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As Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis deepens, ever more people are abandoning the South American country. Approximately 3.5 million Venezuelan migrants have fled to neighboring nations since late 2015. Now, echoing anti-migrant rhetoric used worldwide, officials in Ecuador, Peru and Chile and have begun to tighten border controls, saying Venezuelan migrants are a national security threat. That’s put an even greater burden on Colombia, which continues to welcome desperate Venezuelans. After traveling to Colombia, political scientist Cyril Bennouna wonders how long this open arms policy can last.
Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Abiy took the helm when Ethiopia was in political turmoil and instituted massive political reforms, based on unity and reconciliation. In addition, he’s made remarkable headway in forging peace in the region in the two years he’s been in power. Mohammed Girma explains why Abiy fits the bill of a Nobel laureate.
The United Nations Security Council is one of the world body’s most influential organisations. The council - steered by five permanent members - is charged with the responsibility of protecting world peace. It fulfils this responsibility with the help of 10 non-permanent members selected on a rotational basis. Kenya has made a bid for a seat on the Council come 2021. Gary Wilson explains why non-permanent membership is a valuable prize.
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Venezuelans hoping to cross into Ecuador via Colombia amass at the Rumichaca border bridge in Tulcan, Ecuador, as new visa restrictions limiting migration took effect, Aug. 26, 2019.
Reuters/Daniel Tapia
Cyril Bennouna, Brown University
Citing national security, Ecuador, Peru and Chile have all made it harder for Venezuelan migrants to enter the country, and xenophobia is rising across the region – even in more welcoming Colombia.
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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock
Mohammed Girma, University of Pretoria
Abiy Ahmed was awarded the prize for efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.
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Politics + Society
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Gary Wilson, Liverpool John Moores University
The country has not had a seat at the Security Council table for 24 years.
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Mneesha Gellman, Emerson College
Trump officials plan to send asylum seekers from the US to El Salvador while their claims are processed. That would expose these vulnerable people to grave dangers, says a political violence expert.
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Business + Economy
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Victor Odundo Owuor, University of Colorado Boulder
Mobile loan platforms have given Kenyans access to easy loans, but they come at a high price.
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Michael E Odijie, University of Cambridge
It is time for Ghana to consider the future of its cocoa farmers rather than multinational chocolate producers.
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Science + Technology
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Nikku Madhusudhan, University of Cambridge
Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz thought it would take years to find a planet outside the solar system – they did it in months.
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Mary K. Feeney, Arizona State University
Progress has been made toward gender parity in science fields. But explicit and implicit barriers still hold women back from advancing in the same numbers as men to the upper reaches of STEM academia.
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