Excluded Headlines: Historic agreement in Ecuador, most media in Sudan destroyed, two-thirds of Gaza a no-go zone, why Myanmar earthquake is worse than it seems..
Stay up to date on the Global South news stories the US- and Eurocentric media overlook, with author and journalist, Tamara Pearson.
In this week’s Global South news:
Impact of Myanmar earthquake worse than it seems - Over 3,000 people are now confirmed to have died in Friday’s earthquake, whose epicentre was near Mandalay, the country's second-largest city - that includes 50 children killed when a preschool collapsed. The mainstream media and social media has focused on the death figures and the dramatic footage (especially by upper-class people and tourists in tall buildings in nearby Bangkok), but has provided little depth to the dire situation faced by people in Myanmar, one of the poorest countries in Asia.
Earthquake relief has been complicated by a lack of Internet in many areas - shut down by the military junta which took power in 2021 - as well as the number of doctors in prison and the fact that many hospitals were destroyed in the earthquake. Current extreme heat could also severely impact people who have lost their home or are fearful and are sleeping in the street. This situation is on top of an already dire crisis, with 3 million people displaced due to the conflict and 15 million struggling to meet daily food needs. Source, source, source, source.
US and Canada train Haitian police to deploy deadly drones - Local press reports that a special police drone unit of 40 officers is being trained, presumably as part of Operation Helios, where Canada works with Caribbean troops as part of the US-financed mission to allegedly counter the gangs in Haiti, but also to control the political agenda there. The drones are risky, as they would be used to detonate explosives in mostly very-densely populated areas. Source.
Left-leaning Ecuadorian candidate reaches historic agreement with Indigenous organisation - Luisa González, candidate of the Citizen Revolution movement (RC) will go to a run-off vote against current right-wing president Noboa on 13 April. She has reached an agreement with Pachakutik, the electoral wing of the CONAIE - the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, which has previously had significant conflicts or critiques of some of the RC’s policies and which ran its own candidate in the initial presidential elections. The agreement includes respecting community consultation for economic projects and not expanding oil fields. Source.
Israel intensifies attacks on Syria - In southern and central Syria, Israel combined airstrikes with large-scale ground incursions. Source.
90% of media infrastructure in Sudan in ruins - Media outlets, including TV, radio, and newspapers, have been almost completely destroyed during the conflict between the Sudanese Army and the RSF. Newspapers have stopped printing for the first time in 120 years, with 90% of their workers out of work. Source.
US strikes on Yemen causing irreparable harm - Over the past three weeks, US strikes have killed 92 people and left 50,000 people without water after one strike hit a water tank. Source, source.
Two-thirds of Gaza under forced displacement orders - All crossings are completely closed for incoming supplies, and two-thirds of Gaza are reportedly a ‘no-go’ zone. The Israeli army also targeted first responders, killing eight medics, six civil defence responders, and a UN employee and burying them in the sand. Source, source.
Rice farmers in Uzbekistan migrating due to water shortages - The climate emergency is seeing the country’s two main rivers drying up or shallower, forcing farmers to leave traditional rice-growing areas. Rice is a key component of the country’s diet. Source.
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