INTERNATIONAL AUGUST 2015

INTERNATIONAL AUGUST 2015

• Suspend all trials against Italian marines: UN court to India
  A UN tribunal on 24th August asked both India and Italy to "suspend" all court proceedings involving two Italian marines charged with killing of two Indian fishermen in 2012 and also refrain from initiating new ones that might "aggravate or extend" the dispute.
  
  Hearing Italy's appeal in the case, the President of the International Tribunal on Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Vladimir Golitsyn asked the two countries to submit the initial report in the entire incident by September 24.
  
  The 21-member UN-mandated court located in the German city Hamburg issued the order with 15 in favour and six against.
  
  Unhappy over India's handling of the marine's issue, Italy took the matter to the ITLOS challenging Indian jurisdiction in the case. It has pleaded that India must cease to exercise any form of jurisdiction over the Enrica Lexie Incident and the Italian Marines, including any measure of restraint with respect to Sergeant Latorre and Sergeant Girone.
  
  The two marines, who were on board ship 'Enrica Lexie', are accused of killing two Indian fishermen on February 15, 2012 off the Kerala coast. ITLOS is an independent judicial body established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to adjudicate disputes arising out of the interpretation and application of the Convention.
  
• Palmyra Temple Destruction by Islamic State a 'War Crime': UNESCO
  The head of the UN cultural watchdog on 24th August branded the destruction by IS jihadists of an ancient temple in Syria's Palmyra ruins as a "war crime." The Baal Shamin temple, which was blown up by jihadists with the Islamic State group, is considered ancient Palmyra's second-most significant temple.
  
  Palmyra was seized by IS in May, and the destruction of the temple has raised concerns for the rest of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed site -- coming as it does just days after IS beheaded the 82-year-old retired chief archeologist of the ruins.
  
• North, South Korea agree on series of measures to defuse crisis
  North and South Korea have reached an agreement on a series of measures to defuse a crisis that had pushed the two rivals to the brink of armed conflict. The measures detailed in a joint statement on 24th August included what amounted to an extremely rare public apology from North Korea, which expressed regret over mine blasts this month that maimed two South Korean soldiers on border patrol.
  
  In response, the South agreed to halt loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts into North Korea which it had resumed, after a break of more than a decade, in retaliation for the mine blasts.
  
  The two also agreed to work towards resumption next month of reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, and to hold official talks in either Seoul or Pyongyang at a date to be decided.
  
• US to sponsor UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka
  The United States on 26th August said that it will sponsor a resolution on Sri Lanka at United Nations Human Rights Council session at Geneva next month supporting Sri Lankan government’s bid to set up a credible domestic inquiry into allegations of human right violations.
  
  According to US Assistant Secretary of State, Ms Nisha Biswal the US will work on the content of the resolution with the government of Sri Lanka and with other key stake holders.
  
  The US had sponsored a resolution at the UNHRC last September calling for a credible inquiry on war crime and other human right violation allegations against the security forces of Sri Lanka and the LTTE militants. Biswal said that the US finds the condition suitable to work on reconciliation and accountability with the newly elected government of Sri Lanka.
  
• Time given to South Sudan Prez by UNSC
  The UN Security Council on 26th August gave South Sudan President Salva Kiir until September 1 to get fully behind a peace deal after he signed the accord with reservations. Kiir signed the peace accord to end 20 months of brutal war at a ceremony in Juba, but he annexed a list of reservations that would have to be addressed for the agreement to take hold.
  
  The 15-member council had threatened on the eve of the signing to take "immediate action" if Kiir failed to sign, or signed with reservations.
  
  The United States has circulated a draft resolution that would impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on those who undermine peace efforts in South Sudan. South Sudan's civil war erupted in December 2013 when Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of planning a coup, unleashing a wave of killings that has split the country along ethnic lines.
  
• Kazakhstan to host IAEA nuclear fuel bank to assist non-proliferation
  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement to locate the first internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium in the ex-Soviet nation.
  
  The storage facility, set to become fully operational in 2017, is intended to provide IAEA member states with confidence in a steady and predictable supply of fuel even if other routes are disrupted.
  
  The agreement on establishing the bank was signed by Yukiya Amano, director-general of the UN nuclear watchdog, and Kazakh foreign minister Erlan Idrissov. The bank will be governed by Kazakhstan's laws but fully managed and operated by the IAEA.
  
  Mr Nunn is co-chairman and chief executive of Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a non-profit and non-partisan organisation with a mission to assist the fulfillment of the Non-Proliferation Treaty's goals that played a key role in the establishment of the fuel bank.
  
  The IAEA estimates the cost of the bank at $US150 million, which includes the procurement of low-enriched uranium (LEU) and its work for the first 10 years.
  
  The bank will be located at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in the north-eastern industrial city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. It will contain up to 90 metric tons of LEU, sufficient to run a 1,000 megawatt electric (MWe) light-water reactor, the IAEA said — enough to power a large city for three years.
  
  The plant has handled and stored nuclear material, including LEU, safely and securely for more than 60 years, the IAEA said.
  
  The storage facility will be located not far from Semipalatinsk, where the Soviet Union tested nuclear weapons, harming the health of locals and the environment. By the time of its 1989 closure following growing popular protests, Semipalatinsk had held 30 surface, 88 atmospheric and 340 underground tests. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan voluntarily gave up its nuclear arsenal, the world's fourth-largest at the time.
  
  The mineral-rich Central Asian nation of 17.5 million is the world's largest uranium producer and holds more than 15 per cent of global uranium reserves, second only to Australia. It has no nuclear power stations of its own.
  
• Pakistan court orders arrest of ex-PM Yusuf Raza Gilani in corruption case
  A Pakistani anti-corruption court in Karachi on 27th August issued non-bailable arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and former trade minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim for alleged corrupt deals by approving subsidies to fake companies.
  
  The court issued arrest orders after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented a formal charge sheet of 12 cases registered against the duo and some senior officials of Trade Development Authority Pakistan (TDAP).
  
  Gilani and Fahim are named in a multi-million-rupee graft scandal for alleged corrupt earnings by approving subsidies to fake companies through a scheme of TDAP.
  
  FIA charged them for approving and disbursing fraudulent trade subsidies worth millions of rupees to several fake companies through fictitious claims and backdated cheques.
  
  Both Gilani and Faheem failed to appear before the court despite notices to them, forcing the court to issue their non-bailable arrest warrants. The court also ordered police to arrest them and present them before the court in the next hearing on September 10.
  
  Gilani was prime minister from 2008 to 2013 when he was sacked after the Supreme Court held him responsible for defying an order of the court to write a letter to the Swiss government to reopen a corruption probe against then President Asif Ali Zardari.
  
  Apart from the two leaders implicated in the corruption case, authorities yesterday also arrested a confidant of Zardari, an ex-petroleum minister Asim Hussain from Karachi for alleged involvement in corruption.
  
• International Maritime conference in Sri Lanka
  Sri Lanka will hold its first ever International Maritime Conference in Colombo next month. The three day event will be held from 24 to 26 September to coincide with International Maritime Day. India will participate in the event and a special India - Sri Lanka maritime forum will be organized on the first day of the conference. The theme of the conference is "Maritime Education and Training". According to Sri Lankan Navy, the conference will highlight the fact that Indian Ocean will play a key role in global maritime trade and security.
  
• Pakistan bans ISIS militant group
  Pakistan has banned the Islamic State militant group that has overrun vast stretches of Iraq and Syria after repeatedly denying the dreaded outfit's presence within its territory. The decision was taken on recommendation of the Foreign Office, which regularly updates the Pakistan government about international militant groups banned by the United Nations. Banners and graffiti in support of Islamic State, have often appeared in Pakistan but the government has until now rejected its presence inside the country. The group which is banned under a UN sanctions regime and is believed to have gained a foothold in the border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  
• Serbia, Kosovo agreed to implement 2013 Brussels Agreement
  Kosovo and Serbia on 26th August 2015 agreed to implement the 2013 Brussels Agreement. This paves the way for normalizing the relations between both the countries. The First agreement of principles governing the normalisation of relations or more famously known as the Brussels Agreement was reached between both the countries under the mediation of the European Union on 19 April 2013 in Brussels, Belgium.
  
  As per agreement…………..
  • Autonomy to Northern Areas: Serbs in northern Kosovo will enjoy greater rights. Kosovo has a majority Albanian population, but under the agreement ten areas with large Serb populations will be able to manage issues such as the local economy and education. Further, Serb Municipalities would have an assembly, president and a flag.
  • Kosovo will have a separate international dialing code. It will put an end to the inconvenience for Kosovo's mobile phone users of using Monaco or Slovenia international codes. However, Serbian-majority areas in the north will still be able to use Serbian calling codes.
  • The two sides also agreed on how to share the symbolic Mitrovica Bridge (on Ibar River) that separates Albanian and Serb communities in the north.
  
  
• Pakistan’s Punjab province Home Minister killed in suicide attack
   Pakistan’s Punjab province Home Minister Shuja Khanzada has been assassinated in a suicide blast. Colonel (retd) Khanzada, along with eight others was killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at his house in Shadi Khal village in Attock district. Deputy Superintendent of Police Shaukat Shah also died in the blast. Many of the victims were buried underneath the wreckage as the entire structure collapsed due to the explosion. Rescue operations are still underway at the scene of the attack. Khanzada was under threat following the killing of LeJ chief Malik Ishaq in July.
  
• Indonesian plane carrying 54 people crashes in Papua region
  An Indonesian plane with all 54 people on board has crashed in the remote Papua region. The twin turboprop plane was carrying 44 adult passengers, five children and infants, and five crew. The plane took off from regional capital, Jayapura, for Oksibil in the south.
  
• US flag raised in Cuba after 54 years
  In a historic moment, the US on 15th August raised its national flag at its new Embassy in Cuba after a gap of over five decades, marking the end of one of the last vestige of the Cold War. The US and Cuba officially restored their diplomatic ties last month with reopening of the Cuban Embassy in Washington. On 17th December last year, Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the beginning of a process of normalising relations between Cuba and the US, which had been severed in 1961 during the Cold War.
  
• Egyptian President approves stringent new counter-terrorism laws
  Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has approved stringent new counter-terrorism laws to fight a growing jihadist insurgency. The laws establish special courts and offer additional protection from legal consequences for Military and Police Officers who have used force. They also impose the death penalty for anyone found guilty of setting up or leading a terrorist group.
  
  Jihadist groups stepped up their attacks after the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi two years ago and launched a deadly crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.
  
• PM Wickremesinghe's UNP emerges as largest group in Sri Lankan polls
  The results of Sri Lanka’s 15th General Elections on 18th August have brought to a close the Rajapaksa era in country’s politics. United National Party leader and current Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has return to the parliament as the leader of the largest group, with possible support from several members from the opposite camp.
  
  With 106 seats in a 225 member parliament, Ranil’s group remains short of the majority by 7 seats. Of the 196 directly elected seats, Ranil’s alliance United National Front for Good Governance, has bagged 93 while Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance could secure 83. Of the 29 National list, seats allotted to the parties on basis of the overall votes secured by them, Ranil will get 13 taking his final tally to 106 and Rajapaksa will get 12 to take his total to 95.
  
• Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as new PM of Sri Lanka
  Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He was administered the oath of office before President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
  
  Ranil Wickremesighe has held the position of Prime Minister of the country on three earlier occasions. Immediately following the searing-in, the General Secretaries of the two main parties in the country, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the United National Party signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together in the parliament and form a National Government.
  
  Ranil Wickremasinghe’s alliance emerged as the largest group with 106 seats in the 225 member parliament at the general elections held earlier this week. Ranil himself secured a record 5 lakh preferential votes from the Colombo - the highest number of votes polled by a candidate in Sri Lanka's electoral history. Ranil has another record to his credit - he has been a member of parliament continuously without losing his seat for the last 38 years.
  
  This is for the fourth time that he was sworn in as Prime Minister. Ranil has a reputation of being an honest and progressive politician who has always tried to bring reconciliation between the communities.
  
• China to build $10b N-plants in Pak
  Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 20th August inaugurated construction work on a China-backed $10 billion nuclear power project near Karachi to add 1,100 MW to the energy-starved country’s electric grid. The projects will be implemented with assistance from China, which has become the biggest investor in energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
  
  The groundbreaking of K-2 and K-3 power plants was performed by the Prime Minister in November last year. The plants, located just 20 miles from the burgeoning metropolis of around 20 million people, have stoked fears among scientific experts and residents, and its construction was earlier stayed by a court order.
  
  Temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius in the country’s centre in June and July, sending demand for electricity soaring and leaving a shortfall of around 4,000 MW.
  
  The proposed plants, which cost around $5 billion each, are particularly controversial because their designs have never been tested in real life. Karachi, which lies close to the confluence of three major tectonic plates, is also rated by experts as being particularly vulnerable to tsunamis.
  
  Pakistan meanwhile plans to double the 600 MW of power produced by the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant in the central Punjab province. Pakistan’s key ally China in April announced it would invest $46 billion in infrastructure, energy and transport projects as part of an ambitious project dubbed the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
  
• Greek PM Alexis Tsipras resigns
  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced his resignation and called for snap elections, as he went on the offensive to defend the country's massive bailout after it triggered a rebellion within his own party. He said that Greece got the best deal possible for its three-year, a 86 billion euro bailout package. Mr Tsipras said that he will shortly meet with the President of the Republic and present his resignation and that of his Government.
  
  Mr Tsipras, who was only elected in January this year, said that now that the country has secured its funding, he felt a deep moral obligation to lay his actions before the judgment of the Greek people. Earlier in the day, Greece received its first 14.5 billion dollars tranche, allowing it to repay a debt to the European Central Bank and avoid a default.
  
• Myanmar Parliament passes two controversial religion bills
  In Myanmar, Parliament passed two controversial bills about which activists fear they will curb religious freedoms. The bills regulating religious conversion and polygamy were approved by Parliament on 19th August. Two other bills that campaigners say are an affront to women's rights and religious freedoms, curbing inter-faith marriage and family size.
  
  They come as Myanmar prepares for crucial November 8th elections that are seen as a key test of its democratic transition after decades of military rule.
  
• World breaks new heat records in July: US scientists
  US scientists said on 20th August that the world broke new heat records in July, marking the hottest month in history and the warmest first seven months of the year since modern record-keeping began in 1880.
  
  The findings by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA showed a troubling trend, as the planet continues to warm due to the burning of fossil fuels, and scientists expect the scorching temperatures to get worse. Jake Crouch, physical scientist at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information told reporters in Miami that they are fairly certain that 2015 will be the warmest year on record. He said, it is time to start looking at what are the impacts of that.
  
  The month's average temperature across land and sea surfaces worldwide was 61.86 Fahrenheit (16.61 Celsius), marking the hottest July ever. NOAA said, the first seven months of the year January to July were also all-time record warm for the globe.
  
  It said, large parts of the Earth were much warmer than average, including Africa which saw its second hottest July on record. Record warmth was also observed across much of northern South America, parts of southern Europe and central Asia, and the far western United States. Parts of eastern Scandinavia and western Russia, eastern and southern Asia and scattered areas in central and northern North America were cooler than average.
  
• Pakistan cancels Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
  Pakistan on 20th August announced that it will not host next month's Commonwealth Parliamentary Union meeting amid a row with India over its refusal to invite the Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the conference.
  
  India had threatened to boycott the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to be held in Islamabad from September 30 to October 8 after Islamabad refused to invite Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta for the event. The conference was to bring together speakers of Commonwealth nations in Islamabad.
  
• Right to vote for Saudi Women
  For the first time ever in the history of Kingdom, women in Saudi Arabia have been allowed to register to vote ahead of municipal elections scheduled for December. Saudi women will not only be able to vote in the upcoming elections but will also be able to run for office in December this year. The move will enable Saudi women to have a say in the process of the decision-making
  
  According to Arab News, as many as 70 women, including some businesswomen and others involved in social and community services from Makkah, Madina, Jeddah and Tabuk, intend to run for office. More than 80 have also registered themselves as campaign managers.
  
• South and North Korea Hold Talks to Defuse Border Tensions
  South Korea and North Korea held a high-level meeting on their border on 22nd August and agreed to meet again on 23rd August, South Korean officials said, apparently easing, at least temporarily, a tense standoff that has prevailed since the countries exchanged artillery fire two days ago.
  
  The meeting, which began in the border village of Panmunjom on Saturday evening, continued until early Sunday morning, said Min Kyung-wook, spokesman for President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. Mr. Min said it included top policy makers from both sides: Kim Kwan-jin, Ms. Park’s senior national security adviser, and Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so, North Korea’s most powerful military officer after Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader, who holds the rank of marshal.
  
  Both sides had comprehensive discussions on how to resolve the current situation and how to improve South-North relations in general,” Mr. Min said. The negotiators agreed to meet again on Sunday afternoon to try to narrow their differences, he said
  
  It was the first high-level dialogue between the Koreas since February 2014, apart from an informal meeting in October after Vice Marshal Hwang and other North Korean officials made a surprise decision to attend the Asian Games in the South.
  
• Nepal: 4 major parties reach landmark deal to divide country into 6 provinces
  Nepal's four major parties have reached a landmark deal to divide the country into six provinces, each sharing its border with India. The agreement resolves contentious issues of federalism under the new constitution.
  
  Following a marathon meeting, the Constitutional- Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee of the Constituent Assembly finally inked an agreement at midnight to carve out the six federal units.
  
  Mr. Koirala and top leaders of CPN-UML, Nepali Congress, Unified CPN-Maoist and Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum Democratic, MPRFD, were present during the meeting. However, UCPN-Maoist and MPRFD, have signed the deal with some reservations.
  
  Dividing the state was one of the thorny issues of the new constitution. With signing of the agreement among the major parties on the issue of federal model, the constitution drafting has reached its final phase.
  
• Iraq PM bids to end vice president and deputy PM roles
  Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi has issued a decree cancelling the country's deputy president positions and deputy PM positions. Abbadi held a meeting with a number of experts and advisers to discuss the administrative and financial reforms in his new bid to tackle corruption in the country.
  
  Abbadi will investigate corruption, reappoint all senior officials based on professional rather than sectarian standards, and reduce the number of security personnel protecting senior officials in order to cut down on waste.
  
• UN forecasts end of global population explosion
  For the past 200 years the global population has risen explosively. There were 1 billion humans in 1850. There are 7.3 billion at present. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, humanity has lived in quiet dread that somewhere there is a limit, and the Malthusian horsemen of plague, starvation and war will one day punish our effrontery.
  
  Demographic change is easy to miss, because it happens slowly, but we stand on the cusp of a profound change in the human condition. New projections from the UN suggest that, in a few decades, we could secure a stable global population.
  
  To be clear, the forecasts do not show an imminent end to population growth – far from it. The global population has the momentum of an elephant on an ice rink. The UN’s medium-variant projection shows a rise to 9.7 billion people in 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100.
  
  But recent data and short-term forecasts also show a dramatic slide in fertility rates. People everywhere are having fewer babies. If the trend continues then, in decades, the global population will flatten out. The UN says there is a 23 per cent chance of that happening by 2100.
  
  The plunge in childbearing is startling. Eighty-three countries containing 46 per cent of the world’s population – including every single country in Europe – now have fertility below replacement rate of about 2.1 births per woman.
  
  Another 46 per cent live in countries where the birth rate has fallen sharply. In 48 countries the population will decline between now and 2050.
  
  That leaves just 9 per cent of the world’s population, almost all in Africa, living in nations with pre-industrial fertility rates of five or six children per woman. But even in Africa fertility is starting to dip. In a decade, the UN reckons, there will be just three countries with a fertility rate higher than five: Mali, Niger and Somalia; of these, only Niger will be higher than four.
  
  These projections include a fertility bounce in countries such as Germany and Japan. If more fecund nations follow this path of declining birth rates, a stable population could quickly be locked in.
  
  That would have enormous consequences for the world economy, geopolitics and the sum of human happiness, illustrated by some of the middle-income countries that have gone through a dramatic, and often ignored, fall in fertility.
  
  Then there is India, one of the world’s most populous countries, and a primary source of global population growth. Fertility rates are now down to 2.48 children per woman, and the UN projects they will reach replacement level by 2025-30. A similar transition is under way in other big emerging economies, from Indonesia to Bangladesh.
  
• Greece and its international creditors agree on new euro bailout deal
  Greece and its international creditors have agreed on a new multi-billion euro bailout deal. According to a Greek finance ministry official, the agreement should keep the country in the eurozone and avert bankruptcy. The deal was struck after marathon overnight talks between Greece and its lenders in Athens.
  
• Amnesty International votes in support of decriminalizing sex trade
  Amnesty International voted on 11th August in support of decriminalizing the sex trade. The move comes despite strong opposition from anti-trafficking organizations and Hollywood stars. The human rights organization passed the measure at its decision-making forum, the International Council Meeting, in Dublin, Ireland, involving delegates from around the world.
  
• Pakistan violated Ceasefire 192 times in 2015
  Pakistan violates ceasefire twice along LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. 2 LeT militants killed in Pulwama. Govt informed Lok Sabha Pakistan violated ceasefire 192 times in J&K this year. Terrorist Naved sent to 14 days NIA custody.
  
  As the security forces wrapped up the overnight operation to flush out militants in Pulwama district in south Kashmir, Rajouri and Poonch districts witnessed twin ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops. In August alone there have been 14 ceasefire violations.
  
  There were19 ceasefire violations along the Indo-Pak border in July in which four persons, including three jawans, were killed and 14 others injured.
  
• Greece agrees bailout deal 'in principle' with creditors: EU
  European Commission has said that Greece has agreed a bailout deal in principle with its creditors. The Commission said a technical agreement has been reached with Greece, which now requires political approval. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has asked parliament to convene so that MPs can debate the details today before a vote on tomorrow. A deal on a new 85 billion Euros three year agreement is needed to keep Greece in the eurozone and avert bankruptcy.
  
  Earlier, Greece's Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos had said two or three small issues, were yet to be resolved with lenders, following overnight talks in Athens. The country needs a deal by 20 August, when it has a debt repayment of about 3 billion euros to make to the European Central Bank.
  
• Libya PM resigns live on TV hours after peace talks restart
  The prime minister of Libya's internationally recognised government, Abdullah al-Thani, has announced his resignation. The announcement was made in a surprise move live on television, hours after peace talks between the country's rival factions restarted. Prime Minister Al-Thani faced angry questions from citizens who blamed his government for the lack of basic services such as electricity and poor security in areas of it controls. Al-Thani said during the show that if his exit is the solution he, resigns. He added that his resignation will be submitted to the parliament on 16th August.
  
• China, Pak sign deals worth USD 1.6 billion to implement CPEC
  China and Pakistan have signed 20 more agreements worth 1.6 billion US Dollars to implement the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The two countries signed 20 cooperation agreements and issued the Karamay Manifesto on the CPEC, a major project under China's Belt and Road Initiative.
  
  The agreements were signed at the CPEC Forum held at Karamay city in Xinjiang province bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
  
  The 3,000-km CPEC connecting Xinjiang with Pakistan's Gwadar Port through PoK is stated to cost 46 billion US Dollar, the amount quoted by Pakistani officials when it was launched by President Xi Jinping during his visit to Islamabad in April.
  
  A total of 51 agreements were signed during Xi's visit of which 30 are linked to the strategic corridor, regarded as the biggest connectivity project between the two countries after the Karakorum highway built in 1979.
  
• 50 killed, 700 injured in China port explosions
  At least 50 people have been killed and 700 others injured, 66 of them critically in twin blasts at a warehouse containing chemical and toxic materials in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.
  
  The blasts ripped through the Ruihai warehouse, which stores dangerous goods, at 11.20 PM local time yesterday, following a fire report half an hour earlier. Fireballs erupted then ignited more explosions in companies nearby.
  
  The massive blasts were caused by combustible and explosive goods stored in containers at the warehouse. Chemicals at a container terminal exploded in Binhai New Area in Tianjin. Official television CCTV showed footage of massive explosions in the city. More than 10,000 people were reportedly evacuated from the nearby areas.
  
• Greek lawmakers approve third bailout after all-night debate
  Greek lawmakers approved Greece's draft third bailout in a parliamentary vote. The vote was passed with 222 votes in favor, 64 against, 11 abstentions and three absent in the 300 member parliament.
  
  Greece needed to pass the bill ahead of a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers in Brussels, where the ministers will decide whether to approve the draft agreement. The deal will also need approval from the Parliaments of various other countries, including that of Germany, before any funds can be disbursed. Some nations, such as Finland, have already given their approval.
  
• Iran gives UN agency documents linked to past nuclear work
  Iran provided the International Atomic Energy Agency with its explanation in writing and related documents as agreed in the Road-map for the clarification of past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program, which has long been subject to intentional debate.
  
  Under the agreement, the UN nuclear watchdog will make an assessment of issues related to possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear energy program by the end of 2015, the IAEA said in a statement.
  
  The West has been long accusing Iran of facilitating its nuclear weapon development under the guise of a peaceful nuclear energy program.
  
  Anti-Iran sanctions imposed separately by the United States, the United Nations and the European Union banned sales of Iranian oil products to many foreign states, and also prohibited the West’s nuclear cooperation with Iran.
  
• State of Emergency Declared in Ecuador over Cotopaxi Volcanic Activity
  Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on 15th August declared a state of emergency following increased activity the day before at the giant Cotopaxi volcano, giving the government greater leeway to mobilize financial resources in the event an eruption.
  
  Two minor explosions on 14th August at Cotopaxi, located about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) south of Quito, led to a precautionary evacuation of small towns in the center of country. The move allows the president to immediately mobilize security forces throughout the country and lets the government block publication of information related to Cotopaxi. The state of emergency may not exceed 60 days.
  
  The Environment Ministry closed the Cotopaxi National Park as a precaution. Cotopaxi is one of the world's highest active volcanoes and is popular with tourists. The last eruption took place in 1940, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.
  
• China detains 127 banking officials for their alleged involvement in corruption
  China has detained 127 officials from its banking industry for their alleged involvement in corruption. Among the detained, half of them were bank presidents or chief of local branches. Most of them were accused of bribery, embezzlement, illegal lending and other illicit acts. China's massive anti-corruption campaign has led to thousands of arrests and convictions on graft charges so far.
  
• Dubai to host BRICS forum in September
   In a bid to bolster economic relations between the five-nation grouping, for the first time ever, a business forum of BRICS nations will take place at Dubai Multi Commodities Centre on September 9. The forum has been initiated and supported by embassies and consulates of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
  
  As per media reports, in order to improve the capacity to innovate and compete in the markets, the forum will facilitate all BRICS companies in UAE with opportunities to exchange technical knowledge and establish collective action plans.
  
  The forum is organized by RBC along with the Indian Professional and Business Council, Indian Trade and Exhibition Centre, Chinese Business Council, South African Business Council and the Brazilian Trade Mission in the UAE.
  
• Obama unveils Clean Power Plan for climate change; faces tough opposition
  United States President Barack Obama formally unveiled his administration's ramped-up plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants. He also declared climate change as the greatest threat facing the world.
  
  The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources.
  
  The revised Clean Power Plan will seek to slash carbon emissions from the power sector by 32 percent by year 2030 from 2005 levels and it shows a 9 percent increase over a previous proposal.
  
  The regulation is aimed at ushering in a sweeping transformation of the U.S. electricity sector, encouraging an aggressive shift toward more renewable energy away from coal-fired electricity.
  
  Industry groups and some lawmakers from states that have relied on coal-based energy have vowed to challenge the Clean Power Plan in the courts and through Congressional maneuvers, accusing the administration of a regulatory assault that will drive up energy prices.
  
• UN reaches agreement on poverty eradication in 15 years
  The 193 member states of the United Nations have reached an agreement on a new development agenda for the next 15 years that calls for eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, improving living standards and taking urgent action to combat climate change
  
  The draft agreement reached on 3rd August, outlines 17 goals with 169 specific targets on issues ranging from ending poverty "in all its forms everywhere" to ensuring quality education and affordable and reliable energy, and protecting the environment.
  
  The document called "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" will be adopted at a UN summit just before the annual meeting of world leaders at the General Assembly in late September.
  
  The 17 new, non-binding goals will succeed the eight Millennium Development Goals adopted by world leaders 15 years ago.
  
  Other important points
  • The price tag for a bold global new anti-poverty agenda comes to between $3.5 and $5 trillion annually over the next 15 years, part of a United Nations' "to-do list" for the world.
  • The UN's 193 member states agreed on a draft plan for the sustainable development goals at the weekend and world leaders are set to endorse them at a summit in New York from September 25 to 27.
  • The 17 goals and 169 targets to end poverty, ensure healthy lives, promote education and combat climate change are even more sweeping than the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that expire at the end of this year.
  • Trillions of dollars would need to be spent by member states and international organizations for each country reach its goals.
  • The United Nations is hoping that businesses will step up along with national governments to redirect their development aid toward achieving the new global goals.
  • Launched in 2012, the negotiations on the new agenda were to build on the success of the MDGs which have helped reduce poverty rates while setting education and health targets, in particular for infant mortality.
  • But the new goals have come under criticism for being ill-defined in some instances and far too broad in scope, undermining prospects for achieving measurable success.
  • Bill and Melinda Gates, who head a mega-billion-dollar foundation, have complained that the new goals stray too far away from the UN's previous focus on health and education.
  • The agenda revolves around the five Ps -- people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership -- and encompasses such hard-to-measure objectives as promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.
  • Negotiations ran into hurdles over references to climate change that are part of separate UN-led talks leading to the Paris conference in December, but the document does call for urgent action to combat global warming.
  • The United Nations is planning to roll out some 300 indicators to measure progress by countries towards achieving the new goals and provide data on how governments are working to improve the lives of their citizens.
  
  
• 26/11 Mumbai attacks planned, launched from Pakistan: Former FIA Chief
  A former head of Pakistan's investigation agency has said that 26/11 Mumbai attacks were planned and launched from Pakistan for which LeT terrorists were trained in Sindh. Tariq Khosa, who was made head of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) weeks after the 2008 assault that killed 166 people said Pakistan has deal with the Mumbai mayhem. He said this requires facing the truth and admitting its mistakes.
  
• Egypt opens new Suez Canal
  President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on 6th August opened a new USD 9 billion Suez Canal amid lavish celebrations as Egypt unveiled its 'gift to the world', a historic waterway that will run parallel to the existing one amid hopes of boosting the country's ailing economy.
  
  The President earlier boarded the monarchy-era Al Mahrousa yacht -- the first ship to pass through the Suez Canal after the historic waterway was opened in November, 1869 -- as part of the opening ceremony in which he crossed the 72-kilometre new extension flanked by air and naval forces.
  
• UNSC adopts resolution to identify those responsible for using chemical weapons in Syria
  The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution aimed at identifying those responsible for using chlorine and other chemical weapons in attacks in Syria that have killed and injured a growing number of civilians.
  
  While Russia and the United States have failed to agree on a way to end the Syrian conflict, now in its fifth year, they have agreed on eliminating the chemical weapons.
  
  The Security Council's vote on 7th August came just two days after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reached agreement on the final text of the resolution. None of the 13 other council members raised objections.
  
• China remains the world’s largest robot market
  China has retained its rank as the world's largest robot market for the second successive year, media reported on 7th August. According to data issued by the China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA) on 6th August, the sales of robots in the Chinese market during 2014 at 57,000 units accounted for one-fourth of the world's total. This was also an increase of 54.6 percent over the previous year, the People's Daily reported. Of the total sales in the Chinese market during 2014, 17,000 units -- worth 3 billion yuan (about $483 million) -- were manufactured in China.
  
• Chinese naval survey vessel completes global navigation tour
  A Chinese naval survey vessel has returned home after successfully completing global navigation tour, the first such venture undertaken by China. The global navigation lasted 179 days and the vessel crossed five continents, three oceans, seven Straits, with a voyage distance of nearly two laps around the globe. It is the first time for a Chinese naval vessel to conduct survey around the world.
  
• Panama Canal Authority limit size of ships using the waterway
  The Panama Canal Authority has said that from next month it would temporarily limit the size of ships using the waterway, because of the effects of drought. It says the water levels of two lakes through which the route passes have fallen significantly as a result of dry conditions caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon.
  
• Facebook's drone ready for internet.org
  Facebook Inc (FB.O) announced that it has completed building its first full-scale drone, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and will provide Internet access to the most remote parts of the world. The company said it will test it in the United States later this year.
  
  The plane will weigh about 880 pounds (400 kg), said Yael Maguire, the company's engineering director of connectivity.
  
  It will hover between 60,000 feet and 90,000 feet (20 and 30 km), above the altitude of commercial airplanes, so that it is not affected by problematic weather.
  
  The drone, which was built in 14 months, is able to fly in the air for 90 days at a time, Maguire said. Helium balloons will be attached to the plane and float it up into the air. The drones have a wingspan of 42 meters (46 yards).
  
  Because the planes must constantly move to stay aloft, they will circle a three-km (two-mile) radius, Parikh said. During the day, they will float up to 90,000 feet (30 km) and at night will drift down to 60,000 feet (20 km) to conserve energy.
  
  The drones are part of a programme called Aquila, which is geared towards the 10 percent of the population that does not have any Internet access, executives said. Separately, Facebook a year ago launched Internet.org, an initiative to provide Internet access to the two-thirds of the world that do not have a reliable connection.