The peaceful overthrow last year of long serving ruler Blaise Compaore was a signature moment for the west African country. The peace may now be shattered. “Burkina Faso’s presidential guard on Wednesday detained the interim president and prime minister, plunging the west African country into uncertainty just weeks before the first elections since the ouster of ex-leader Blaise Compaore.The detention of the nation’s transitional leaders triggered immediate street protests outside the presidential palace where the men were being held. Gunfire pierced the air as soldiers tried to disperse several hundred demonstrators, an AFP reporter saw.” (AFP http://yhoo.it/1P0ECTf)
Humanity Affirming News of the Day…A hot off the presses report from WHO and UNICEF says Malaria deaths have declined by 60% since 2000 and that the MDG to halt and reverse incidence of malaria has been achieved “convincingly.” (WHO http://bit.ly/1P0DCOU)
Huge Earthquake in Chile…A magnitude 8.3 earthquake hit off the coast of Chile on Wednesday, shaking buildings in the capital city of Santiago and generating a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru. Chile’s government urged residents to evacuate the coastline. The mayor of Illapel, which is near the epicenter, said on a radio broadcast that one person had been killed by a collapsing wall, and 15 others were reported injured. Some homes were damaged as well.” (Reuters http://reut.rs/1P0Ed35)
No vaccine = No Benefits…Australia Wednesday introduced a “no jab, no pay” law which would block parents who refuse to vaccinate their children from accessing some government benefits. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1JbQJYp)
Stat of the Day…As many 30,000 people could be involved in the trafficking gangs charging refugees thousands of euros for a perilous trip to Europe, the head of Europe’s police agency said on Wednesday. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1ihutGQ)
Typo of the Day…A possible Freudian slip from @Reuters leads to a correction and ta deleted tweet: “CORRECTION: Hungarian military Humvees, mounted with guns, approach border with Serbia (not Syria).”
Africa
More than 23,000 people, mostly children, have been infected with measles in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 400 have died, according to United Nations agencies and Doctors Without Borders. (NY Times http://nyti.ms/1OwsPy2)
The governor of a province in central Burundi says more than 100 men have been arrested in two days by security forces trying to prevent men from being recruited to fight the government. (VOA http://bit.ly/1UWoFnX)_
Aid workers in South Sudan are being attacked with greater frequency, a consortium of aid groups here said Wednesday. (AP http://yhoo.it/1ihuqeh)
The Nigerian government is talking to the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram to try to get the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, the president said. (AP http://yhoo.it/1Nxpiyx)
Six out of 10 Nigerian children experience some form of violence and a quarter of girls suffer sexual violence, according to a survey conducted by Nigeria’s population commission. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1iho6Ds)
Health officials in Liberia said that because many pregnant women chose to have their babies at home due to fears of Ebola, tens of thousands of children today have not been officially registered. (VOA http://bit.ly/1UWoF7v)
The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board has approved about $11.8 million in financial assistance for Central African Republic, the IMF said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1iho9za)
A U.N. special investigator warns Burundi could slip back into open warfare unless the international community takes urgent preventive action. (VOA http://bit.ly/1ihpsy4)
With their economies floundering and currencies sinking, African states that have borrowed heavily in dollars may be slipping back into the debt trap – and ultimately default – only a decade after a far-reaching round of debt forgiveness. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1ihpupS)
Rights groups accused Angola’s government on Wednesday of using the legal system to crack down on critics, after an activist was jailed for six years on charges of stirring rebellion. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1NxiMb2)
A lawyer representing an academic and a journalist said they have been acquitted of libel charges stemming from a Facebook post criticizing Mozambique’s former president. (AP http://yhoo.it/1NxpnlL)
Land degradation, such as a spread of deserts in parts of Africa, costs the world economy trillions of dollars a year and may drive tens of millions of people from their homes, a U.N.-backed study said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1UWoLfq)
MENA
Delegates for Libya’s internationally recognized government said on Tuesday it was recalling its team from U.N.-backed peace talks with rivals, complaining about amendments to a draft agreement meant to end their conflict. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1iho9PL)
On the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, mountains of putrid garbage are rising and tempers are flaring as a months-old rubbish collection crisis shows no signs of being resolved. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1NxpldB)
A U.S. official says Tunisia is under “tremendous pressure” from terrorist attacks as it works to build and enact democratic reforms. (VOA http://bit.ly/1LyhFDG)
The U.N. children’s fund reports more than two million children are unable to attend school in Syria because of war and violence. UNICEF says another 400,000 children are at risk of dropping out of school this year because of escalating fighting and displacement. (VOA http://bit.ly/1UWoLfA)
Israeli authorities detained a Palestinian man on Wednesday, just hours after he was discharged from an Israeli hospital following a two-month hunger strike to protest his earlier detention without charges. (AP http://yhoo.it/1ihuqeg)
UN envoy Bernardino Leon insisted Wednesday that troubled Libyan peace talks were not yet over but acknowledged they were at a crossroads that might force him to step down as mediator. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1NxpqOD)
Asia
Nepal’s parliament passed a new national constitution on Wednesday, weeks after political leaders reached a historic agreement to create a federal state following an earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1NxprC9)
Police in Nepal fired rubber bullets into a crowd of demonstrators killing four people including a four-year-old boy, officials said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of clashes over a plan to set up a federal system. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1ihvVJs)
The United Nations released a report Wednesday saying Sri Lanka cannot rely on its own justice system and instead should use a special court to achieve accountability for violations that took place during the country’s 26-year civil war. (VOA http://bit.ly/1UWoEQY)
A Thai journalist just freed from detention by the military government said Wednesday he has resigned under pressure from his newspaper. (AP http://yhoo.it/1Nxpi1r)
Hospitals in the Indian capital struggled Wednesday to cope with a flood of patients suffering from dengue fever as the Delhi government warned against turning away anyone seeking treatment. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1ihuvi7)
The Americas
A Muslim student in Texas was arrested when he brought a homemade clock to school – over suspicions of terrorism. The ensuing backlash against school officials and police came soon after. By the end of the day, the student was invited to the White House. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/1OfkP5j)
Venezuela extends a state of emergency to another 10 municipalities on its border with Colombia as it tries to crack down on smuggling in the region. (BBC http://bbc.in/1LypI3e)
…and the rest
Malnourishment affects one in three people worldwide and is linked to 45% of deaths among children under the age of five, according to a report on global nutrition that warns the “staggering” scale of the condition could undermine the sustainable development agenda without greater investment from governments and donors. (Guardian http://bit.ly/1UWoI3m)
Refugee Crisis
Dozens of migrants on Wednesday managed to break through Hungarian police lines on the Serbian border and force their way into Hungary at the flashpoint Roszke crossing. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1ihuxqg)
Hungarian police fired tear gas and water cannon on Wednesday at several hundred migrants protesting at being unable to cross the border from Serbia, AFP reporters said. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1ihuuea)
At least half of the refugees who have gone to Germany have mental health problems because of trauma suffered in war or during their dangerous escapes, said the chamber of psychotherapists Wednesday. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1ihuw5w)
Migrants walked through cornfields into the European Union through Serbia’s western border with Croatia on Wednesday, opening a new front in the continent’s migration crisis after Hungary shut the main overland route. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1NxiJvN)
It took a photograph of a drowned toddler washed up on a Turkish beach to achieve what a United Nations agency with 9,300 staff and a budget of $4 billion could not: soften European views on the refugee crisis. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1ihur1Y)
Opinion/Blogs
Another U.N. General Assembly Talk Fest Begins (IPS http://bit.ly/1ihmqdf)
Extreme poverty: can we reach zero by 2030? (ODI video http://bit.ly/1UWrxRK)
How would the finance boffins do global development? (Guardian http://bit.ly/1Ofavdz)
All the exiled people – where do they all belong? (African Arguments http://bit.ly/1UWAjiU)
Unexpected humanitarians – the rise and potential fall of Syria’s diaspora aid (IRIN http://bit.ly/1ihz7Vr)
Six Critical Areas for Stability in West Africa (Africa can end poverty http://bit.ly/1UWBGxS)
Calling George Clooney: Here’s a role with a social scientist as the action hero! (Monkey Cage http://wapo.st/1UWApqO)
Better data can help international forest finance flow (ODI http://bit.ly/1UWBLlm)
Aftermath of Ebola Sparks a Rethink About Aid (ISS http://bit.ly/1LypDN3)
Hispanic Cancer Rates Show How It Matters Where You Come From (NPR http://n.pr/1NxpaiG)
Protracted Stagnation Threatens International Solidarity, Development (IPS http://bit.ly/1LyfJLf)