So far, things have remained peaceful. But the combination of ebola plus a deepening political crisis is particularly worrisome. “Sierra Leone’s army chief on Monday ordered soldiers to remain in their barracks and warned them to steer clear of a political crisis that has erupted following the controversial dismissal of the West African nation’s vice-president. President Ernest Bai Koroma sacked his deputy, Samuel Sam-Sumana, last week, saying he had abandoned his duties by requesting asylum at the U.S. Embassy in the capital Freetown. The ruling All People’s Congress had accused the vice-president of creating his own political movement and kicked him out of the party.” (Reuters http://reut.rs/1Fx2XPf)
Humanity Affirming Achievement of the Day: How Ethiopia Managed to Supply Water to 48 Million People…“Today, we’re celebrating something special in Ethiopia – reaching the water Goal 7c of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). What does this mean? Put simply, it means 57 percent of the country’s population now is drinking water from an improved water supply such as a tap or hand pump, rather than from an open stream. By drinking water from an improved water supply, Ethiopia has greatly improved the health of many women and children and has managed to cut under 5 child mortality by two-thirds and significantly reduce child stunting.” (UNICEF http://bit.ly/1Fx3Uan)
Meet Jessica Stern…the nat sec wonk and real-life inspiration behind Nicole Kidman’s character in the 1990s film “The Peacemaker” (Global Dispatches Podcast http://bit.ly/1Chc0Bj)
Quote of the Day… “We have been running away from giving any specific date, but I am pretty sure myself that it will be gone by the summer,” — Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. (WaPo http://wapo.st/1Fx2pce)
Africa
The Ebola crisis has brutally exposed the “age-old failures” of the humanitarian aid system with the World Health Organisation and governments repeating the mistakes of past public health emergencies, the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières has said. (Guardian http://bit.ly/1bnW06k)
A Congolese army offensive against Rwandan Hutu rebels may be advancing rapidly, but many fear it is failing in its main objective of disarming them as the fighters melt away into the forest. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1bnWh9q)
Ivory Coast’s ruling party on Sunday chose incumbent president Alassane Ouattara as expected to be its candidate for this year’s presidential election. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1bnWhGB
Militants from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb decapitated a Malian this week that they accused of aiding France’s anti-jihadist operation in the region, security sources said Saturday. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1bnWidB)
A special court in Senegal sentenced the son of former President Abdoulaye Wade to six years in prison for corruption on Monday and ordered him to pay a $228 million fine, dashing his hopes of competing in elections due in 2017. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1xUGW4U
Five madrassas in Uganda have been shut down over allegations they are training students to become extremists, a Ugandan police official said Monday. A Muslim leader denied the allegations. (AP http://yhoo.it/1xcUpKp)
The trial of people accused of killing eight Ebola health workers and journalists opened Monday in a remote region of Guinea. (AP http://yhoo.it/1xUGUKr)
MENA
Despite fierce fighting by rival militias around Libya’s capital of Tripoli, peace talks between the factions haven’t fallen apart and there could be an agreement on a unity government in a day or two, the U.N. envoy to Libya said Sunday. (AP http://yhoo.it/1EClKDg)
The United States will not take the floor at the main U.N. human rights forum on Monday during the annual debate on violations committed in the Palestinian territories, as part of a previous agreement not to speak. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1DOmgD5)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday night apologized to the Arab Israelis in a bid to walk back his controversial comment made at the height of last week’s parliamentary election. (Xinhua http://bit.ly/1Fx3noS)
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have signed an initial agreement on how to share water from the Nile River that runs through the three countries, as Ethiopia constructs a massive new dam it hopes will help alleviate some of its electricity shortages. (AP http://yhoo.it/1xUGT9e)
Asia
As India grapples to stem rising violence against women, activists say classes which confront traditional gender roles and challenge sexism amongst the youth are key to changing attitudes and curbing widespread gender abuse. (TRF http://yhoo.it/1N67SWy)
Hundreds of Afghans protested in Kabul on Monday to demand justice for a woman who was killed by a mob outside one of the capital’s most famous mosques after she was falsely being accused of burning a Quran. (AP http://yhoo.it/1DOmdHp)
China’s top weather official said climate change could have a “huge impact” on the country. (VOA http://bit.ly/1xcUYDT)
The Americas
A Mexican broadcast news journalist, fired after helping to reveal a conflict of interest scandal that embarrassed the country’s president, said her former employer tried to suppress the report before she published it on her own website. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1DOmeuR)
…and the rest
The world’s first academy for humanitarian relief is to be launched, aimed at training 100,000 aid workers from over 50 countries in organising rapid responses to disasters and emergencies. (Guardian http://bit.ly/1EClFPZ)
Opinion/Blogs
Podcast -Transforming global health with metrics: Chris Murray (Humanosphere http://bit.ly/1bo0fyU)
Lee Kuan Yew is dead. Here are 7 of his most provocative quotes (GlobalPost http://bit.ly/1bnVRjq)
Why Ebola continues to plague Guinea, one year later (IRIN http://bit.ly/1EClvrZ)
Measurement Matters – Civic Space and the Post-2015 Framework (IPS http://bit.ly/1GL0z4F)
The professionalization of development volunteering – towards a new global precariat? (Aidnography http://bit.ly/1N6dQ9O)
Rhodes Must Fall Everywhere (Africa is a Country http://bit.ly/1DOtpDj)
The ODA rule changes: Who’s up and who’s down? (David Roodman http://bit.ly/1DOtHKw)
How should aid agencies evolve? Views from developing countries (DevPolicy http://bit.ly/1N6elka)