by donor nations that increases punishment for homosexuals. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1q9GHPX)
The UN’s FAO is warning people in West African countries about a link between eating wildlife and the disease Ebola. The FAO says it is especially worried about the fruit bat. (VOA http://bit.ly/WJLVd3)
More than 130,000 people who live in 42 fishing villages along Uganda’s shores of Lake Victoria have an HIV-infection rate that is three to four times higher than the national average in this country of 36 million people. (VOA http://bit.ly/1q9OUU9)
Despite legislative and societal hostility, Uganda’s gay rights activists refuse to take a step back. (Think Africa Press http://bit.ly/1pwpajl)
MENA
Lebanon’s inability to store water efficiently, water pollution and its misuse both in agriculture and for domestic purposes, have put great pressure on the resource. (IPS http://bit.ly/1q9G6Ob)
Migrant workers who built luxury offices used by Qatar’s 2022 football World Cup organisers say they have not been paid for more than a year and are now working illegally from cockroach-infested lodgings. (Guardian http://bit.ly/1q9Izbv)
The Gaza police operations room and a Palestinian health official say separate Israeli airstrikes hit the compound of Gaza City’s main hospital, causing casualties. (AP http://yhoo.it/1rS5Am8)
Asia
People in Asia who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual often find themselves victims of violence from family members, who in fact are often the main perpetrators, according to a recent report by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. (IPS http://bit.ly/1q9FCHQ)
The planned construction of 88 hydroelectric dams in the lower Mekong basin by 2030 will cause food security challenges in Cambodia, experts say. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1q9HAbm)
The Philippines on Sunday welcomed its 100-millionth citizen — a baby girl named Chonalyn who was born at a hospital in the capital, Manila. But the celebration is mixed with concern in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country with one of the fastest growing populations in Asia. Many in the country struggle to meet the basic necessities of life. (NPR http://n.pr/WJKfQV)
A group of 157 Sri Lankan asylum seekers has arrived at a detention camp in Australia, government officials said on Monday, after having been held at sea by authorities for almost a month, sparking a legal challenge. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1q9QrK0)
Pacific island leaders will renew calls for meaningful action on climate change at a regional summit opening in Palau today, amid fears rising seas will swamp their low-lying nations. (Yahoo http://yhoo.it/1q9RrOb)
New legislation recently passed in the southwest Pacific Island state of Papua New Guinea outlawing polygamy has been welcomed by experts in the country as an initial step forward in the battle against high rates of domestic violence, gender inequality and the spread of AIDS. (IPS http://bit.ly/1pwovyj)
The Americas
Argentina’s government is resuming negotiations in a dispute with US. creditors that risks sending the country into default this week. (AP http://yhoo.it/1q9TPo8)
Opinion/Blogs
A conversation with Daniel Drezner about the new BRICS Development Bank and his book about how international institutions responded to the 2008 financial crisis. (Global Dispatches Podcast http://bit.ly/WKicR6)
Sanitation For All: Ignore Quality at Your Own Peril (People, Spaces, Deliberation http://bit.ly/X4DusM)
How Not to Teach Children about Poverty (NYU Development Research Institute http://bit.ly/X4CvZt)
How enormous stories go unreported all the time (Campaign for Boring Development http://bit.ly/1zmHdjf)
Africa’s Last Colony (Africa is a Country http://bit.ly/X4EOvF)
Research/Reports
A UN panel opens a three-day meeting on the ageing of the global population. It’s part of a process that could lead to a new international treaty to protect the rights of older persons. (VOA http://bit.ly/1rS5Q4L)
Blockages to preventing malnutrition in Kambia, Sierra Leone: a semi-quantitative causal analysis (SLRC http://bit.ly/1zmHLpf)