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US Pledges $60 Million For Antiterrorism Force In The Sahel: On Monday, the US pledged $60 million to a new United Nations-backed antiterrorism force that will operate in five African countries. The 5,000-member force made up of soldiers and police officers and established by Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger in February will fight the growing threat of drug smugglers, human traffickers, and extremist groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda that operate in the Sahel region of western and north-central Africa. The UN Security Council unanimously endorsed the force in June but financing its $500 million annual cost was not resolved. The European Union has committed about $58 million to the force. The US has been seeking to cut its contributions to the UN and therefore resisted committing resources. The $60 million pledge suggests the American position may be changing, and the decision was welcomed by France, which has strong post-colonial ties to all five of the African countries.
Xi Jinping Vows To Eradicate Rural Poverty By 2020: Nearly seven decades after the Chinese Communist Party rose to power on a promise of prosperity for all, President Xi Jinping has vowed to fulfill the Communists’ original promise, staking his legacy on an ambitious plan to eradicate rural poverty by 2020. His plan targets more than 43 million people who still live on less than 95 cents a day, the poverty line set by the Chinese government. Nearly 500 million people, or about 40 percent of China’s population, live on less than $5.50 per day. As China works to modernize its economy, it faces the reality that the world’s newest superpower remains a developing country with a huge poverty problem.
Xi sees poverty reduction as essential to quelling frustration over inequality, as well as ensuring the party’s grip on power across the country. The state news media often shows Xi visiting poor villages, sampling the food and water, and checking in on the health of residents. International organizations have praised the government for lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty, but some experts worry that Xi’s current plan is more about making headlines than bringing lasting change. The government’s focus on 43 million people may be too narrow, as millions more live just above the “official” poverty line. Also, some allege Xi ignores the suffering of the more than 200 million rural migrants in China’s cities, where many struggle to receive education, health care, and other benefits as the local government does not consider them residents.
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