This Week’s Under-reported News Summary March 28, 2018

Compiled by Bob Nixon

Advancing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan has triggered a wave of refugees
Veterans groups are teaming up with unions and single-payer advocates to fight privatization
A U.S. border patrol agent's trial for a shooting death on the Mexican side of the border could set precedent

March 28, 2018

An advancing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan has triggered a wave of refugees who are fleeing the conflict. After four decades of war, over two million Afghans are internally displaced, and western humanitarian aid agencies are scrambling to address the growing crisis. (“Is the west winning Afghanistan? Tide of displaced persons suggests not,” Christian Science Monitor, March 14, 2018; “Responding to the plight of displaced and returning families,” Cordaid, Feb. 26, 2018)
President Donald Trump and the Koch brothers are backing new measures in Congress to expand the role of private providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans groups, who support the VA’s record on health care, are pushing back with assertions that privatization harms veterans who need integrated care. (“The VA is the closest thing we have to single-payer. Now Trump wants to privatize it,” In These Times, March 15, 2018; “If the Department of Veterans Affairs is sacked, the Koch brothers will rejoice,” The Guardian, March 20, 2018)
After years of legal wrangling, a U.S. grand jury has indicted a U.S. border patrol agent for second-degree murder for a shooting death on the Mexican side of the border. (“Bullets across the Border,” Christian Science Monitor, March 19, 2018)