Hey, this is Sham, your very own news curator. I'm terribly sorry for going radio silent these past two weeks. I've been dealing with a very heavy cold and some personal stuff. I'm better now :)
In issue #330, I dig deeper into how Laos is dealing with some 80 million unexploded bombs, sh*t on Henry Kissinger, talk about Burkina Faso and Mali's troubles and arts scene, and the border dispute of the century between Guyana and Venezuela. Expect an explosive interview with Pakistan's Imran Khan, a Nigerian 'Game of Thrones' on Netflix for Easter, an article on how Africa is using AI for African languages, and a lot of good news from Ecuador, DRC, Bangladesh, Guatemala and Honduras, and so much more.
If you like this newsletter, yay! These lengthy emails take me hours and hours to write, research and make fun-to-read. You can support my work if you become a paid subscriber or buy me coffee. Or, just forward it to a friend.
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Estimated reading time: 10 min
You have access to all of my sources by clicking on what's underlined.
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Over 1.8 million unexploded bombs have been cleared in Laos since 1996
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What happened
 Lao Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Padeumphone Sonthany at a press conference last week announced that over 1.8 million unexploded ordnance (UXO) bombs have been cleared from 79,599 hectares of land from 1996 to February 2023.
Why this matters
6.8 million people live in Laos. It is the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. The U.S. dropped more than 270 million bombs on Laos between 1964 and 1973, during the so-called Vietnam War. Around 30% of them (some 80 million!) remain unexploded and are scattered across the country. To this day, very few of these bombs have been removed, and they're still claiming victims. More than 20,000 people have been killed or maimed by them since the war ended. Other sources state that figure at least 50,000. Currently, 50 people are maimed or killed every year. Around 40% of those are children. The man who ordered this, Henry Kissinger, is still alive, and the 'Is Henry Kissinger dead' Twitter account, too. Kissinger also has a Nobel Peace Prize under his belt.
Tell me more
The bombs are scattered across 1/4 of villages in Laos, making this land unfarmable; malnutrition and poverty being the most common consequences for the Gen Z and millennials of Laos (70% of the population is under 30). The country is one of the poorest in Southeast Asia. The U.S. and Canada have been giving some aid (not enough, if you ask me) for the removal of these bombs, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter keeps saying 'ban them, now', but even if Laos would remove the danger, the bombs' empty shells have become a staple of the landscape and of everyday life in some villages in Laos. This piece by Amanda Goh for Insider last year showed how some people build homes, canoes and tools out of them. When you tell stories about resistance, make sure you include the people of Laos in them.
Fun fact about Laos, written by ChatGPT
"Feast on this! Laotian cuisine is a mouthwatering mix of fresh herbs, spicy chilies, and tangy fermented fish sauce. Be sure to try their national dish, larb, a zesty minced meat salad. Your taste buds will thank you!" Beware: Larb is nothing for you vegan or vegetarian peoplem as larb is basically a salad—made out of meat. I found a recipe online that looks pretty easy to make. Thank you, Sarah of The Woks of Life!
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Burkina Faso's still dealing with a lot of violence
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What happened
 Armed "terrorist" groups last Thursday killed at least 44 people in two villages, Kourakou and Tondobi, in north-eastern Burkina Faso.
Why this matters
For years now, Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State have been the source of a lot of violence in the country. More than 10,000 people have been killed in Burkina Faso and its neighbors Mali and Niger, according to one NGO estimate, and at least two million people have been displaced. This attack is one of the deadliest attacks since Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power in a coup last September. Burkina Faso is home to more than 20 million people.
Tell me more
People in the villages say that the attack was probably 'revenge for the killing of two extremists a few days earlier who had tried to steal cattle.' The security situation is very tense, as official figures say that these extremist groups effectively control about 40% of the country. There's been so much frustration about the lack of stability in the country that there were two military coups last year. Plus, the activities of all political parties and civil society organizations in the country have been suspended since the last coup.
Any good news?
I find it hard finding good news or non-conflict-related news from Burkina Faso; I mean, try googling Burkina Faso and look at the results. However, thanks to journalist Yinka Ibukun, I stumbled across a refreshing piece by Katarina Höije for Bloomberg who flew to Ouagadougou (the country's capital) to experience Fespaco last month, one of the continent's oldest film festivals, also often described as 'Africa's own Oscars'. In the piece, Höije also schooled me on other festivals I hadn't heard of before that takes place regularly in neighboring Mali (the Segou'Art Festival on River Niger and the Festival Vivre Ensemble). In January, Salif Keita headlined it – the 'Golden Voice' himself. (I put some of my favorite songs of his in the newsletter's own Spotify playlist for you to check out.) Also, James Imam for The Art Newspaper last month wrote about the effort in restoring/maintaining museums in both countries – despite or maybe in spite of all the difficulties.
Fun fact about Burkina Faso, written by ChatGPT
"A land of many tongues! Burkina Faso is a linguistic melting pot, boasting more than 60 languages. The official language is French, but many people speak Mòoré, Dyula, Gourma, and other local languages. Who knew communication could be so colorful?" I wanted to know how Mòoré and Dyula sound like, and found this YouTube video.
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Guyana and Venezuela might finally resolve their border dispute since 1899
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What happened
 Guyana and Venezuela have been fighting over who "owns" Guyana Esequiba for more than a century now. Last week, the International Court of Justice (the UN's highest court) basically said, 'Ok, you can settle your dispute at this court.' Guyana is happy about this development, Venezuela not so much.
Why this matters
Guyana Esequiba is almost as big as Tunisia; it's actually 3/4 of Guyana itself, rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. So, it's only understandable that this border dispute is the dispute of the century for these two countries. Many governments worldwide are on Guyana's side on this issue.
Tell me more
Guyana, for decades, has basically been trying to negotiate with its neighbor, saying, 'yo, this is ours, back off, Venezuela' and took the case to the UN court in 2018. 'We want the court to rule that the 1899 border decision is valid and binding on both countries.' However, Venezuela is keen on keeping this 'discussion' open and outside the court. Plus, it demands that Britain be involved because as Guyana's former colonial power, the country had decided on where the borders end in the 1800s. Guyana doesn't want that.
Did you know that generations of schoolchildren in Venezuela have been taught that 3/4 of Guyana belongs to Venezuela? Ever since 2015, when ExxonMobil discovered massive reserves of oil in the ocean floor off the territory, this narrative has only become louder on social media.
Fun fact about Guyana, written by ChatGPT
"In Guyana, you can find the Atta ants, also known as leafcutter ants. These hardworking insects form massive colonies and can strip an entire tree of its leaves in just one night. Talk about teamwork!" They're like the overachievers of the insect world, being farmers, medicine makers, and green energy producers, says bacteriologist Cameron Currie in this YouTube video.
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South Sudan: An international human development agency said that 13 Jiye/Jie people have died from conditions related to famine in Kapoeta, South Sudan, while hundreds of others are on the verge of starvation. (AP)
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Iran: Police in Iran announced the installment of cameras in public places to identify and penalize women who do not observe dressing codes for hijabs, while also urging citizens to confront women who are not sufficiently covered. (Reuters)
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Papua New Guinea: A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, killing seven people, injuring several others, and causing damage. (Deccan Herald)
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Japan: Bird flu is so bad that Japan is running out of land to bury chickens. (The Straits Times)
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Australia: Yunupingu, one of Australia’s most prominent Indigenous leaders, passed away last week after a long illness, aged 74. Yunupingu — whose name means “sacred rock that stands against time” — was a champion of Aboriginal rights who rose to prominence during the 1960s’ Aboriginal land rights movement. (SMH)
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China/India: he Ministry of Civil Affairs of China standardized the names of 11 places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in a renewed attempt to assert Chinese territorial claim over the state. (Times of India)
Peru: The Congress of Peru voted against the petition of impeachment of President Dina Boluarte over the alleged killings of protesters during the ongoing protests, amid a worsening volatility in the country's politics. (Reuters)
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Mexico: Beekeepers in Campeche blamed agrochemical testing linked to Bayer-Monsanto for the deaths of more than 300,000 bees in their apiaries. (Mexico News Daily)
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Chad: Chad expelled German ambassador Gordon Kricke after he criticized the government delaying the 2024 election. (Al Jazeera)
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Germany: Ryyan Alshebl has become the mayor of a German village just eight years after fleeing the civil war in Syria. (DW)
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Ecuador: Community members in Ecuador’s Intag Valley have won a court case to stop the Llurimagua copper mining project, with the court ordering the revocation of mining licenses from Chile’s Codelco and Ecuador’s ENAMI EP. (Mongabay)
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DRC & Zambia: The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to set up battery production plants and end the exportation of minerals, finance minister Nicolas Kazadi told the Financial Times. The DRC and Zambia last year signed an agreement to enable the development of an integrated value chain for the production of electric vehicle batteries in the two countries. (Semafor)
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Bangladesh: The Bangladesh government has launched a national mobile browser called Torjoni to help internet users in the country browse the web in Bangla. “We want to build a self-reliant smart Bangladesh where we will have our own operating system, users will use the internet in their own browser,” Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the state minister for information and communication technology, said at the inauguration of the browser. (New Age Bangladesh)
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Guatemala: Technological tools in Mayan languages are being created to promote health in Guatemala. The tools will provide help to translate for medical consultations or provide messages to parents and caregivers to promote the growth of children in their first years of life, all in different Mayan languages. (Guatemala, Spanish)
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Honduras: Rosy Walther Zoo inaugurated the first native freshwater fish aquarium in Honduras. (Honduras, Spanish)
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Watch... Documentary: "Imran Khan talks Cricket, the Taliban and being ousted from power" (16 min) by VICE News. "Pakistan is in the middle of political chaos — and one man is at the center of it all. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted last year in a no-confidence vote, but polls suggest he remains the country’s most popular political leader. VICE World News’ Isobel Yeung sat down with Khan at his home in Lahore on March 6, 2023."
Listen to... the first episode of the new podcast "Third Culture Therapy", exploring "social identity and cultural heritage impact mental and emotional health. Through conversations with people from different backgrounds and professions, Third Culture Therapy's host Layla Maghribi delves into the layers of social, cultural, religious and political factors that add complexity to caring for our inner well-being." The first episode is with Layla Al Ammar, a writer and academic from Kuwait.
Read... Article: "AI tools open up a world of African languages" by Will McBain for African Business. "Twelve African languages are available on the Google Translate app on iOS and Android, including Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo, three of West Africa’s most spoken languages. The web browser firm Mozilla has recently incorporated the Twi language into its open-source linguistic repository, Common Voice, which collects input from real-life language speakers. This initiative aims to improve speech recognition technology and to promote a broader range of local languages on the internet, challenging the dominance of European languages as the main – or sole – online communication method."
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A 2,300-year-old tomb in southwest Turkey—once revered as a holy Islamic site—turns out to have been the tomb of ancient Greek boxer Diagoras.
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That's it from me. This issue has been written while listening to my dad talk about techno with his childhood friend. I've never been more confused in my life.
For the maps, say thanks to Wikimedia Commons.
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Hey, I'm Sham, the person behind this newsletter. Since 2014, I email a bunch of strangers once a week, curating news headlines from Asia, Africa and Latin America. I work under the assumption that, here in the West (I live in Berlin, Germany), we don't read or know much about the global majority, aka the rest of the world.
My goal is to help you burst your Western-centric bubble.
If you want to know more about me, visit my website or follow me on Twitter or Instagram.
Questions or feedback? Just reply to this email. I intend to write back.
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