Thousands of residents evacuated as Typhoon Melor slammed into the eastern Philippines, where flood- and landslide-prone communities are bracing for destructive winds, heavy rains and coastal floods of up to 13 feet, officials said Monday. Classes and flights were suspended. “The whole province is now a ghost town. We shut all establishments. No school, no work,” Albay governor Joey Salceda said on ABS-CBN television. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1O04GLI)
Shrimp; brought to you by human trafficking…Pervasive human trafficking has helped turn Thailand into one of the world’s biggest shrimp providers. Despite repeated promises by businesses and government to clean up the country’s $7 billion seafood export industry, an Associated Press investigation has found shrimp peeled by modern-day slaves is reaching the U.S., Europe and Asia. (AP http://yhoo.it/1O02Uue)
Report Of the Day…Is the Human Development Report, UNDP’s flagship. Have at it → http://bit.ly/1TMhycW
I know when that hotline bling, that can only mean one thing…China’s President Xi Jinping spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama by telephone on Monday about a global climate change accord reached in Paris at the weekend, the official Xinhua news agency reported. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1OrR50p)
Stat of the day: The United Nations says that 2 billion people have lifted themselves out of low human development in the last 25 years. (VOA http://bit.ly/1OrMOdb)
Africa
Fresh off the presses: The International Crisis Group’s new Mali report. (ICG http://bit.ly/1TMgTZ0)
A constitutional referendum meant to help stabilize the Central African Republic (CAR) amid conflict between Muslim and Christian factions took place successfully in the majority of the country yesterday, but violent “spoilers” disrupted the process in some areas, the top United Nations peacekeeping official reported today. (UN News Center http://bit.ly/1TMhkm6)
Soldiers killed hundreds of Shiite Muslims this weekend after their group stoned the convoy of Nigeria’s army chief, the Shia Islamic Movement and witnesses said Monday. Other reports put the number of dead at about 20. (AP http://yhoo.it/1jYuccA)
More than two dozen generals and senior army officers accused of being behind a failed coup went on trial in Burundi on Monday amid heightened tensions in the capital after attacks last week by insurgents in which about 90 people were killed. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1P2D4ea)
Burundian refugees in Rwanda are being recruited into rebel groups, a charity said in a report Monday. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1QH186j)
A blunder by Jacob Zuma that gave South Africa three finance ministers in five days has put the president’s credibility on the line, with some senior ruling party figures, the opposition and ordinary people calling for his head. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1IQjD7h)
At least 400 South Sudanese refugees crossed into Uganda’s Lamwo district following clashes between armed bandits and South Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Ikotos and Magwi counties in Eastern Equatorial State. (The Observer http://bit.ly/1OrPYxC)
Gambia’s president has declared the West African country an Islamic republic, saying the decision was made because Islam is the religion of most citizens and the nation must break away from its colonial past. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/1OrQXhv)
As Tanzania prepares to introduce free basic education for all, the government has warned that it will punish parents who fail to ensure their children go to school. (TRF http://yhoo.it/1P2HHF6)
The Burundian government is seeking the extradition from Rwanda of four Burundian journalists working for several private media institutions, including Radio Isanganiro and Radio-TV Renaissance. (VOA http://bit.ly/1P2HJwP)
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said Monday that one of its staff members, Amina Noor Mohamed, was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in Somalia’s capital city. (IBT http://bit.ly/1TMh9XP)
MENA
Aid agencies are warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis in northern Syria as sharply intensified Russian airstrikes paralyze aid supply routes, knockout bakeries and hospitals and kill and maim civilians in growing numbers. (WaPo http://wapo.st/1TMh4U9)
A ceasefire to halt nine months of war in Yemen will take hold at noon local time (0900 GMT) on Tuesday, coinciding with the start of U.N.-backed peace talks in Switzerland, the Saudi-led coalition said on Tuesday. (SwissInfo http://bit.ly/1TMh46w)
Syrian children across the Middle East are facing “irreversible” health problems caused by severe food shortages, as WFP continues to struggle to meet the needs of even the most vulnerable refugees. (Guardian http://bit.ly/1mk20CD)
Egypt said Monday it still has no evidence to back up Moscow’s analysis that a “terrorist” attack had downed a Russian passenger plane at the end of October in the Sinai. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1OrQ4W7)
Global powers backed the formation of a national unity government in Libya, pledging economic and security support to help stabilise the chaotic North African country where Islamic State militants have a foothold. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1lILRqx)
Asia
Thai activists on Monday demanded the release of a man arrested for sharing an infographic on Facebook detailing alleged graft in an army-built park, saying plainclothes security officers took him by force. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1P2D0Lo)
A nearly four-week ban on registering new diesel-powered vehicles in India’s capital has confused automakers and investors, prompting concerns that efforts to battle Delhi’s air pollution could derail the auto industry’s tentative recovery. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1P2D0uZ)
Violations of environmental regulations for scrubbing coal emissions have cost Chinese power producers $98.33 million in lost subsidies and fines under new regulations that came into effect in 2014, the country’s central planning commission said. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1P2D3Hg)
Communist Laos has shown “no political will to solve” the mystery of the abduction of a prominent social activist, a United Nations human rights official said on Monday, on the third anniversary of the kidnapping. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1P2D1PB)
Two North Korean diplomatic initiatives to reach out to its neighbors ended abruptly this weekend when inter-Korean talks concluded with no agreements and an all-female band performance in China was suddenly cancelled. (VOA http://bit.ly/1OrR4JN)
The Americas
Costa Rica’s president landed in Havana Sunday amid mounting regional tension over the fate of thousands of Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica en route to the United States. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1O03iZM)
Officials say that 60 people have been arrested in an operation against child pornography in 10 Latin American countries, as well as Spain and the United States. (AP http://yhoo.it/1O03lEX)
At least 43 police officers were killed Monday when a bus in a convoy in northern Argentina blew a tire and veered off the side of a bridge, falling at about 65 feet (20 meters) in an accident that brought the sad state of the South American nation’s roads into focus. (NYT http://nyti.ms/1TMh8Dt)
…and the rest
Opposition lawmakers released tear gas Monday in Kosovo’s parliament as they once again tried to pressure the government into renouncing deals with Serbia and Montenegro. (AP http://yhoo.it/1P2D3qE)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned rich countries on Monday for failing to properly fund the United Nations refugee agency and World Food Programme, calling the lack of financing “unforgivable” and “unacceptable”. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1P2D2D3)
The wave of refugees flooding into Austria could bolster the country’s economic growth if Vienna continues to work on integrating them quickly, the IMF said on Monday. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1mk1Ye4)
Opinion/Blogs
How the world learned its lesson and got a climate deal (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1OrPZld)
Venezuela: What’s next after major political upset? (CNN http://cnn.it/1MdaXTd)
Last Year Today: Globaldev in 2015 (WhyDev http://bit.ly/1lIUktV)
How Will Rwanda Benefit From China’s $60bn Aid to Africa? (New Times http://bit.ly/1OrJ0J0)
Is the UK putting its own interests ahead of the poor in its new aid strategy? (Owen abroad http://bit.ly/1jYuxfp)
The impact of gender-based violence on the economy (Daily Maverick http://bit.ly/1O03xnz)
Paris Agreement on climate change: the good, the bad, and the ugly (The Conversation http://bit.ly/1MdidOX)
The radical idea at the core of the Paris climate deal (Vox http://bit.ly/1jYAvNh)
Ethiopia’s growth miracle: What will it take to sustain it? (Africa can end poverty http://bit.ly/1O06Dry)
Are social science RCTs headed in the wrong direction? A roundup of the discussion (Chris Blattman http://bit.ly/1O06O69)
Why the world’s young population offers hope in the fights against climate change and conflict (Devex http://bit.ly/1OrXqJe)