Weekly Links

By Patrick Pierson.

Dozens of military officers were arrested in Uganda this week on charges of planning to launch a coup. This comes in addition to an armed assault on a police post in the north of the country. The Lord’s Resistance Army has ramped up abductions in nearby Central African Republic while these authors argue for a complex reading of the ongoing violence in CAR. And in Burundi, the central bank has signed a deal with Russia to facilitate greater investment in the small African nation.

Speaking of Russia, this week the country launched the world’s biggest and most powerful icebreaker to date while also making headlines for the violent behavior of Russian soccer fans in France. In neighboring Norway, a plan to place additional troops at a post near the Russian border is underway.

As Brazil prepares for the Olympic Games, gang violence is on the rise. However, the real challenges might not surface until after the Games. Elsewhere in South America, Bolivia has rejected Bill Gates’ chicken donation. Deadly riots in Venezuela continue while lootings of food stores have become a part of daily life amidst the country’s economic meltdown. In fact, in the first quarter of 2016, Venezuelans outpaced Syrians in asylum applications to Spain.

In related news, Medecins Sans Frontieres released a statement this week declaring it will no longer accept funds from the EU in protest at its migrant policy. And while this app hopes to locate and save migrant boats more quickly, the mental health strains faced by migrants – and those reporting on the crisis – are often overlooked.