INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2016

INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2016

• Iceland: Gudni Johannesson elected new president
  Icelanders have elected historian Gudni Johannesson as their first new president in 20 years. The final count showed 39 percent of Icelanders voted for him placing him ahead of a former prime minister and central bank governor. The post is largely ceremonial but does carry powers to block legislation.
  
  The political newcomer ran for presidency amid distrust of politicians and business leaders after the 2008 global financial crisis and the Panama papers scandal.
  
  Johannesson, an expert on political history, diplomacy and the constitution came to prominence in April as a public commentator on the case of former Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, who resigned over leaked data in the Panama Papers suggesting he and his wife had an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.
  
• India joins MTCR; Membership to enable New Delhi to buy high-end nuclear technology
  India on 27th June joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as a full member and said its entry would be mutually beneficial to enhance global non-proliferation norms.
  
  Marking India's first entry into any multilateral export control regime, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar signed the instrument of accession to MTCR in the presence of France's Ambassador-designate Alexandre Ziegler, The Netherlands' Ambassador Alphonsus Stoelinga and Luxembourg's Chargé d'Affaires Laure Huberty in New Delhi.
  
  According to the External Affairs Ministry India's entry into the regime as its thirty-fifth member would be mutually beneficial in the furtherance of international non-proliferation objectives. It also said India would like to thank each of the thirty-four MTCR Partners for their support for India's membership.
  
  The MTCR Point of Contact in Paris has conveyed the decision regarding India's accession to the regime through the French Embassy in New Delhi as well as the Embassies of The Netherlands and Luxembourg.
  
  India's entry into MTCR comes days after it failed to get Nuclear Suppliers Group membership due to stiff opposition from China and a few other countries. Significantly, China, which stonewalled India's entry into the 48-nation NSG at the just-concluded Seoul plenary, is not a member of MTCR.
  
  MTCR membership will now enable India to buy high-end missile technology and also enhance its joint ventures with Russia. The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, complete rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogramme payload for at least 300 kilometres, as well as systems intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction.
  
• EU gives Britain breathing space to absorb shock Brexit vote
  European Union, EU leaders have given the United Kingdom some breathing space by accepting it needed time to absorb a shock Brexit vote but insisted that EU could not wait for months for the move.
  
  At a Brussels summit, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said, Britain did not have months to meditate. He set a clear timetable for triggering Article 50, of the Lisbon Treaty, that begins the two-year withdrawal process, after British Prime Minister David Cameron's successor takes office in early September.
  
  Mr Cameron came face-to-face with European colleagues for the first time since Brexit vote at a Brussels summit. He told European leaders that they will have to offer the UK more control over immigration. The British prime minster used his last Brussels summit to tell German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande and other European heads of government that anxieties about unrestricted freedom of movement were at the heart of the decision by Britons to reject the EU.
  
  Meanwhile, leaders of Gibraltar and Scotland discussed to remain within the EU after the UK has voted to leave the bloc. Gibraltar and Scotland part of the UK had voted heavily in favour of staying in the EU bloc. Crisis has further deepened in the British politics as Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, vowed to fight on despite losing a crushing no-confidence vote among his party's lawmakers.
  
• Ethiopia, Bolivia, Sweden, Kazakhstan elected non-permanent UNSC members
  Ethiopia, Bolivia, Sweden and Kazakhstan were elected to the United Nations Security Council on 28th June as non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year period beginning in January, 2017. The 193-member UN body conducted the elections for five non-permanent seats.
  
  The two-year terms of the new members will begin from January 1 next year and run through December 31, 2018. A third round of voting is due to take place for the final available seat with Italy competing against The Netherlands.
  
  The UN Security Council consists of 10 non-permanent members who sit alongside the five permanent, veto-wielding members - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.
  
• World must focus on poorest children: UNICEF
  The world must focus more on helping the poorest children to build on progress achieved in health and education over the past 25 years, UNICEF said on 28th June.
  
  In its annual "State of the World's Children" report, the UN children's agency took stock of important gains such as a 53 percent drop in infant mortality since 1990 and a dramatic reduction in extreme poverty.
  
  But without a sharper focus on the most vulnerable, it warned, 69 million children under five will die from preventable causes and 167 million will suffer poverty over the next 15 years.
  
  Without a shift, some 750 million women and girls will have been married as children by 2030, the deadline set by the United Nations to achieve its new global goals for sustainable development.
  
  Progress so far "has mainly been made by focusing a lot on children that are easier to reach, or on interventions on health and nutrition with a high impact," said Justin Forsyth, UNICEF's deputy executive director.
  
  Across much of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, children born to mothers with no education are almost three times more likely to die before they are 5 than those born to mothers with a secondary education. Girls from the poorest households are twice as likely to marry as children than those from the wealthiest households.
  
  The number of children out of school, on the rise since 2011, presents another worrying trend. With around 124 million children who do not attend primary or middle school, education is key to reaching the most vulnerable, Chaiban argued.
  
• Russia extends Western food embargo to end of 2017
  Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended Moscow's embargo on food items from the West to the end of 2017. The embargo is imposed in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine. An order posted on the official website states that the existing embargo on produce, dairy, meat and other foods will be extended to December 31, 2017.
  
  Russia has since August 2014 banned imports of most foods from the European Union and other countries, including the United States, which imposed sanctions on Moscow over its 2014 annexation of Crimea and support of east Ukraine's separatists.
  
• World Bank, ISA sign agreement for collaboration in solar energy
  The World Bank Group has signed an agreement with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), to collaborate on increasing solar energy use around the world with the goal of mobilising $1 trillion in investments by 2030.
  
  The ISA is a group of 121 countries led by India and is headquartered in India. The agreement was signed on 30th June when the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim met the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy. The World Bank Group President said that he hoped the signing of the agreement with ISA would help mobilise a global movement towards a climate friendly future.
  
  As part of the agreement, the World Bank Group will develop a roadmap to mobilise financing for development and deployment of affordable solar energy, and also work with other multilateral development banks and financial institutions to develop financing instruments to support solar energy development.
  
  The World Bank has also announced that it plans to provide more than $1 billion to support the country’s ambitious initiatives to expand the use of solar energy.
  
  The government and World Bank also signed an agreement for $625 million grid connected rooftop solar programme. The project will finance the installation of at least 400 MW of solar photovoltaic installations that will provide clean, renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by displacing thermal generation.
  
• Former Egyptian President sentenced to life
  Former Egypt President Mohamed Mursi sentenced to life imprisonment; found guilty of espionage and leaking state secrets. Egypt's former President Mohamed Mursi was handed another life sentence on 18th June, after a court found him guilty of espionage and leaking state secrets.
  
  Mursi, leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, has already been sentenced in three other cases, including the death penalty for a mass jail break during the 2011 uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak. Death penalty had also been approved for six others accused alongside Mursi, including three journalists sentenced in absentia.
  
  The sentences are the latest in a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood since an army takeover stripped Mursi of power in 2013 following mass protests against his rule.
  
• Panel on education policy wants UGC Act to lapse
  A high-power committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian, tasked with drawing a blueprint for a new national education policy, has recommended that the law that set up the higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) be allowed to lapse.
  
  The committee's report, submitted recently to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, says the UGC has been unable over the years to effectively implement its regulations aimed at ensuring the quality of higher education in the country. The panel has instead suggested an alternative arrangement for a pruned UGC.
  
• UN said 65 million people displaced worldwide
  According to the United Nations Organization, the number of refugees fleeing their homes worldwide has hit a new record, spiking to 65.3 million people by the end of last year. 
  • Number of people displaced globally rose by 5.8 million last year.
  • The figures, released on World Refugee Day, i.e. on 20th June.
  • The UN report highlighted twin pressure fuelling an unprecedented global displacement crisis
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Chief Filippo Grandi said, as conflict and persecution force is growing, the number of people fleeing and anti-migrant political sentiment has strained the will to resettle refugees.
  
  
• China beats the U.S. In Supercomputing prowess
  China has overtaken the U.S. in the amount of supercomputers being used. China continues to lead the world in supercomputing.
  
  A new Chinese supercomputer called Sunway TaihuLight is the world’s most power machine, according to the TOP500 organization, whose researchers compile a biannual global listing of the top supercomputers.
  
  TOP500 released the new supercomputer rankings on Monday in Frankfurt, Germany during the International Supercomputing Conference.
  
  Sunway TaihuLight overtakes the top spot from the Chinese supercomputer Tianhe-2, which TOP500 said in November was the world’s leading supercomputer at the time.
  
  TaihuLight, which is currently being used at the National Supercomputing Center the Chinese city of Wuxi, is three times as powerful as Tianhe-2, according to TOP500. This is the seventh straight time that a Chinese supercomputer has topped the rankings.
  
  The new top supercomputer was also built with “exclusively based technology developed in China,” touted Top500. This is noteworthy because of the belief held by some researchers that Chinese supercomputers require foreign technology to effectively compete with other countries’ supercomputers, according to Top500.
  
  Tianhe-2, for example, uses Intel processors whereas TaihuLight employs a new ShenWei processor, which was built in China.
  
  Additionally, China has overtaken the U.S. in the amount of supercomputers being used. China now has 167 supercomputers in use whereas the U.S. has 165 similar machines.
  
• Colombia and FARC rebels announce deal on ceasefire
  The Colombian government has agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with FARC rebels, a historic agreement that could move towards the signing of a peace agreement. The parties issued a communique in the Cuban capital, Havana, on 22nd June, the seat of the peace process that started in November 2012.
  
  The Colombian civil war between the government and the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has claimed more than 220,000 lives and displaced almost five million people during half a century of conflict.
  
  The implementation of the final peace deal remains to be settled. The questions of disarmament and justice for victims make the road to peace and reconciliation a hard one.
  
  The sides are discussing designating zones where the FARC's estimated 7,000 remaining fighters can gather for a UN-supervised demobilisation process. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wants a referendum to put the seal of popular approval on its peace effort. But it faces resistance from some political rivals. To hold a plebiscite, it needs the country's constitutional judges to approve a law already passed in Congress.
  
• Britain votes to exit EU
  A majority of British voters decided that the United Kingdom should leave the European Union, and Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation.
  
  Britain has voted to leave the European Union. 52 per cent voted to leave the European Union. Reacting to the results, the pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar in the last thirty-one years. British Prime Minister David Cameron says he will step down following defeat in Brexit referendum.
  
  Stock markets were hammered down across the world, on 24th June, after a decision by Britain, in an historic referendum, to exit the European Union.
  
  London and Scotland voted strongly to stay but the Voters in Wales and the English shires have backed Brexit in large numbers.
  
  Will strive to strengthen ties with UK, EU both: India
  As Britain voted to leave the European Union in a landmark referendum, India said it values its ties with both the UK and EU and will strive hard to strengthen these relationships in the years ahead. We have seen the results of the British referendum on EU membership reflecting the choice made by the British people on the issue. We value our multifaceted relationships with both the UK and the EU and will strive to further strengthen these ties in the years ahead, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
  
  The UK voted to leave the European Union after 43 years in a historic referendum. Leave won by 52 per cent to 48 per cent votes. UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it as the UK's Independence Day but Remain camp called it a catastrophe. The vote reverses the public verdict back in 1975, when the UK voted to remain a member of the European Economic Community, which later became the EU.
  
• Two million sign UK petition for second EU vote
  More than two million people have signed a petition calling for a second referendum, after a shock vote to pull Britain out of the EU, an official website showed on 25th June. The website of the parliamentary petition at one point crashed due to the surge of people adding their names to the call for another nationwide poll following the Brexit vote.
  
  The "Leave" camp won the support of 51.9 percent of voters, against 48.1 percent in favour of remaining in the European Union. Turnout for referendum was 72.2 percent. Signatories to the petition appeared to be mostly in Edinburgh and London, both of which voted heavily in favour of "Remain".
  
  There is no obligation in British legislation for referendums to have a minimum share of the vote or a minimum turnout, as in some other countries. But EU rules say nothing about a member state that has already begun negotiations to leave the bloc changing its mind and reversing that decision under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
  
  The result of vote revealed stark divisions between young and old, north and south, cities and rural areas, and people with and without a university degree.
  
• Sri Lankan Parliament unanimously passes Right to Information bill
  Sri Lankan Parliament on 24th June unanimously passed the Right to Information bill aimed at restoring transparency and good governance in the country. The RTI bill was adopted without a vote in the Parliament after two days of debate.
  
  The new law gives citizens access to public information except personal data, national security information, financial and commercial policy decisions, intellectual property and medical reports.
  
  During last year's presidential campaign President Maithripala Sirisena promised the new law, since Sri Lanka had a long history of official secrecy.
  
• 50 killed in shooting at gay nightclub in Florida
  In the United States, 50 people were killed in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida on 12th June. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said, a state of emergency has been declared in the city. The gunman, Omar Mateen, was killed after taking hostages.
  
  Another 53 people were injured in the shooting at the Pulse club. It is the worst mass shooting in recent US history. Police described it as an act of terrorism.
  
  Officials said the killings were likely to be ideologically motivated, though there is no information that the gunman was associated with a particular group.
  
  However, US Congressman Alan Grayson said it is no coincidence that the attack happened in a gay club. It is believed that the suspect, who comes from the Florida town of Port St Lucie and is of Afghan descent, was not on a terrorism watch list, although he was currently being investigated for an unrelated criminal act.
  
  Relatives have been gathering at local hospitals desperate for news of their loved ones. Many had received calls and texts from loved ones inside the club as the siege began, and some have heard nothing since.
  
• Microsoft to Buy Linkedin for $26.2 Billion
   US software giant Microsoft is to buy professional social platform LinkedIn. This was announced by Microsoft and the all cost deal of this acquisition is $26.2bn. Jeff Weiner will stay on as CEO of LinkedIn and will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
  
  The deal was unanimously approved by both companies' Boards of Directors, and is expected to close by the end of the calendar year. The acquisition is still subject to approval by LinkedIn shareholders, and regulatory approvals.
  
  Microsoft CEO satya Nadella has said in a statement that LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world's professionals.
  
• NSG divided on non-NPT nations becoming members: China
  China has said that more talks were needed to build a consensus on which countries can join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, NSG controlling access to sensitive nuclear technology, after a push by the United States to include India. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, large differences remain over the issue of non-NPT countries joining the NSG.
  
  Hong said, China consistently supports having ample discussion on this to seek consensus and agreement and come to a unanimous decision.
  
  According to diplomats, China is seen as leading opposition to the US move to include India in the 48-nation NSG, but other countries, including New Zealand, Turkey, South Africa and Austria also oppose Indian membership. The NSG aims to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons by restricting the sale of items that can be used to make those arms.
  
  India already enjoys most of the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules granted to support its nuclear cooperation deal with Washington. NSG plenary meeting will begin in Seoul on 20th of this month.
  
• Mysterious earthen mounds discovered in ancient Cambodian cities
  Using airborne laser-scanning equipment, archaeologists have discovered vast fields of dome-shaped earthen mounds, arranged into gridded patterns, in 1,000-year-old Cambodian cities.
  
  The scientists are puzzled as to what these vast "dome fields" (as archaeologists sometimes call them) would have been used for around 1,000 years ago, calling them "the most enigmatic features" from this archaeological landscape.
  
  In addition to the dome fields, archaeologists also found mounds shaped into geometric patterns, such as spirals. These geometric features are located near Cambodian temple complexes
  
  The finding is part of a huge project in which archaeologists with the Cambodian Archaeological Lidar Initiative (CALI) are targeting areas located near large temple complexes (such as Angkor Wat).
  
  Sizable cities often existed within and around these temples, and archaeologists have gradually uncovered these cities since the 1990s,
  
  Many of the cities studied were part of the Khmer Empire, which, at its height in the 12th and 13th centuries A.D.
  
  The researchers used laser scanning equipment attached to low-flying helicopters in order to penetrate the thick foliage of the Cambodian jungle. Their work revealed earthen mounds and markings on the ground left over from decayed buildings made of wood and other organic material.
  
• Pakistan seeks support from Russia, others for Nuclear Suppliers Group membership
  Pakistan and India are two nuclear powers in South Asia, fighting for Kashmir. Both now want to be in the NSG, dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation globally.
  
  In order to mobilize support for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership, Pakistan has maintained its diplomatic push after the US super power backed India's bid to join the 48-nation club of nuclear trading countries.
  
  Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz had a telephonic conversation with the foreign ministers of Russia, South Korea, New Zealand among others in order to gain support for the country's application for NSG membership.
  
  Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tasnim Aslam at a detailed briefing for diplomatic missions of the NSG countries in Islamabad highlighted the factors, which placed Islamabad's application for a NSG membership on solid grounds, including country's technical experience, capability and well-established commitment to non-proliferation and nuclear safety and security.
  
  Pakistan's Ambassador to Austria, Ayesha Riyaz, had in a letter addressed to NSG Chairman Rafael Grossi on May 19 said the decision to seek membership in the group reflected Islamabad's support for international efforts aimed at preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
  
  Pakistan has the expertise, manpower, infrastructure and ability to supply NSG-controlled items, goods and services for a full range of nuclear applications for peaceful uses, and Islamabad is urging the NSG to adopt a non-discriminatory criteria-based approach for group membership.
  
  Though Pakistan solidly backed American war on Afghanistan and complied with all requirements of Washington on ‘doing more” on terrorism USA does not think it necessary to support Pakistan’s bid for NSG. Not only Pakistan lost Muslims in aiding the NATO terrorist gangs that made Islamabad an easy haven for their joint terror operations against Islam and Muslims. In fact, Pakistan now stands destabilized, its economy collapsing beyond recognition. USA gave just a few peanuts to Pakistan as service charges for supporting USA in targeting Muslims in the region.
  
  Pakistan always thinks USA would take care of its interests and hence did not seek NSG membership so long. Islamabad sought a membership of the exclusive nuclear trading club after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured Washington's backing for New Delhi's bid for a membership. There are hints that India may not be get entry into NSG for a variety of reasons.
  
  The support of Mexico and Switzerland for Pakistan is seen as important in the wake of China opposing India's NSG membership arguing that it was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
  
• Russia launches most powerful nuclear icebreaker Arktika
  Russia's new Project 22220 nuclear powered icebreaker dubbed Arktika was launched from the Baltic Shipyard in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg on on 16th June. Built at the Baltic Shipyard, which belongs to Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation, project 22220 is the world’s largest and most powerful vessel of its kind.
  
  The Project 22220 vessel is 189.5 yards long and 37.1 yards wide. The ship displaces 33,540 metric tons.
  
• Rio declares financial emergency, requests funding for Olympics
  In Brazil, State of Rio de Janeiro has declared a financial emergency less than 50 days before the Olympics. Interim Governor Francisco Dornelles says the serious economic crisis threatens to stop the state from honouring commitments for the games.
  
  The Governor has blamed the crisis on a tax shortfall, especially from the oil industry, while Brazil overall has faced a deep recession. Rio state employees and pensioners are owed wages in arrears. Hospitals and police stations have been severely affected. Interim President Michel Temer has promised significant financial help.
  
• Asia's largest Defence Summit concludes in Singapore
  Asia's largest Defence Summit concluded on 5th June in Singapore amid growing fears of a legal and military showdown in the South China Sea over China's rapid construction of artificial islands with ports, airstrips and helipads in one of the world's most bitterly contested waterways.
  
  At the weekend-long Shangri-La Dialogue, Chinese military officials vowed to ignore a legal ruling expected in the next few weeks by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on a Philippines' challenge to China's growing assertiveness in the key sea route between the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
  
  Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would consider any Chinese establishment of an air defence zone over the South China Sea to be a provocative and destabilising act.
  
  U.S. officials have expressed concern that an international court ruling could prompt Beijing to declare an air defence identification zone as it did over the East China Sea in 2013.
  
• Saudi Arabia to Reduce Public-Sector Wages in Post-Oil Plan
  Saudi Arabia’s plan to repair public finances strained by the oil-price plunge aims to reduce public-sector wages as well as subsidies, scaling back the state largess that helped ensure political loyalty in the largest Arab economy.
  
  The Saudi cabinet on 6th June approved the National Transformation Program, part of the Vision 2030 plan unveiled by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in April.
  
  Its targets include reducing public-sector wages to 40 percent of government spending by 2020, from 45 percent today. Public debt is seen climbing to 30 percent of economic output from 7.7 percent currently.
  
  The slump in oil prices prompted Prince Mohammed to lead the biggest economic shakeup in the kingdom’s history to reduce the reliance on hydrocarbons. He proposed measures eschewed by previous rulers, who used some of the windfall from oil exports over the past decade to create government jobs.
  
  According to the Saudi Civil Service Minister Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Araj, public-sector employment remained more attractive to nationals because it offers “more job security” and benefits that include more vacation days. The program seeks to create 450,000 jobs in the private sector by 2020.
  
  Prince Mohammed, who also plans to sell a stake in oil producer Saudi Aramco and create the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, aims to raise non-oil revenue to 530 billion riyals ($141 billion) by 2020, more than triple the current figure.
  
  That would be achieved through measures including raising the prices of fuel and utilities as well as introducing a value-added tax. The NTP targets cutting water and electricity subsidies by 200 billion riyals.
  
  While the NTP lists initiatives to prepare and implement an income tax on residents, the government had no plans to impose levies on nationals or residents.
  
  While Saudi foreign reserves remain among the world’s largest, lower oil prices have put the economy under more pressure than at any other time in the past decade. Net foreign assets are at a four-year low, and the International Monetary Fund has projected a budget deficit of about 13.5 percent of economic output this year.
  
  To bolster its finances, the kingdom raised a $10 billion loan in April and is weighing a first international bond sale of as much as $15 billion.
  
• US, Japan support India's bid to join Nuclear Suppliers Group
  The United States has backed India's bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Washington said that by becoming the member of the elite grouping New Delhi will be in a stronger position to be what it termed as a "good citizen" on proliferation- related issues.
  
  According to the Deputy National Security Advisor Benjamin Rhodes the US has gone down the path of the civil nuclear agreement with India, and have invested a significant amount of time in building up their cooperation with India as it relates to nuclear security.
  
  Japan has also strongly supported India's bid for the membership of the NSG and said it was working with the Indian government to garner support from other countries ahead of the bloc's crucial plenary meeting.
  
  Switzerland, a key member of the NSG had yesterday said it will support India's application after Modi held talks with the Swiss President.
  
  India's application is expected to be taken up for discussion by the NSG at its plenary meetings on 9th June in Vienna and 24th of this month in Seoul. China has been opposing India's bid arguing that it was not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid.
  
• China publicly names Pakistan for Mumbai terror attacks
  In a major development, China has for the first time, publicly acknowledged the role of Pakistan in the coordinated terror attacks that took place in Mumbai between November 26 and 29, 2008 that claimed the lives of 164 people and left another 308 injured.
  
  Chinese State Television CCTV9 has, in a documentary aired recently, highlighted the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its sponsors in Pakistan in this horrific attack which shook the world.
  
  This change in policy by China is significant in the sense that it is taking place on the eve of the expiry of Beijing's decision to place on technical hold the listing of three known LeT/JuD(Jamaat-ud-Dawa) militants — Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, Talha Saeed and Hafiz Abdul Rauf, on June 9, 2016.
  
  The listing of these individuals by the al-Qaida sanctions committee of the United Nations security council in September 2015, had the overwhelming support of all members of the international community, with the exception of China, which acted on Pakistan's behest.
  
  China is already facing considerable global flak over a similar technical hold over the listing of Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) chief Hafiz Saeed, even though the JeM stands listed by the United Nations sanctions committee.
  
  China has obviously realized that extending blind support to Pakistan on terror-related issues taints its own reputation as a responsible world power that is seeking to build an international consensus on the need for all countries to jointly fight the terrorism.
  
• Thailand becomes first Asian country to eliminate mother to child HIV
  Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Describing the elimination as a remarkable achievement and a milestone in the fight against the disease, World Health Organisation today said, Thailand has demonstrated to the world that HIV can be defeated.
  
  The announcement is a boost for a generation of Thai health workers who have transformed the nation from one of Asia's most HIV-ravaged societies to a pin-up for how to effectively tackle the crisis. The global health body said Thailand's routine screening and universal free medication for pregnant women with HIV was crucial in stopping the virus being passed to new generations. Cuba is the only other country to have eliminated mother-to-child transmission under the WHO's criteria.
  
• John Key becomes first NZ PM to visit Fiji since military coup
  John Key on 9th June becomes the first New Zealand Prime Minister to visit Fiji since a military coup there in 2006. Key says his two-day trip is in recognition of the South Pacific nation's return to elected government, although Key has said there are still shortcomings in the democratic process.
  
  Fiji was part of an arc of instability that included East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Coups and social unrest made two regional heavyweights, New Zealand and Australia, increasingly nervous about security.
  
  Those fears worsened in 2006 when the military seized power in Fiji. But much has changed. Elections were held two years ago and the military commander, Frank Bainimarama, who overthrew an elected government ten years ago, is now Fiji's Prime Minister.
  
  At present, Bainimarama's New Zealand counterpart John Key arrived in the South Pacific archipelago to show support for democracy, although he has stressed that more work needs to be done.
  
• Japan, US and India hold naval drills off Okinawa
  Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force and the US and Indian navies are holding 8-day joint exercises in waters east of Okinawa, southwestern Japan. The large-scale drills involve a destroyer from Japan, a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, an Indian frigate and aircraft.
  
  Japanese Rear Admiral Koji Manabe stressed the importance of the 3 countries' strengthening coordination to ensure peace and stability at sea. US Rear Admiral Brian Hurley said the US operates in seas according to international law.
  
• World’s longest rail tunnel to be inaugurated in Switzerland
   In Switzerland, the world longest and deepest rail tunnel, running under the Swiss Alps, will be inaugurated on 1^st June. The 57-kilometer long Gotthard Base Tunnel will connect northern and southern Europe and shorten travel time for many rail routes.
  
  It overtakes Japan's Seikan tunnel, which measures 53.9 kilometers, as the longest rail tunnel in the world. The tunnel was built in 17 years by 2,400 workers, at a cost of over 12 billion dollars.