INTERNATIONAL JULY 2016

INTERNATIONAL JULY 2016

 
• G20 pledges to use all tools to fight weak global recovery
  The Group of 20 economies reiterated a pledge to use all policy tools to help boost confidence and growth, while stepping up an emphasis on fiscal and structural measures rather than pumping additional monetary stimulus.
  
  The global economic recovery continues but remains weaker than desirable, finance ministers and central bank governors from the world's top developed and emerging nations said in a joint communique at the close of a two-day gathering in Chengdu China on 24th July
  
  The group expressed optimism about being able to cope with the aftermath of the UK vote to leave the European Union, though US Treasury Secretary Jacob J Lew highlighted that Brexit has escalated the importance of growth that is inclusive.
  
  As anticipated, the G20 repeated its pledge to avoid competitive currency devaluations, consult closely on foreign-exchange policy and resist all protectionism. Japan, as in the past, underscored that the communique also reaffirmed warnings against "excess" currency volatility.
  A number of countries had already taken steps to bolster growth in the run-up to the Chengdu G-20, which also occurred against a backdrop of diminished currency tensions compared with early this year.
  
  China succeeded in stabilising growth in the first half of 2016 after unleashing easier credit and loosening its fiscal stance, while Japan is in the midst of compiling its own fiscal package. Britain's new chancellor of the exchequer, Philip Hammond, had indicated openness to a more generous budget on July 22, when he told the BBC the UK could "reset fiscal policy" if necessary.
  
• World’s largest amphibious aircraft unveiled
  China has completed the production of the world’s largest amphibious aircraft. The state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) unveiled the first of the new planes, dubbed the AG600,
  
  The aircraft, which has a maximum range of 4,500 km, is intended for fighting forest fires and performing marine rescues. At around the size of a Boeing 737, it is far larger than any other plane built for marine take-off and landing
  
  However, its wingspan is considerably smaller than that of the H-4 Hercules, known as the Spruce Goose, which was designed in the 1940s to carry Allied troops into battle. It is regarded as by far the largest seaplane ever built although it only ever made one flight, in 1947.
  
  Beijing is currently locked in disputes with several of its neighbours, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, over the rights to develop economic resources in waters off its shores.
  
  The AG600 could potentially extend the Asian giant’s ability to conduct a variety of operations in the South China Sea, where it has built a series of artificial islands featuring air strips, among other infrastructure with the potential for either civilian or military use.
  
  China is seeking to develop its own aviation sector to reduce dependence on and even challenge foreign giants, such as European consortium Airbus and Boeing of the United States, though analysts say it could take years. Despite a history of delays and problems, China’s aviation industry has made rapid progress in the last year.
  
• Yahoo to be sold to Verizon Communications for nearly $5 bn
  US internet firm Yahoo will be sold to American telecoms giant Verizon Communications for nearly five billion dollars. Verizon said the deal for Yahoo, whose search engine and other sites have more than 1 billion monthly users, would make it a global mobile media company. It comes after Verizon bought AOL, another major internet name, in 2015. Yahoo announced in February that it is looking at strategic alternatives for its core internet business.
  
  The deal, which does not include Yahoo's valuable stake in Chinese online giant Alibaba, is expected to close by the first quarter of next year.
  
• World’s largest temple in Armenia
  A huge Yazidi temple is under construction in a small Armenian village, intended as a symbol of resilience for a persecuted religious tradition. The temple is being built in Aknalich, about 35km from Yerevan, the Armenian capital. Seven domes will surround a central arched roof, crowned with a gold-plated sun.
  
  At 25m high, it will be built from Armenian granite and Iranian marble and house a 200 sq. m prayer hall. Named Quba Mere Diwane, this will be the largest Yazidi temple in the world, although there are relatively few contenders. The project is being funded by Mirza Sloian, a Yazidi businessman based in Moscow, according to EurasiaNet, and is scheduled to be completed next year.
  
• World Health Organisation declares Brazil free of measles
  The World Health Organization (WHO) on 26 July 2016 declared Brazil free of measles. The step was taken after no case of the disease was registered in 2015. From 1985 to 2000, Brazil saw no domestic cases of measles, although it broke out in 2013 in the northeastern states of Pernambuco and Ceara.
  
  The WHO it had worked alongside the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) to eradicated the disease, with a joint investment of 335000 US dollar going towards measles control. The health agency also hired 165 dedicated nursing staff in Brazil. The WHO will issue a certification for the eradication of measles to Brazil in the coming months.
  
• Hillary Clinton nominated as Democrat Candidate
  Democrats on 26th July made Hillary Clinton the first woman to head a major party ticket. At the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, her name was proposed
  Democrat Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman to become the presidential nominee of a major US political party. Hillary's nomination has certainly shattered one of the last remaining glass ceilings in American politics.
  
  Clinton will formally accept the nomination on 28th, before embarking on an intense campaign with polls showing her clash with Republican nominee Trump is, for now, too close to call. South Dakota put Clinton over the top of the 2,382 delegates needed to win the nomination. The roll call will continue through the full roster of states and territories.
  
• China, Russia Plan Naval Drills in South China Sea
  China and Russia will hold joint naval exercises in the South China Sea in September, the Chinese Defense Ministry said, amid heightened regional tension following an international tribunal’s rejection of Beijing’s maritime claims there.
  
  However, they are the first joint exercises in the South China Sea between China and Russia, which have been strengthening defense ties in recent years in part due to a shared interest in countering pressure over their military activities from the U.S. and its allies.
  
  The joint drills will be the first scheduled by any countries in the South China Sea since the tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled overwhelmingly against China on July 12 in a case brought by the Philippines over Beijing’s maritime claims.
  
• 5.4 magnitude quake shakes Tokyo
  An earthquake shook Tokyo late 28th July, but there were no reports of damage or casualties.
  The 5.4 magnitude jolt was felt in Tokyo and areas of eastern Japan the US Geological Survey said. The quake comes a week after the capital's high-rise buildings were shaken by a 5.0 quake. Quakes of a similar scale also shock Tokyo on July 17 and 19.
  
  The epicentre quake was east of the capital in Ibaraki prefecture at a depth of about 46.7 kilometres (29 miles), the USGS said.
  
• Turkey President hinted reinstating of death penalty
  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told that he would approve reinstating the death penalty if lawmakers backed the measure in Parliament. He called the attempted coup on 15th July a "clear crime of treason." The President didn't specify whether he'd seek the death penalty for Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the president says was behind the attempt to overthrow him. He said he'll submit a formal request to the United States within days for Gulen's extradition.
  
  The United States should grant the request, Erdogan said, because the two nations are strategic partners. "There should be reciprocity," he said.
  
  Gulen, who is living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, denied he had anything to do with the coup.
  
  Almost 13,000 public officials have either been removed or suspended from their positions, authorities said. These are officials drawn from the interior, finance and justice ministries. A total of 8,777 officers have already been removed from the Interior Ministry, the vast majority of them police officers, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
  
  Of those arrested, 103 are generals and admirals, a third of the general-rank command of the Turkish military, according to Anadolu.
  
  Judges, lawyers, senior aides and police are among those detained, while eight soldiers who fled to Greece are waiting to hear their fate, as no bilateral extradition agreement exists between the countries.
  
• North Korea fires three ballistic missiles into Sea of Japan
  North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan. US and South Korean military officials said the missiles were launched from the western city of Hwangju. The US said the first two were short-range Scud missiles while the third was presumed to be a mid-range Rodong. It comes after the US and South Korea said they would deploy an anti-missile system to counter the North's threats.
  
  UN has barred North Korea from any test of nuclear or ballistic missile technology. But tensions have soared since it carried out its fourth nuclear test in January. It has also conducted several launches in recent months, including a test of mid-range missiles in June which were considered its most successful yet.
  
• Republicans formally nominate Trump for U.S. presidency
  After vanquishing 16 party rivals, Donald Trump on 19th July secured the party's 2016 nomination for the White House. The state-by-state vote to put Trump's name in nomination took place a day after opponents staged a failed attempt to force a vote opposing his candidacy
  
  Trump's campaign has been marked by frequent controversy over his rhetoric on Muslims, Hispanics, illegal immigration and trade, alarming many in the Republican establishment.
  
• World's wealthiest countries host less than 9% refugees: Report
  The world's six wealthiest countries host less than 9 per cent of the world's refugees, a new report issued on 18th July said. While the US, China, Japan, Germany, France and UK make up more than half the global economy, in 2015, they only hosted 2.1 million refugees and asylum seekers -- just 8.88 per cent of the world's total, international aid organisation, Oxfam said in its report.
  
  Germany took the largest share of refugees among the world's richest countries (around 700,000), with the remaining 1.4 million split between the other five nations. In sharp contrast, the nations that host more than half of the world's refugees and asylum seekers account for less than 2 per cent of the world's GDP, the report noted.
  
  Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, South Africa and Palestine collectively host almost 12 million people.
  
  According to the UN, the number of displaced people is currently at the highest ever recorded, surpassing even post-Second World War numbers.
  
  More than 65 million people -- one out of every 113 people on the planet -- have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, violence or persecution, a 5.8-million increase on the year before, CNN quoted the UNHCR as saying.
  
• State of emergency in Turkey
  Turkey's president on 20th July declared a three-month state of emergency following a failed coup. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the measure was being taken to counter threats to Turkish democracy and wasn't intended to curb basic freedoms. The aim is to rapidly and effectively take all steps needed to eliminate the threat against democracy, the rule of law and the people's rights and freedoms
  
  The president, who has said he narrowly escaped being killed or captured by renegade military units, suggested that purges would continue within military ranks.
  
  Turkey had imposed martial law-like emergency rule in the southeast of Turkey in 1987, allowing officials to set curfews, issue search and arrest warrants and restrict gatherings as the security forces fought Kurdish rebels in the region. The emergency rule was gradually lifted by 2002.
  
  The latest insurrection by some military units was launched late Friday, but security forces and protesters loyal to the government quashed the rebellion. Erdogan says the pro-government death toll in the botched coup was 246. At least 24 coup plotters were also killed.
  
  Cracking down on alleged subversives in education, Turkey also said that it would close more than 600 private schools and dormitories following the attempted coup, spurring fears that the state's move against perceived enemies is throwing key institutions in the NATO ally into disarray.
  
  Erdogan's government said it has fired nearly 22,000 education ministry workers, mostly teachers, taken steps to revoke the licenses of 21,000 other teachers at private schools and sacked or detained half a dozen university presidents in a campaign to root out alleged supporters of a US-based Muslim cleric blamed for the botched insurrection.
  
  The targeting of education ties in with Erdogan's belief that the US-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, whose followers run a worldwide network of schools, seeks to infiltrate the Turkish education system and other institutions in order to bend the country to his will.
  
  The cleric's movement, which espouses moderation and multi-faith harmony, says it is a scapegoat for what it describes as the president's increasingly autocratic conduct.
  
  While Erdogan is seeking to consolidate the power of his elected government in the wake of the attempt to oust him, his crackdown could further polarize a country that once enjoyed a reputation for relative stability in the turbulent Middle East region. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of the military, courts and other institutions that are now being purged.
  
• UN holds informal poll on 12 candidates for next UN chief
  The UN Security Council held its first informal poll for Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's successor. A secretive vote behind the closed doors was taken yesterday for Dozen candidates who are competing to take over as Secretary-General on Jan 1.
  
  According to UN sources Portugal's former Prime Minister, Antonio Guterres, who was the UN's refugee chief for 10 years, took the lead in the first straw poll. Slovenia's former president Danilo Turk came second.
  
  The 15 ambassadors including those from the powerful permanent five, each rated the candidates with ballots marked "encourage," "discourage" or "no opinion." Guterres won the top score of 12 "encourage" votes, while Turk was close behind with 11 encouragements.
  
  According to the UN Charter, the secretary-general is chosen by the 193-member General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, this has meant that the council's five permanent members the US, Russia, China, Britain and France have veto power over the candidates.
  
• Sweden tops in sustainable index
  Sweden tops the chart and is followed by Denmark and Norway on the top three performing countries. Germany (6) and the UK (10) are the only G7 countries to be found among the top ten performers.
  
  India has ranked a low 110 out of 149 nations assessed on where they stand with regard to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, according to a new index which shows all countries face major challenges in achieving these ambitious goals.
  
  The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung launched a new Sustainable Development Goal Index and Dashboard to provide a report card for tracking Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) progress and ensuring accountability.
  
  The index collected available data for 149 countries to assess where each country stands in 2016 with regard to achieving the SDGs. It ranks countries based on their performance across the 17 global goals, a set of ambitious objectives across the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, underpinned by good governance. The index helps countries identify priorities for early actions and shows that every country faces major challenges in achieving the SDGs.
  
  The SDG Index and Dashboard can help each country to chart out a practical path for achieving the Goals. The countries which are closest to fulfilling the goals are not the biggest economies but comparably small, developed countries. 
  • The US ranks 25th on the index, while Russia and China rank 47th and 76th respectively.
  • India ranks 110th on the list followed by Lesotho on 113th position, Pakistan (115), Myanmar (117), Bangladesh (118) and Afghanistan (139). Poor and developing countries understandably score lowest on the SDG Index as they often have comparably little resources at their disposal.
  • The Central African Republic and Liberia are at the bottom of the Index and still have the longest way to go in achieving the SDGs.
  • A year after world leaders adopted the SDGs, the new index shows that all countries face major challenges in achieving these ambitious goals by 2030.
  • No country has achieved the SDGs and even top Sweden scores “red” on several goals.
  • The report shows how leaders can deliver on their promise and urges countries not to lose the momentum for important reforms.
  • In order to achieve the ambitious goals, immediate and comprehensive action is needed in the crucial first years of implementation of the new global agenda, it noted.
  • East and South Asia outperform many other developing regions but unmet challenges persist in health and education.
  • For Latin America and the Caribbean, high levels of inequality are among the most pressing issues.
  • In spite of significant progress in recent years in Sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s poorest region faces major challenges across almost all SDGs, with extreme poverty, hunger and health as major areas where substantial improvement is needed.
  
  
• China removed missiles from South China Sea islands ahead of UN verdict
  China has removed its new generation surface-to-air missiles from a disputed island in the South China Sea after US withdrew its aircraft carrier ahead of a landmark verdict by an UN-backed tribunal
  
  The images from Airbus Defence and Space showed a battery of HQ-9 missiles was removed from Woody Island before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected Beijing's claims over the South China Sea, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted IHS Janes Defence magazine as reporting citing satellite images. The HQ-9s have a range of 200km and can intercept aircraft and incoming missiles.
  
  The report said the missiles, which have been on Woody Island; the largest in the disputed Parcel Islands claimed by China and Vietnam in the South China Sea were probably shipped back to the mainland for maintenance by a Type 072A landing ship docked in the island's harbour.
  
  The Post quoted Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie as saying the possible removal of the HQ-9s could be a response to the Pentagon's decision to withdraw its USS John C Stennis carrier from the South China Sea on July 5, showing both Beijing and Washington were keen to reduce the risk of military confrontation.
  
  Some proper efforts to disarm will help decrease regional tension. We can see progress in Sino-US high-level military-to-military exchanges, with the US sending their naval operations chief Admiral John Richardson to meet Chinese navy commander Admiral Wu Shengli in the aftermath of the rulings," Li said.
  
  Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong said the HQ-9 system may have been due for extensive maintenance after deployment in at least two rounds of naval drills in the last few months in the Paracels. The removal of the missiles coincided with week-long Chinese naval drills in the Paracels, which ended on July 11. CCTV footage showed the HQ-9 system launching missiles from a frigate, the Post report said.
  
• World’s biggest orchestra performs in German stadium
  More than 7,500 classical musicians performed in a German football arena to set the world record for the biggest-ever orchestra. Amateur groups and full orchestras from Germany as well as Austria and the Netherlands took part in the mega-show Saturday evening in Frankfurt’s Commerzbank Arena
  
  With 7,548 musicians involved, the event trumped the previous biggest such performance in the Guinness World Records, set in Brisbane, Australia in 2013, with 7,224 musicians.
  
  The giant orchestra in Germany performed excerpts from symphonies by Dvorak and Beethoven, including the Ode to Joy, as well as a melody from the musical Starlight Express and a 1976 pop song by John Miles Music (Was My First Love).
  
• Shinzo Abe claims landslide victory in Japan elections
   In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition has secured landslide victory in the elections to the Upper House of Parliament. The Liberal Democratic Party, its partner Komeito, and Initiatives from Osaka won 77 of the 121 seats at stake.
  
  Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition already enjoys a two-thirds majority in the lower house and they need a super majority in the House of Councilors to start a parliamentary motion for changing the constitution. The constitution bars Japan from participating in joint military endeavors abroad.
  
  The current Constitution has never been revised. It took effect in 1947.
  
• China claim on South China Sea rejected
  A five-member tribunal appointed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague, the Netherlands, on 12th July rejected China's claims to economic rights across large swathes of South China Sea, a case brought by the Philippines.
  
  In the ruling, judges said that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line, referring to a demarcation line on a 1947 map of the sea, which is rich in energy, mineral and fishing resources.
  
  The tribunal in ruling said China had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights. It also said China had caused severe harm to the coral reef environment by building artificial islands.
  
  After verdict, China said it will not recognise the decision. China has boycotted the tribunal ever since Philippines filed the petition in The Hague international court. The ruling came from an arbitration tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which both China and Philippines have signed. The ruling is binding but the tribunal has no powers of enforcement
  
• Theresa May, new PM of Britain
  Theresa May has become the new Prime Minister of Britain. She also announced her cabinet. Former Mayor of London Boris Johnson was on 13th July appointed Foreign Secretary
  
  May has also created a new cabinet job, Secretary of State for Brexit, likely to be called the Brexit Secretary, tasked with steering Britain out of Europe following last month's referendum vote. The job has been handed to David Davis who has previously served as a Europe Minister. Current Defense Secretary Michael Fallon has kept his job.
  
  After Cameron resigned as prime minister following the Remain camp's defeat in the EU referendum, Johnson had been tipped as a favourite to replace him at 10 Downing Street. But on the day nominations closed Johnson caused a shock by announcing he had decided not to stand in the leadership contest.
  
  Hammond was the first cabinet member to be announced by May, naming him as her next door neighbour at 11 Downing Street. Hammond had served as foreign secretary in Cameron's cabinet, but he has had previous experience of a Treasury role.
  
  George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer in David Cameron's cabinet has resigned from the government, in what was the first shock as new Prime Minister Theresa May started the task of appointing her own front bench team.
  
  For Hammond the job means a return to the Conservative's Treasury team where he previously served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. In 2007 he became Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
  
  Amber Rudd, Energy Secretary under Cameron has taken over May's old job as Home Secretary. She was only given a front bench job a year ago when she became Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
  
• NATO, Russia fail to overcome deep differences on Ukraine
  NATO and Russia have failed to overcome deep differences on Ukraine. According to the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, NATO allies and Russia have profound and persistent disagreements on Ukraine. Russia however raised a proposal on air safety in the Baltic Sea where there have been a series of near misses between Russian and NATO military aircraft.
  
• Attack in Nice claims victims from around the world
  In a truck attack, more than 80 people were died in France. The authorities are enquiring, whether any terrorist hand involved in it. The incident happened on the Bastille Day. The Bastille Day crowd on the waterfront in Nice, France, was a festive mixture of French locals and foreign visitors. The lorry that slammed into them late 14th July, apparently intent on hitting as many as possible, did not discriminate — among the 84 dead identified so far were Tunisians, Algerian, Moroccons, French, American, Russian and Swiss citizens.
  
• Turkey coup attempt
  There were terrifying scenes on the streets of Turkey on 15th July as the country's military tried to overthrow the government.
  
  A coup is an illegal attempt to overthrow those in power by force. Turkey has a history of military coups, but has not experienced one for nearly two decades.
  
  A faction within Turkey's armed forces used tanks and helicopters in its attempt to bring down President Tayyip Erdogan.
  
  However, they were stopped as people flooded onto the streets in support of the leader, who was democratically elected.
  
  The death toll currently stands at 194, with over 1,100 injured in the fierce clashes in Ankara and Istanbul. President Erdogan claims the attempted coup is now over, with more than 1,500 military personnel arrested.
  
  The scale of the operation - which included the deployment of fighter jets and tanks -would suggest it was planned by senior military figures.
  
  Elements of the Army and Air Force are involved in the coup, and it is unclear if the Navy is also behind it. Mr Erdogen has claimed that Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen is the inspiration behind the coup
  
  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to stay in power hours after an army faction tried to topple the government. He said he intends to stay with his people and not go anywhere.
  
  The permanent chief of staff, Hulusi Akar, was freed by forces loyal to the government having been held hostage at an army base in Ankara for a period.
  
• China bans online media from publishing unverified content
  China has banned online media from publishing unverified content, especially from the social media, after the country's internet regulator punished some major websites that fabricated stories this year. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) issued a notice saying that news websites must accredit sources, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The CAC described it as part of campaign against fake news and the spreading of rumours.
  
• Intentionally banning access to internet not advisable: UN
  Over the last two months, Iraq has shut down its internet country-wide three times to keep middle school students from cheating on tests; Algeria has shut down access to Facebook and Twitter to keep high school students from sharing stolen final exams; and India shut down the internet in its Jammu province due to a contentious wrestling match.
  
  Shutting down the internet, or limiting access to wide swaths of the internet, was once a tool used only by repressive dictatorship trying to stop government-toppling protesters. It’s now almost as easy as flicking a switch, leading governments to use it with worrying frequency said a group of digital-rights advocacy groups, led by Access Now, that pushed through a non-binding resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council condemning countries that intentionally disrupt citizens’ internet access.
  
  The UN has boldly spoken against the pressing problem of internet shutdown, calling the resolution a statement that “should give governments pause.”
  
  Turkey has long been known to throttle sites, especially Facebook and Twitter. Yet despite that, they were one of the core group which supported the UN resolution calling for internet access, according to Access Now.
  
• Nearly 30,000 'foreign fighters' in Syria, Iraq: UN
  Nearly 30,000 "foreign terrorist fighters" are currently in Syria and Iraq, according to a high-ranking UN official. The number of foreign terrorist fighters is very high" in war-ravaged Syria and neighbouring Iraq, said Jean-Paul Laborde, UN assistant secretary general and head of its Counter-Terrorism Committee.
  
  The terrorist attacks in those countries of origin risk getting bigger and bigger to counter-balance the pressure on them. Laborde urged countries to put in place a "filter system to distinguish between the large majority of (returning) foreign fighters, who are not dangerous... and those who are."
  
  The Counter-Terrorism Committee, made up of representatives of the UN Security Council member states, was created in New York following the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
  
• U.S. sanctions North Korean leader over rights abuses
  The United States on 6th July sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time, citing "notorious abuses of human rights," in a move that diplomats say will incense the nuclear-armed country. The sanctions, the first to target any North Koreans for rights abuses, affect property and other assets within U.S. jurisdiction and extend to 10 other individuals and five government ministries and departments
  
  The sanctions place those officials on a blacklist making them radioactive to major financial institutions and companies while freezing any assets they may already have in U.S banks. In North Korea, the leader is the subject of state-mandated adulation and considered infallible.
  
  In a report by the U.S. State Department to Congress, Kim Jong Un topped a list of those responsible for serious human rights abuses and censorship in North Korea. Many of the abuses happen in North Korea's political prisoner camps, which hold between 80,000 and 120,000 prisoners including children, the report said.
  
  The Treasury statement said he had "engaged in, facilitated, or been responsible for an abuse or violation of human rights by the Government of North Korea or the Workers’ Party of Korea."
  
• Chilcot report delivers verdict on British role in Iraq War
  The Chilcot inquiry of Britain delivered a devastating indictment of Britain's decision to invade Iraq, finding that the war was based on flawed intelligence and had been launched before diplomatic options were exhausted. The findings of the 2.6 million-word Iraq Inquiry -- seven years in the making -- were released following a statement by probe chairman John Chilcot in London on 6th July.
  
  The former civil servant said that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein posed "no imminent threat" when the U.S-led invasion was launched in March 2003, and that while military action against him "might have been necessary at some point," the "strategy of containment" could have continued for some time.
  
  Chilcot said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was warned of the risks of regional instability and the rise of terrorism before the invasion of Iraq, but pressed on regardless. The UK failed to appreciate the complexity of governing Iraq, and did not devote enough forces to the task of securing the country in the wake of the invasion, he added.
  
  Blair's decision to invade Iraq was influenced by his interest in protecting the UK's relationship with the United States, the report said.
  
  While the legal basis for the war was "far from satisfactory," the inquiry did not express a view on whether the invasion was legal, Chilcot said, arguing that that was a decision for another forum
  
  Judgements about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction - or WMD - were presented with a certainty that was not justified
  
  Intelligence had "not established beyond doubt" that Saddam Hussein had continued to produce chemical and biological weapons
  
• Putin, Obama to intensify military cooperation in Syria
  U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have confirmed their readiness to increase military cooperation in Syria.
  
  Following a telephone conversation between the two leaders, the White House said, the presidents confirmed their commitment to defeating Islamic State and the al-Nusrah Front, the Syria-based al-Qaida affiliate. The Kremlin said in a statement that both Russia and the US are ready to better coordinate efforts to eliminate radical Islamists in Syria. Both the leaders also discussed the conflict in Ukraine and ethnic and territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan.
  
• Germany enacts landmark sexual assault law
  German lawmakers unanimously approved legislation on 7th July that would make it easier to prosecute suspects of sexual violence and that defines rape as the violation of a woman’s will under the principle of “no means no.”
  
  International women’s rights groups have long bemoaned the lack of effective legislation to protect women against sexual violence in Germany, and the strict requirements for filing criminal complaints for sexual violence here mean that few cases are reported and even fewer are prosecuted.
  
  The measure, which brings Germany closer to other Western countries in legislation on sexual crimes, makes it possible to prosecute cases in which victims made clear that they had not wanted to engage in sexual activity, even if they did not cry out or otherwise seek help.
  
  It also includes language that considers situations in which men take advantage of crowded situations to initiate inappropriate contact, a provision added after reports of widespread sexual assault in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
  
  Women’s rights groups and opposition lawmakers in Germany have been pushing for two years for legislation that would codify the principle of “no means no,” a significantly tougher stance for the country, the only one in Western Europe that lacks clear legislation against groping.
  
• WHO launches yellow fever vaccine campaign in Angola, Congo
  The World Health Organization (WHO) said it would help Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo launch a mass vaccination campaign against a yellow fever outbreak ravaging the two countries.
  
  The campaign will aim to immunise 15.5 million people in the two countries by the end of August.
  
  Yellow fever has been raging in Angola since December, especially in the capital Luanda, where there have been 3,552 suspected cases, 875 confirmed cases and 355 deaths.
  
  Cases have been imported to Kinshasa in DR Congo, where the virus has begun spreading locally and is believed to have killed 75 people. The country has recorded 1,300 suspected cases, and 68 confirmed cases -- 59 of which are direct importations from Angola.
  
  The two affected countries have already made "a huge effort" to rein in the outbreak. 14.5 million people have already been vaccinated, most of them in Angola, helping slow the outbreak considerably.
  
  The idea now is to quickly more than double that number during the so-called "dry season", when there is least risk of spread, immunising some eight million people in Kinshasa, three million more inside Angola and another 4.3 million along the border between the two countries.
  
  There is no specific treatment for yellow fever, a viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted in urban settings mainly by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads Zika, dengue and chikungunya.
  
• NATO Allies Reaffirm Pledge for Higher Military Spending
  North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials pushed European leaders for more military spending at a summit at Warsaw, on 8th July, pointing out that though funding has begun to rise, its long decline has left what they say are critical gaps.
  
  Military spending by European allies has become a political issue in the U.S., especially as the Kremlin grows increasingly assertive. Both Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, and President Barack Obama have said European countries are failing to spend enough.
  
  NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the allies reviewed and reconfirmed their pledge to move toward spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense. With $8 billion in additional spending planned for 2016, Mr. Stoltenberg said the alliance had “turned a corner”.
  
  Europe cut military spending with the end of the Cold War, arguing the threat from Russia was declining. Austerity programs have also cut into European budgets and spending on weaponry is generally unpopular.
  
  But without ongoing investments in new equipment, NATO can neither deploy its troops nor defend its borders.
  
  NATO has struggled to fill slots in its standing maritime force and didn’t secure a lead country for the last of four new battalions to be deployed on NATO’s eastern borders until a week before the summit.
  
  NATO officials presented charts to leaders, including classified “name-and-shame” assessments of members’ military capabilities, deployability and sustainability. Deployability is a measure of the percentage of its forces a country can deploy, and sustainability measures how long it can keep them in the field.
  
  While NATO doesn’t reveal such information, the European Defense Agency, which is part of the European Union, ranks its members, many of whom are also NATO members. Those numbers reinforce the idea that European countries that spend the most on their military have the ability to deploy the most forces. 
  
  
• Migration Group Approves Move to Join United Nations System
  Leaders of the International Organization for Migration say they've unanimously agreed to become part of the U.N. system. The 65-year-old intergovernmental body also announced on 1st July that China, tuvalu and Solomon islands will join the IOM, bringing its total number of member states to 165.
  
  The move by an IOM council to join the United Nations system, like other affiliate bodies such as the World Trade Organization, hands the issue over to the U.N. General Assembly. IOM expects to now expand partnerships, but it made no reference to how it will articulate its work alongside that of the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR.
  
• India abstains on LGBT panel vote at UN
  The Ministry of External Affairs on 1st July said India abstained from the LGBT vote in the United Nations as the case is subjudice and the Supreme Court is yet to pronounce its verdict.
  
  India’s response on the LGBT vote in the UN comes hours after LGBT community members expressed disappointment over its move to help protect the rights of homosexuals and transgenders worldwide.
  
  Throwing light on the fact that the Private Member Bill brought by congress leader Shashi Tharoor was unanimously rejected by the Parliament, Transgender activist Akkai Padmashali said it reflected ‘intolerance’ on the government’s part.