Excluded Headlines: Syria strangled by the US, Israel. Oil spill in Ecuador, arrests in Turkiye. Sudan, Yemen, Gaza...
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:
US puts controlling conditions on ending harmful sanctions against Syria - The United States has handed Syria a list of conditions for it to meet in exchange for partial sanctions relief. The conditions include “cooperation on counter-terrorism” and on who can have roles in Syria’s new governing structure. The sanctions mean that, among other things, Syria is struggling to pay public sector workers. Israeli war planes continue to strike parts of Syria. Source, source.
Major oil spill in Ecuador - Petroleum is entering the rivers and beaches of the Esmeraldas coastal area of Ecuador. State-owned company Petroecuador had a spill around a week ago, but the impact of it is gradually becoming apparent. Three contaminated rivers are vital for supplying water, fish and supporting agriculture o communities nearby. Reports are that the spill spread 80 km down the Esmeraldas river and that clean-up has been extremely slow. Source.
1,500-1,900 people detained in Turkiye for protesting - Over half of those detained have been taken into custody for participating in anti-government protests over the past six days that followed the detention of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. İmamoğlu is being investigated for corruption and some 90 others were arrested along with him. He’s also seen as a key rival to the president, so his arrest may have political motives. Source, source.
Palm oil industry contaminating water in Guatemala - The industry has been expanding significantly in the north of the country, and has been contaminating rivers and water supplies and killing fish with impunity for at least eight years. Source.
Israel kills over 700 in a week in Gaza, targets hospitals - Though Egypt has proposed a new deal in order to resume the (badly implemented) ceasefire, Israeli media reports that the Israeli army is preparing its next phase of its military operation in Gaza. Over the past week, the military has killed over 700 people, injured 1,300, struck hospitals including a cancer facility, killed two journalists within hours of each other, and more. Source, source.
New president of Niger - Abdourahamane Tchiani, the leader of Niger's junta, was sworn in on Wednesday for a five-year transitional period, following a new charter that supersedes the existing constitution. Source.
Sudanese army takes control of the capital - Sudan’s army leader declared Khartoum "free" from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after almost two years of conflict. It appears the RSF is retiring south. However, the Sudanese Armed Forces have been accused of air raids on a market in Darfur that killed some 270 people. Source, source, source, source.
Food prices, conflict see hunger affecting more and more people in the DRC - An alarming 28 million people in DRC are now facing acute hunger (IPC phase 3 and above) – an increase of 2.5 million since December; included in this group are 3.9 million people who are experiencing emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4). Forcibly displaced people are the most vulnerable. As the crisis deepens, President Tshisekedi has reportedly offered a deal to the US which provides access to the DRC’s vast mineral wealth in exchange for military assistance against the M23. Source, source.
US airstrikes on Yemen - Most mainstream media has focused on the Trump administration’s leak rather than on the actual consequences of bombing Yemen for people there. Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world, has seen dozens of civilians killed in the strikes and urban areas hit, as well as Houthi launch sites. Inflation in the country is very high, with basics like food and water unaffordable for most people. Source, source, source, source.
Useful reads
An RSF atrocity, a mass evacuation, and another side to mutual aid in Sudan
Nigeria’s state of emergency: was President Tinubu’s declaration legal and justified?
Hossam Shabat’s Last Article from Gaza
Haiti’s Popular Resistance is Growing in Strength Little by Little
The Ocean Creeps In: Tanzanian Coastal Communities Fight a Losing Battle
Sanitizing Resumption of Genocide as ‘Pressure on Hamas’
Israel demolished my 570-year-old home in Gaza