KNU blocks logistics of the Myanmar military

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YANGON, Myanmar – Regiment 5 of the Karen National Union has blocked the logistics of the Myanmar military in one of the military’s controlled areas.

The Myanmar military transported 500 bags of rice and edible oil from the Thailand side of the border due to how difficult it was for them to carry the rations from the Myanmar side where the KNU blockade is.

“At this time, the Myanmar military usually carries their military rations, but this year we don’t allow them to carry them because of the military coup,” said an official from the KNU.

Recently, the Karen National Union has declared autonomy in their controlled area, where it has fought for self-determination for more than six decades.

The Karen National Union is a signatory of Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

By Htay Win

Marches to demand resignation of Paraguayan president after he dodges impeachment

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President Mario Abdo Benitez survived a congressional vote to oust him, but the country’s National Coordination of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations is organizing marches on the capital, Asuncion, to demand his resignation for “ineptitude and corruption” in failing to prevent and mismanaging the large scale health crisis that has left the country overwhelmed.

Congress is dominated by Benitez’s Colorado political party and it voted 42 to 36 to reject impeachment. However, since then hundreds of protesters, including doctors and nurses, have been gathering outside the legislature, demanding his resignation, and are expected to be joined by the marchers this March 25.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Wildcat gold mining in Death Valley threatens to contaminate its alluvial sands with cyanide open pits; native tribes mount opposition

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A BLM-approved mine operating nonstop as an open pit on the mesas above the Lone Pine community of the Paiute Shoshone Tribe would leach gold from heaps of crushed ore using tons of cyanide each day in the process, according to a description of Vancouver, Canada-based K2 Gold Group’s outline of the project by the LA Times. The company has been drilling eastern flanks of the Sierra Nevada range, seeking results that would excite investors and make the plans a reality.

However, “K2 is in for a hell of a fight,” says Bryan Hatchell, a desert policy associate with one of the non-profits that have lined up a resolute coalition of environmentalists and tribal nations opposing the project that include the Sierra Club, Friends of the Inyo, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone Tribe and the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe. “Mining here is off the table,” said Hatchell.

Opponents say they are concerned about destruction of historic remains and Native American cultural sites as well as impact on wildlife and the environment.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Armed bandits target civilian populations in possible IS resurgence, killing 236 in just a week near Mali border in Niger

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Motorcycle gunmen sprayed bullets at everything that moved in the villages of Intazayene, Bakorat, and Wistane Sunday in the 3-country area near Burkina Faso, said local officials noting that Islamic State jihadists have claimed responsibility for massacres in the area, adding 137 dead to the toll of earlier attacks.

The arid Tahoua region in western Niger butts against the Tillaberi river valley region in a border zone that has filled with Jihadists attracted by Islamist insurgencies in the 3 countries, explained a government spokesman on public television following the attacks.

Sunday marked the deadliest day in the region.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Mexico tightens its southern border ‘to protect minors’ and to keep them from reaching US

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Mexico’s National Migration Institute, INM, says the aim is to protect migrant children who are “exploited by criminal networks” that tell migrants to bring their children to facilitate their entry into Mexico and the United States.

Mexico’s protection of minors is centered in stopping them from entering the country to prevent them from becoming “victims of human trafficking,” according to INM, which announced “various new measures,” including reinforced National Guard troops, drones, and militarized police will be deployed to monitor points of entry on its southern border.

By Milan Sime Martinic

IDPs in Kachin state flee to Myitkyina

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YANGON, Myanmar – Two hundred internally displaced people from Ingyan Yan area of Kachin state fled to Myikyina, the capital of Kachin state, on March 20 due to military reinforcement of both opposing armed forces after recent clashes.

The Kachin Independent Army conducted an attack on the Myanmar military near Gway Htaung village of Ingyan Yan area, which is not far from the dam project of the Chinese government, on March 16. Both forces exchanged artillery fire until midnight.

In recent years, there has existed a ceasefire between the two groups, but they restarted active operations after the military coup. The Kachin Independent Army is a non-signatory of Nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA).

By Htay Win
Photo credit Kachinwaves

Turkish currency dips as much as 17% in Monday trading on diverging views on interest rates

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Financial markets reacted to the firing of the country’s respected Central Bank chief by running away from the Lira on early Monday trading, and the currency was near its all-time low against the dollar, slicing through key resistance levels.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan holds that high interest rates cause inflation, whereas the Quantity Theory of money that led fired governor Naci Agbal to raise interest rates - a fundamental of inflation control around the world -  holds that a growing money supply, which is increased by lower rates, increases inflation.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Turmoil in Congo as main opposition leader dies after becoming sick during presidential election

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Opposition candidate Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who had charged that Congo has become a “police state,” died while being evacuated to France for treatment, announced his campaign manager. The Congolese Constitution provides for a postponement if a candidate dies or is unable to participate in the vote, but his death was announced hours after the closing of the polls Sunday.

There was uncertainty before the election as a video of Kolelas wearing an oxygen mask and making a statement circulated as the hospital confirmed he tested positive for coronavirus.

“My dear compatriots, I am in trouble. I am fighting death,” the candidate says in the video statement. “However, I ask you to stand up and vote for change. I would not have fought for nothing.”

By Milan Sime Martinic

Merger to create first Canada-US-Mexico railroad

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A $29billion purchase of Kansas City Southern, KCS, by Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., CP, will create a new entity called Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the first rail network connecting the three countries from Vancouver to Veracruz.

“Joining seamlessly in Kansas City, Mo., in America’s heartland, CP and KCS together will connect customers via single-network transportation offerings between points on CP’s system throughout Canada, the U.S. Midwest, and the U.S. Northeast and points on KCS’ system throughout Mexico and the South Central U.S.,” said CP and KCS in a joint statement announcing the acquisition.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Latin American projected GDP growth held back by Brazilian problems

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Projected Gross Domestic Product growth for Latin America and the Caribbean is put at 3.2% for 2021-2023, according to projections of the Inter-American Development Bank, while Brazil’s expected growth is 2.7%. When Brazil is excluded, projected growth for the Southern Cone countries–Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay –is 3.5%.

“Brazil has significant challenges –it needs to enact a set of pro-growth reforms, as well as adopt a fiscal policy that maintains confidence and ensures fiscal sustainability, stabilizes rising public sector debt, and gradually reduces debt levels,” said IDB’s Chief Economic Adviser Andrew Powell, speaking about the lackluster expectations for Latin America’s largest country.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Brazil becomes first country in Latin America to approve a cryptocoin-based EFT

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SAO PAOLO, Brazil – The Comissão de Valores Mobiliários do Brasil has approved blockchain investment EFTs to trade the Sao Paulo-based B3 exchange. The move follows the approval of 3 similar funds in Canada in the last months. Rio-based QR Asset Management will make its first offering of $100m for qualified investors in June.

By Milan Sime Martinic