In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Abduction; terrorism; misogyny; abuse] Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was scheduled today to make his first visit to the northeastern village of Chibok, from which Boko Haram abducted more than 300 schoolgirls a month ago, but has canceled his trip citing security concerns: "Instead of heading to the northeastern village of Chibok, Jonathan will instead fly directly from the capital Abuja to Paris for a summit that is expected to include representatives from its neighbors, including Chad, Cameroon and Niger as well as officials from the U.S., Britain and the European Union, to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency and wider insecurity in the region. The father of one of the missing girls told Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh that families had started gathering at the school in anticipation of a meeting but were very disappointed and frustrated to hear news of the cancellation. However, another person told Al Jazeera that Jonathan's decision not to visit was not so surprising because, the villager said, the government has 'long abandoned us.'"

I frankly have no idea what the right thing was to do, if security was a legitimate concern. I just continue to feel so sad and so angry for the parents of the missing girls.

[CN: Religious violence] Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Narendra Modi has emerged as the winner in India's elections and will be the nation's next prime minister. I don't know a hell of a lot about Modi, although his position on the 2002 Gujarat riots, which happened on his watch are deeply concerning, despite his having been officially cleared of allegations that he incited violence against the Muslim minority. Especially given that he reportedly told a journalist his biggest regret about the incident was his failure to better manage the media. Oof.

[CN: Violence; war] Yikes: "Ukraine civil war fears mount as volunteer units take up arms."

[CN: War; hunger; genocide] Meanwhile, in South Sudan: "The crisis engulfing South Sudan is greater than those endured by Darfur or the Central African Republic, according to a senior UN diplomat who says the world urgently needs to donate at least another $500m (£298m) if the country's slide into humanitarian disaster and famine is to be halted. Thousands of people have been slaughtered, more than a million displaced and almost five million are in dire need of humanitarian assistance as a result of ethnic violence in the world's youngest nation. Aid and development agencies are warning of a possible future famine in three violence-ridden states. Toby Lanzer, the deputy special representative of the UN secretary general in South Sudan, said the situation was the most desperate he had seen. 'What we are facing is a crisis or an emergency far bigger than I have ever had to deal with—and I used to work in Darfur and the Central African Republic,' he said. 'It is simply no exaggeration to say that we are currently facing one of the most severe tests that the international aid community has ever faced.'"

Serious question: How much is anyone hearing about the crisis in South Sudan in their regular news reading, outside of this space?

[CN: Misogyny] Jill Abramson and the Pervasive Risks of Demanding Equal Pay. Can we at long last put to bed all the bullshit about how women just need to be confident, be better negotiators, ask for raises, blah blah fart? Because yeahno.

[CN: Cancer] This is a very preliminary finding but also a very exciting prospect for cancer research: "Cancer Beaten with 10 Million Doses-Worth of Measles Vaccine by Mayo Clinic."

Are you excited for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One? Then you will probably like this post!

If you're a mega Halo-head like some husbands I could mention, then you might be interested in the news that Microsoft has announced a fall 2015 release date for Halo 5: Guardians.