This is a roundup of news articles, reports, and other materials focusing on (in)security issues and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of Security in Context. The goal is to shed light on knowledge production on security-related issues of public interest from critical perspectives and from global south readings by highlighting media from four particular regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and developing Asia. Entries may include academic journal articles, think tank reports, non-governmental organizations releases, official documents or government-commissioned research, and regular news items. The material included covers SiC's key security issues: Climate Change, Security and International Relations, Migration and Displacement, Covid-19 and Capitalism, Technologies of Surveillance, Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Sexuality, Arms and the Military-industrial Complex, and Censorship.
You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each roundup to admin@securityincontext.com.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina to oppose Kosovo troops training at Falklands
December 2, 2022
The Argentine foreign minister stated that Argentina would object to permitting the presence of Kosovo troops in the Falklands for the purpose of training due to it violating UN resolutions.
Gangsters make life difficult for police in Haiti
December 2, 2022
As Haiti deals with a gang of violence that has already cost dozens of police officers their lives, the Haitian gangsters have recently seized three police vehicles, two of them being armored ones.
Amazon Deforestation in Brazil Remains Near 15-Year High
November 30 , 2022
According to data released by the National Institute for Space Research the deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has slightly slowed down just a year after marking a 15-year high.
Ecuadorian poultry farm detected to have cases of bird flu
November 29, 2022
In the face of a surge of avian influenza cases, Ecuadorian authorities have decided to activate an epidemiological encirclement in hopes to help end the surge in cases.
Honduras Beefs Up Borders in Crackdown on Gangs
November 27, 2022
As part of their recently declared state of emergency against criminal gangs in the Central American nations, Honduras decided to send more than 600 military police officers to its borders with El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Africa
Zambia plans power cuts due to low water levels in Lake Kariba
December 2, 2022
Because of the country’s reliance on hydropower and dropping water levels, Zambia will begin rationing its power supply to consumers starting on December 15.
African continent finally to receive 1st monkeypox vaccines
December 1, 2022
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received doses of a monkeypox vaccine from South Korea, which will be primarily used on healthcare workers and those living in areas greatly affected by the virus.
COVID affected access to HIV treatment: the stories of migrant women in South Africa show how
November 30, 2022
The COVID-19 Pandemic has affected HIV prevention in South Africa. While the country has made strides combating HIV, it still has suffered greatly as 4.8 million women in the country live with the virus.
News: Ethiopia, South Sudan top defense intelligence meet, discuss peace and security cooperation
November 28, 2022
Military figures from Ethiopia and South Sudan met to discuss their continued alliance to maintain security between both countries, partially due to the frequency of South Sudanese gunmen crossing Ethiopia’s border in attacks on the nation.
Africa: Across Africa, Water Conflict Threatens Security, Health, and the Environment
November 24, 2022
Water scarcity in African nations like Kenya, Madagascar, and Somalia have led to concerns about how clean water shortages across Africa will impact the country’s health and security in the coming years.
Mali: 150,000 displaced children have no legal identity (NGO)
November 21, 2022
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, the conflict in Mali has left about 148,000 children–and 422,620 people total–displaced, the children in particular having no birth certificates, and thus no legal identities.
November 19, 2022
Cattle farmers in Ethiopia are facing a crisis due to a lack of food, water, and land with which they can build their livelihoods. The crisis has also contributed to food insecurity and increased health risks in the country.
Middle East
Russia sends troop reinforcements to Kurdish-controlled northern Syria
December 1, 2022
Russian troops embark to Northern Syrian as conflict between Kurdish forces and Syrian soldiers ramps up. This military deployment comes after Turkey launches military strikes on Kurdish controlled areas in northern Syria. Turkey’s involvement in the conflict comes after they blamed Kurds for a bombing in Istanbul.
Grim Tidings for Iran’s Regime After Approval of UN Fact-Finding Mission
November 30, 2022
After much discussion and investigation into the protests in Iran, the UN Human Rights Council has voted to launch an investigation regarding human rights violations by the Iranian government. Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made a statement condemning Iran for disproportionate use of force and violence against protesters.
Israeli Army Uproots Ninety Trees Near Jerusalem
November 29, 2022
Israeli occupying forces continue to assault Palestinian land as they invade a Palestinian orchard in northeast Jerusalem. 90 trees are uprooted even though the Palestinian land owners have provided officcial deeds proving their ownership.
November 26, 2022
Farideh Moradkhani, Khamenei's niece and human rights activist, discusses the many problems that plague the Iranian people. She specifically calls attention to the brutality and corruption of the Iranian government that prioritizes the consolidation of power over the well being of the Iranian people.
Houthi drone attack kills 3 gov't soldiers in Southern Yemen
November 25, 2022
Houthi rebels used an explosive drone to kill 3 Yemeni soldiers in Dhalea. This marks just one of countless violent military clashes between the Saudi backed Yemeni government and the Iran backed Houthi rebels.
Strategic importance explains intensity of Israeli raids on Damascus
November 18, 2022
Israel launches several airstrikes on Iranian military structures in Syria. These strikes are part of a larger effort to curb arms dealings between Syria and Iran.
Developing Asia
December 2, 2022
An intense battle of prestige is on between the BJP and the Congress over the control of the minority and Dalit-dominated Danilimda Assembly constituency in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat, which the saffron party has not won since the seat came into existence a decade ago.
Achieving Food : Integrated Plan Necessary
December 2, 2022
The President of Sri Lanka has launched a programme to ensure food security in the country. The vision of this Food Security Programme is to ensure every citizen has access to enough food at a reasonable price to lead an active and healthy life and to ensure that no citizen of the country should starve or suffer from malnutrition.
Japan’s largest labor union to call for 5% pay hike, highest in 28 yrs
December 2, 2022
Japan's largest labor union decided on Thursday to demand a pay hike of around 5 percent in annual wage negotiations starting next spring, the highest in 28 years, to catch up with rising inflation.
Nagasaki ‘black rain’ survivors seeking government recognition call for end to discrimination
December 2, 2022
Survivors outside of the official nuclear damage zone of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who were affected by irradiated "black rain," demand the same treatment for those who suffered inside the nuclear zones. The Japanese government has shown support for these demands.
Malaysia’s new struggle over state power
November 30, 2022
Malaysia’s once exceptionally stable political order has been upended. A new phase has been entered in the long struggle over who formally exercises political power over the state—and to what end.
The Changing Paradigms of Taiwan’s Grand Strategy
November 18, 2022
As Taiwan holds local elections on November 26 and presidential elections in early 2024, the island nation faces tough decisions in the midst of its changing economic, political and strategic trajectory.
Young Candidates Rattle the Old Guard in Nepal’s Election
November 18, 2022
With young, energetic and independent candidates throwing their hats in the ring, the old and established politicians are having to work harder to impress voters.
Sohae Satellite Launching: Work Begins on the Vertical Engine Test Stand
November 16, 2022
Recent commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station indicates that major construction has started on the vertical engine test stand (VETS)—the country’s largest liquid-fuel engine test stand.
Key Issues
This section includes the latest and most pressing news regarding SiC's key security issues.
S Africa’s Ramaphosa faces impeachment threat over farm scandal
December 1, 2022
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa faces the possibility of impeachment after 4 million US dollars were stolen from the president’s farm in 2020, calling into question how he acquired the money involved.
Turkey's looming invasion of Syria tests US-Kurdish ties
November 30, 2022
The U.S. faces a difficult test as Turkey, NATO member and counterterrorism partner in the Middle East, prepares to invade U.S. supported Kurdish forces in northern Syria. A complicated and dangerious geopolitical landscape has begun to form as Rusian, Syrian, and Turkish interests coalesce against the Kurds, inevitably prompting a response from the U.S. military, the largest and most pervasive military in the world.
Will Mass Protests Force Xi to Change Course on Zero-COVID?
November 28, 2022
The apparent failure by Beijing to determine new ways to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of the largest mass protests since the student movement of 1989 has exposed the limited abilities of the new Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership to handle unexpected events despite its extensive security and surveillance apparatus.
Iran won’t cooperate with UN fact-finding mission: Kanaani
November 28, 2022
The Iranian Foreign Minister has announced that the government will not cooperate with the recently passed UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission. This human rights investigation was proposed in response to the recent protests and civil unrest in Iran.
Cambodia Blacklists Myanmar from an ASEAN Meeting
November 21, 2022
Myanmar’s military-appointed defense minister has been disinvited from Southeast Asia’s top meeting of defense chiefs by host nation Cambodia, as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) appears to be increasingly aligned around efforts to diplomatically isolate the military regime that took power in a coup last year.
