INTERNATIONAL MAY 2016
- 700 migrants feared dead in Mediterranean shipwrecks: UN
Over 700 migrants are feared dead in three Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks south of Italy in the last few days as they tried desperately to reach Europe in unseaworthy smuggling boats, the UN refugee agency said on 29thMay. The shipwrecks over three days appear to account for the largest loss of life reported in the Mediterranean since April 2015, when a single ship sank with an estimated 800 people trapped inside.
According to spokes woman of UNHCR, Sami, an estimated 100 people are missing from a smugglers' boat that capsized 25th May off the coast of Libya. The Italian navy took horrific pictures of that capsizing even as it rushed to rescue as many people as possible from the sea.
Sami said about 550 other migrants and refugees are missing from a smuggling boat that capsized on Thursday morning after leaving the western Libyan port of Sabratha a day earlier.
Refugees who saw that boat sink told her agency it was carrying about 670 people, didn't have an engine and was being towed by another packed smuggling boat before it capsized. She said about 25 people from the capsized boat managed to reach the first boat and survive, 79 others were rescued by international patrol boats and 15 bodies were recovered.
Italian police said survivors identified the commander of the boat with the working engine as a 28-year-old Sudanese man, who has been arrested.
Because the bodies went missing in the open sea, it is impossible to verify the numbers who died. Humanitarian organizations and rescue authorities typically rely on survivors' accounts to piece together what happened. - Chad ex-dictator Hissene Habre gets life imprisonment for war crimes
A special court in Senegal sentenced former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre to life in prison on 30th May for war crimes, crimes against humanity and a litany of other charges, including rape. The verdict brings a long-awaited reckoning to families of the up to 40,000 people killed and the many kidnapped, raped or tortured under his 1982-1990 rule as president of Chad.
The case was heard by the CAE special tribunal set up by the African Union under a deal with Senegal, and is the first time a country has prosecuted a former leader of another nation for rights abuses. Reed Brody, a lawyer for Human Rights Watch who has spent the last 15 years working with victims to bring Habre to justice, said the conviction was a warning to other despots. - India ranks fourth in global slavery survey
India has been ranked fourth in a global survey that lists 167 countries where modern slavery is prevalent.
The findings of the survey released on 30th May indicate some 1.4% of the population — roughly around 18 million people — in the country is living under conditions of modern day slavery. The segments implicated include domestic work, construction, sex industries, agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, manual labour and forced begging
North Korea, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, India and Qatar are the top five on the list that ranks the countries in terms of slavery as a proportion of population. However, India's absolute slavery figures remain highest with an estimated 18.35 million enslaved people, followed by China (3.39m), Pakistan (2.13m), Bangladesh (1.53m) and Uzbekistan (1.23m)
Conducted across 15 states that account for 80% of the total population and covering nearly 14,000 respondents, the India State Survey 2016 was conducted by Gallup and the Walk Free Foundation which has been conducting such annual global surveys since 2013. - Asia's largest tech trade show COMPUTEX kicks off in Taipei
Asia’s largest technology trade show COMPUTEX kicked off in Taipei 31st May, attracting more than 1,600 companies from 30 countries to showcase their latest products. This is the highest turnout, in terms of the number of nations, in five years. The highlight of this year’s show is virtual reality. COMPUTEX will end on June, 4th and organisers expect the event to attract more than 130,000 visitors. - India joins the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC)
India has joined the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC) by notifying the HCoC Central Contact in Vienna through diplomatic channels.
The HCoC is a voluntary, legally non-binding international confidence building and transparency measure that seeks to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles that are capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. - Sweden voted best country in the world, India ranks 70th: Report
Sweden has been voted as the best country in the world when it comes to serving the interests of its people and contributing to the common good of humanity while India figured low at 70th position on a list of 163 nations.
According to the ‘Good Country’ 2015 index which seeks to measure how countries contribute to the global good, Sweden, relative to the size of its economy, does more “good” and less harm than any other country.
The report ranked a total of 163 countries taking 35 different UN and World Bank indices into account, including global contributions to science, culture, peace and security, climate change and health and equality.
The top ten best countries included Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Finland, Canada, France, Austria and New Zealand whereas Libya was ranked as the least “good” country in the world.
India figured at 70th position overall, three places below China, with the best ranking (27th) in International peace and security and the worst (124th) in prosperity and equality category.
While the country stood at 37th position in health and wellbeing and 62nd in science and technology, it was ranked 119th in culture, 106th in climate and 100th in world order. In 2014, Ireland had topped the first Good Country Index, outranking 130 other countries. - UN: Violations against children in conflict rose in 2015
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed shock at the escalating recruitment and killing of children in conflicts last year especially in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia and South Sudan.
The UN chief's annual report on children and armed conflict released on 2nd June said the scale and increasing severity of grave violations included continuing large-scale abduction of children and aerial attacks by some governments and international coalitions which killed and maimed many youngsters.
Ban called on all parties to conflicts to immediately end violations against children and take measures to prevent the recruitment, killing, abduction and sexual abuse of children caught in conflicts. He warned that combatants who violate children's rights will find themselves under scrutiny by the United Nations and stressed that accountability remains a key priority. The UN said it verified 1,306 incidents resulting in 2,829 child casualties. - U.S.: Pakistan not acting against terror groups
US State department says Pak-based terrorist groups continue to conduct terrorist attacks inside India and Afghanistan; In its annual country report on Terrorism, the state department says terrorist outfits and safe havens continue to exist and raise funds in Pakistan. Pakistan is in the dock once again for not acting against terrorist safe havens.
The US State department Country Reports on Terrorism - 2015 says that not only do terrorist safe havens continue to exist in the tribal areas of Pakistan, but militants are also able to openly raise funds from heavily populated areas.
The report alleges that Islamabad is not taking action against terror groups like Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba. As a result Pak-based terrorist groups continue to conduct terrorist attacks inside India and Afghanistan.
It said some UN-designated terrorist groups, such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba affiliates Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, were able to raise funds and hold rallies in Pakistan. Despite UN sanctions against both bodies, neither organization was banned in Pakistan.
The State Department also said Pakistan is slow in taking action against 2008 Mumbai attack perpetrators. The report says India said continued to experience terrorist attacks by transnational groups based in Pakistan.
It also acknowledges that over the course of 2015, the Indian government sought to deepen counterterrorism cooperation with the US and was closely monitoring the domestic threat from IS and other terrorist organizations. - South China Sea: India, Malaysia and Britain call for peaceful solution to dispute
Defence ministers from India, Malaysia and Britain have expressed concerns over the South China Sea dispute at Asia's biggest security summit underway in Singapore.
The three-day Shangri-La Dialogue is being held ahead of a significant ruling expected in coming weeks on a case filed by the Philippines in the International Court of Arbitration challenging China's South China Sea claims, which Beijing has vowed to ignore.
The United States has been lobbying countries to back the judges' statement that their ruling must be binding — a call echoed by Japan at the summit.
China has lobbied on the other side for support for its position that the court lacks jurisdiction in the case. Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the forum the situation in South China Sea continued to be viewed with concern.
According to Manohar Parikkar India has traditional links with the countries in the South China Sea — more than half of our trade passes through its waters
While India do not take position on territorial disputes, which should be resolved peacefully without the threat or use of force, country firmly uphold freedom of navigation and all flight in accordance with international law, in particular the UN convention on the Law of the Sea.
Trillions of dollars of trade a year passes through the South China Sea, which is home to rich oil, gas and fishing resources.
Besides China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have claims in the area, and rising tensions have been fuelling increasing security spending in the region. More than 560 delegates from 52 nations and regions, including 32 official delegations, attended the 15th Shangri-La Dialogue, which kicked off on 3rd June. - UN says 50,000 civilians in Fallujah at risk
The Latest on a violent day in the Middle East, with deadly bombings in Syria and Yemen and the start of an Iraqi government offensive to retake the city of Fallujah from the Islamic State group
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says there is "a great risk" to about 50,000 civilians the U.N. estimates are still in Fallujah, especially for those trying to flee the Iraqi government offensive to retake the city from the Islamic State extremist group.
The United Nations is providing emergency assistance including water, shelter and food to those who make it out, Dujarric told reporters in New York.
Also the authorities are transporting a lot of displaced woman and children to Amiriyat al Fallujah, about 30 miles south of Fallujah, while men and boys are reportedly being transported by Iraqi authorities to central Anbar for security screening. - US Senate panel conditions military aid to Pakistan for action against Haqqani network
A US Senate panel has approved a legislation which blocks 300 million US Dollars American military aid to Pakistan unless the Defence Secretary certifies to the Congress that Islamabad is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani terror network. The Senate Armed Services Committee has however argued in favour of continuing security assistance to Pakistan.
The legislation is scheduled to come up before the Senate for voting, during which several Senators are expected to bring in amendments to this bill. The House version of the bill, which was passed last week, calls for blocking USD 450 million of the USD 900 million US aid to Pakistan in coalition support fund.
The Senate version has reduced both the figures to USD 300 million and USD 800 million, respectively. However, for release of this fund, both seek certification from the Defence Secretary that Pakistan is taking demonstrable action against the Haqqani network. NDAA 2016, which ends on September 30 this year, makes it mandatory for the Defence Secretary to certify that Islamabad is taking action against the Haqqani network for the release of last USD 300 million of the coalition support fund to Pakistan. - ASEAN Defence chiefs adopt joint declaration calling for freedom of navigation in SCS
Defence Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have adopted a joint declaration calling for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Their statement is a response to China's increased military presence in the region. The Defense Chiefs of the 10 ASEAN countries met in Laos's capital, Vientiane, on 25th May. They reaffirmed their position that freedom of navigation and aviation must be upheld to ensure regional peace and stability.
According to Laos's Defense Minister, Sengnouan Xayalath, the meeting highlighted the need for resolving disputes in accordance with the principles of freedom of navigation and international law.
China has been building runways and radar facilities on artificial islands in the sea. The Philippines, Vietnam and other claimants to the waters have condemned these activities. The United States has been sending warships and reconnaissance aircraft into the region on stepped-up patrols. - UN climate talks flesh out landmark Paris pact
In the German city of Bonn, climate diplomats wrapped up technical talks on 25th May saying they were on the right track but still far from delivering on the promise of the historic pact forged in December. Negotiators from 196 countries worked along three parallel tracks to put flesh on the bone of the Paris Agreement, the fruit of two decades of often contentious wrangling between wealthy and developing nations.
The accord, which could enter into force later this year, far sooner than expected sets ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing an onslaught of climate damage.
The 10-day session in Bonn focused mainly on elaborating a rule book for implementation, and laying the groundwork for a high level meeting in November in Marrakesh, Morocco. - Obama becomes first US president to visit Hiroshima bomb site
Barack Obama has become the first serving US President to visit Hiroshima since the World War Two nuclear attack. Obama said the memory of 6 August 1945 must never fade, but did not apologise for the US attack, the world's first nuclear bombing. Obama spoke to two survivors and in an address called on nations to pursue a world without nuclear weapons.
At least 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and another 74,000 three days later in a second bombing in Nagasaki.U.S. President first visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum before walking to the Peace Memorial Park, accompanied by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. - WHO rejects demand for shifting Olympic games out of Rio due to threat of Zika Virus in Brazil
The World Health Organization, WHO, has rejected a call to move or postpone this summer's Rio Olympic Games over the Zika outbreak. The United Nations health agency said, having the Games in Rio as planned would not significantly alter the spread of Zika, which is linked to serious birth defects.
WHO said, based on the current assessment of Zika virus circulating in almost 60 countries globally, there is no public health justification for postponing or cancelling the games.
It said, the best way to reduce risk of disease is to follow public health travel advice. The International Olympic Committee, IOC has also said it sees no reason to delay or move the Games because of the mosquito-borne disease.
In a public letter posted online yesterday, around 150 leading public health experts said, the risk of infection from the Zika virus is too high for the Games to go ahead safely. - No U.S.-Pakistan F-16 deal for now
Pakistan seems to have failed to seal the $700 million deal for the purchase of eight F-16 fighter jets from the U.S. following a row between the two countries over their financing, a media report said on 28th May. The Pakistani government was required to provide the Letter of Acceptance for purchase of the jets by May 24, but Dawn reported that the document was not issued leading to expiry of the offer.
Initially, the $700 million deal for eight F-16 multi-role fighters, was to be partially financed through the U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme but the Congress disallowed subsidising the sale.
The subsidising was disallowed over concern that Pakistan had not done enough to end the dreaded Haqqani network’s terror sanctuaries on its soil as well as fears over Islamabad’s nuclear programme. Pakistan, which expected to get the fighters at the subsidised rate of $270 million, was subsequently asked by the U.S. administration to make the full payment for the eight aircraft from its national resources. Pakistani authorities, however, were adamant that the offer must come without any preconditions.
It was unclear why Pakistan missed the opportunity despite pressing requirement for the jets, although it had originally desired to acquire 18 F-16s
Some quarters believe that providing the Letter of Acceptance would have kept the window open for re-negotiating the financing arrangement at a later stage
Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said last month that Pakistan could look to buy the aircraft from some other country if the deal did not go ahead. - Indian short film ‘Beti’ at Seattle International Film Festival
Beti", a four minute documentary film on girl child education, has been invited for special screening at the 42nd Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), Washington DC. Young student filmmakers of Chandigarh have made the film.
Beti is the only short film from India to be featured amongst 421 films representing 85 countries and will be screened on May 30, which is Seattle Memorial Day at the SIFF. The movie is directed by Shivain Arora. The short film promotes girl child by narrating the real life story of three girls from a government school and their dream for the future. - Madhesis start fresh protests in Nepal against Constitution
Hundreds of Madhesi protesters scuffled with Nepal police on 15th May as they restarted protests against the new Constitution and press for their demands relating to more rights, adequate representation and re-demarcation of provincial boundary.
Traffic movement was disrupted in the vicinity of Singhdurbar, the main administrative complex of the country, for hours due to the protest. About 2,000 protesters gathered at Singhdurbar and Nayabaneshwor areas, an hour before the government office open.
They forcefully tried to enter the prohibited areas, triggering a scuffle with riot police who were deployed to guard the important government offices. The protesters were carrying placards with anti- government and pro-Madhesi slogans.
The leaders and cadres of Federal Alliance, the grouping of seven Madhes-based political parties and 22 other ethnic groups, also joined protesters. There was heavy presence of security personnel in the area since early morning to prevent any untoward incident.
The major demands of Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, include re-demarcation of the seven province model of federal structure, inclusiveness and proportionate representation of marginalised groups and ethnic minorities including the Madhesis, indigenous groups and dalits in all the state bodies.
Madhesis earlier had launched six-month-long agitation from September to February in which more than 50 people were killed. The agitation had also crippled the landlocked country's economy as supplies from India were blocked.
The alliance has this time changed its strategy and focused on capital city in an attempt to draw attention of the government and other stakeholders to their demands. - World's first robot lawyer hired by US firm
The world's first artificial intelligence lawyer has been employed by a law firm in the US, which will use the robot to assist its various teams in legal research.
The robot called 'ROSS' is built upon Watson, IBM's cognitive computer. With the support of Watson's cognitive computing and natural language processing capabilities, lawyers can ask ROSS their research question and the robot reads through the law, gathers evidence, draws inferences and returns highly relevant, evidence-based answers. ROSS also monitors the law around the clock to notify users of new court decisions that can affect a case. The programme continually learns from the lawyers who use it to bring back better results each time. Baker Hostetler, a US-based law firm, will license ROSS for use in its Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights team.
ROSS Intelligence, the company that built ROSS, began out of research at the University of Toronto in 2014 with the goal of building an artificial intelligence legal research assistant to allow lawyers to enhance and scale their abilities.
Just ten months after they began teaching ROSS bankruptcy law, the company has been commercialising its first offering. - This April was the hottest on record, NASA says
It was the hottest April on record this year, according to NASA, and increasing temperature patterns show 2016 is on the way to becoming the hottest year in recorded history.
The space agency has released its latest figures, showing this April was 1.11 degrees Celsius warmer than average April temperatures between 1951 and 1980, CNN reports. That also means April was the seventh month in a row to see global temperatures at least 1 degree Celsius higher than average. The temperature record in February 2016 was 1.35 Celsius warmer than usual. - Pathankot attack: Interpol issues red corner notice against JeM chief Masood Azhar
The Interpol has issued red corner notice against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf for their alleged role in the conspiracy to attack the strategic Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.
National Investigation Agency, NIA had sought the red corner notice against Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf, Kashif Jan and Shahid Latif, two handlers of JeM terrorists who had infiltrated into India through Bamiyal sector of Punjab in the wee hours of December 30 to launch the terror assault.
The strategic base was attacked by terrorists of banned JeM during the intervening night of January 1st and 2nd in which seven security personnel were killed. Four bodies of terrorists were recovered from the encounter site which lasted for nearly 80 hours.
NIA has already sought voice samples of Azhar and three others from Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which came to India for carrying out a probe in the Pathankot terror probe. An Interpol red corner notice is already pending against Azhar for being allegedly involved in the conspiracy behind attacks on Parliament and Jammu and Kashmir state assembly. - Pakistan contacts UN over India’s Kashmir move
Pakistan on 17th May expressed serious concern to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and its president on Indian violations of the historic Security Council resolutions on Jammu Kashmir and its efforts to introduce a controversial "Geospatial Information Regulation Bill" in the Indian parliament.
Pakistan's concern has been conveyed to the UN secretary general and the Security Council president through letters by its permanent representative in New York, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad.
Through the passage of this controversial bill, the Indian government would penalise the individuals and organisations who depict Jammu Kashmir as a disputed territory as per the UN Security Council resolutions, it said. The letter also called upon the world body to uphold the Security Council resolutions and urged India to stop such acts which were in violation of international laws.
Pakistan has urged the international community especially the United Nations to fulfill their commitment with the people of Jammu Kashmir by holding an independent and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices, it said. - Panama joins OECD tax info exchange pact
Panama has officially signed on to comply with OECD standards on exchanging tax information, a move that comes more than a month after the Panama Papers data leak.
OECD officials say they have long tried to get Panama to agree to their common reporting standards on exchanging tax information, to no avail.
However Panama’s Foreign Ministry announced that the country had inked its adhesion to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s reporting standards.
Foreign Minister Luis Miguel Hincapie delivered the document to OECD headquarters in Paris. The new membership however does not take practical effect until 2018.
The public gained its first access to the Panama Papers records of over 200,000 secret offshore companies when the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) put a searchable database online in May.
The database, built on just a portion of the 11.5 million documents leaked from Panama’s Mossack Fonseca law firm, reveals more than 360,000 names of individuals and companies behind the anonymous shell firms.
The Panama Papers reveal the full extent to which the world’s wealthy, alongside criminals, create nominee companies to stash and transfer assets out of sight of the law and tax officials.
Reports already published in April based on the explosive dossier linked some of the world’s most powerful leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister David Cameron and others to unreported offshore companies. - Justin Trudeau apologizes in House for 1914 Komagata Maru incident
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has formally apologized in the House of Commons for the Komagata Maru incident in 1914, in which hundreds of Sikh, Muslim and Hindu passengers were denied entry to Canada and forced to return to an uncertain and ultimately violent fate in India.
Trudeau also apologized directly to the passengers' descendants, some of whom, he noted, were gathered in the House of Commons visitors' gallery to hear the apology. The prime minister said Canada must now commit itself to positive action, to learning from mistakes and to make sure that we never repeat the errors of the past. - Egypt Air jet missing after mid-air plunge, Greeks find life vests
An Egypt Air jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean south of Greece on 19th May, with Athens saying the plane swerved in mid-air before plunging from cruising height and vanishing.
Greece deployed aircraft and a frigate to search for the missing Airbus and officials said they had found pieces of plastic and two lifevests that appeared to have come from an aircraft in the sea 230 miles (370 km) south of Crete.
Egypt said it would lead the investigation and that France would participate. Other countries also offered to help, including Britain and the United States.
Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus had first swerved 90 degrees to the left, then spun through 360 degrees to the right. After plunging from 37,000 feet to 15,000, it vanished from Greek radar screens. According to Greece's civil aviation chief, calls from Greek air traffic controllers to flight MS804 went unanswered just before it left Greek airspace, and it disappeared from radar screens soon afterwards.
There was no official indication of a possible cause, whether technical failure or sabotage by ultra-hardline Islamists who have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years. The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers - with one child and two infants among them - and 10 crew Egypt Air said. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. - G-7 pledges to clamp down on financial support for terrorist network
The G7 on 21st May pledged to clamp down on financial support for terrorist networks, with a plan to step up intelligence-sharing, freeze assets and tighten reporting rules on international transfers. After two days of talks in northern Japan, they said, countering violent extremism and bringing perpetrators to justice remain top priorities for the whole international community.
An action plan said, the G7 is committed to work together to strengthen the global fight against terrorist financing. The action plan will be adopted by the G-7 leaders who will meet in Japan next week.
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin, whose country suffered devastating attacks in January and November last year, said the Group of Seven was now in the operational phase of its efforts. He said, another key tool is to counter the cover provided by prepaid but anonymous phone cards, movements of cash that allow anonymous access to finances.
The G7 action plan identified targeted financial sanctions as critical to hindering terrorist support networks. It also said it would provide continued strong leadership to the Financial Action Task Force, which sets international standards to combat money laundering and terrorism finance. The G7 consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. - Swiss government honours Yash Chopra with special statue
Bollywood director Yash Chopra, who shot most of his romantic dramas in the lush mountains of Switzerland, has been honoured with a special statue by the government. The bronze statue of the late filmmaker, which weighs about 250 kilos, was inaugurated by his wife Pamela and daughter-in-law Rani Mukerjee. The statue is installed at the heart of Interlaken, inside the Kursaal area, near the Congress Centre which is a prime, popular spot with tourists. - North Korea stages rare congress
North Korea kicked off its first ruling party congress for nearly 40 years with state media lauding the isolated country’s “prestige” as a nuclear power while maintaining a news blackout on the event itself.
The congress on 7th May drew thousands of selected delegates from across the country to Pyongyang for what, in theory at least, was a gathering of North Korea’s top decision-making body.
It also drew around 130 foreign journalists who were invited to cover the event but not allowed inside the venue, restricted instead to watching from a spot 200m away in the light drizzle falling on the capital. And state television provided no live coverage, devoting its programming to archive material, films and patriotic concerts.
The 33-year-old Kim, who was not even born when the last Workers’ Party Congress was held in 1980, was believed to have opened the conclave with a keynote address which, when published, will be scrutinised for any sign of a substantive policy shift, especially on the economic front.
Analysts will also be watching for personnel changes as Kim looks to bring in a younger generation of leaders hand-picked for their loyalty. And the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea slammed the international community’s opposition to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.
There has been widespread speculation about the North preparing another nuclear test to coincide with the congress, as a defiant gesture of strength and future intent.
The 1980 event was staged to crown Kim’s father Kim Jong-Il as heir apparent to his own father, the North’s founding leader Kim Il-Sung.
The 2016 version was being held inside the imposing April 25 Palace, whose stone facade was adorned with huge portraits of the two late leaders, along with giant red and gold ruling party banners.
While the agenda – and even the duration – of the congress remains unknown, its main objective is clearly to confirm Kim Jong-Un’s status as legitimate inheritor of the Kim family’s dynastic rule which spans almost seven decades.
New title of chairman: North Korea’s ruling-party congress on 9th May announced a new title for Kim Jong Un, party chairman, in a move that highlights how the authoritarian country’s first congress in 36 years is aimed at bolstering the young leader.
Less than a third of the more than 100 foreign journalists invited for the historic congress were permitted to attend, and even they were allowed to view the proceedings in the ornate April 25 House of Culture for only about 10 minutes.
Mr. Kim Yong Nam, the head of the North’s Parliament, stood to read a roster of top party positions calling Mr. Kim Jong Un chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea for the first time. Mr. Kim had already been head of the party, but with the title of first secretary. - Brazil Senate Presses On With Impeachment Process, Rejects Annulment
Brazil's Senate pressed ahead with impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff on 9th May, rejecting a surprise decision by the acting speaker of the lower house to annul a key vote in the process.
The ruling by Senate head Renan Calheiros to push forward put the upper house at odds with the interim leader of the House of Deputies, Waldir Maranhao, who upended the process by announcing he was annulling last month's impeachment vote in the lower chamber.
The Senate's decision raises the possibility that the Supreme Court may have to step in to untangle the constitutional mess. The court, which has been reluctant to intervene decisively in the impeachment process, rejected some requests to overturn Maranhao's annulment.
Maranhao, who took over the speaker's role only last week, argued in his decision that there were procedural flaws in a lower house vote on April 17 that approved the impeachment charges and the chamber would need to vote again.
His decision, which caught off-guard investors betting on a more business-friendly government taking power imminently, roiled Brazilian financial markets.
However, markets quickly pared their losses as investors bet the move would delay rather than prevent Rousseff's removal from office, given her weak support in Congress.
An ongoing investigation into a massive kickback scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras has ensnared dozens of top politicians and seen CEOs from Brazil's biggest construction firms jailed for paying billions in bribes in return for bloated building contracts.
In the first week of May 2016, Rousseff was for the first time caught up in the Petrobras case, when the prosecutor general requested the Supreme Court's permission to investigate her for allegedly obstructing the investigation. - Brazil President Dilma Rousseff suspended
Brazil's senators have voted to carry on impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, with 55 of the 81 members of Brazil's upper house voting in favor of the motion. 22 voted against.
Rousseff, the country's first female president, will step aside immediately, and Vice President Michel Temer will assume the presidency for the time that Rousseff is obliged to step aside.
She will now face an impeachment trial and, for the duration of this at least up to 180 days, she will remain suspended from the office of President.
The past few months have been a roller coaster for the embattled premier, who has been at the center of a battle for her impeachment, including procedural and legal appeals to annul the vote heard.
Corruption allegations have been dogging Rousseff's administration since 2011. A sweeping investigation into a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme at the state-run oil company Petrobras embroiled dozens of the country's leading businessmen and politicians.
While she isn't accused directly of profiting, Rousseff was the chairwoman of Petrobras during many of the years of the alleged corruption.
In December, a bid to impeach Rousseff was launched by the then-speaker of the lower house of Congress. She has been also blamed for the worst recession since the 1930s, now in its second year.
Both pro- and anti-impeachment protesters gathered outside Congress in Brasilia, as the Senate pressed ahead with a vote on whether to put President Dilma Rousseff on trial for impeachment on grounds of breaking budget laws. Rousseff's supporters have vowed to take to the streets in retaliation, ensuring a long, and potentially messy, battle ahead. - World Bank's Digital Dividends report lauds India's initiatives on digital front
World Bank's Digital Dividends report has been announced on 10th May. The report has lauded India's initiatives on digital front but says much still needs to be done.
The report says India has the 3rd largest number of people hooked on the internet but india still remains the place where most number of offline people live.
At least 8 in 10 individuals in India own a mobile phone and digital technologies are spreading rapidly. According to world bank report opportunities form increasing access to digital technology are creating higher growth, more jobs, and better public services. According to the `World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends,' launched the aggregate impact of digital technologies has fallen short and is unevenly distributed. The report lauds India's Aadhar and Digital India Programme.
The report recognizes India's early success in digital technology when it became a global powerhouse for information services. India is currently the largest exporter of ICT services and skilled manpower in the developing world.
The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry today employs more than 3.1 million workers, 30 percent of them are women.
Due to aadhar payments time to beneficiaries in MGNAREGA has been reduced by 29 percent and leakages by 35 percent.
Even while having the largest number of offline population in the world, India has the third highest number of internet users by absolute number, only behind China and the United States. - Rise in foreign terrorist fighters great threat to world peace: India to UN
India has called for strengthening international cooperation in fighting terrorism. Making a statement at the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre meeting, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said that as a victim of terrorism for the past several decades, India was cognizant of the nature of this menace.
He pointed out to the rise in the number of Foreign Terrorist Fighters and said it posed increasing threats and challenges and needed to be effectively countered. He also said the financing of terrorism was crucial in the fight against terrorism.
He expressed appreciation of the efforts of the UNCCT in Central Asia and Central and Southern Africa through support of regional counter-terrorism strategies, border management, and the projects on youth skill development and employment facilitation in South Asia. - Nine Sherpas become first climbers to scale Everest after two years of deadly disasters
Nine Nepalese Sherpas on 11th May conquered Mount Everest, becoming the first climbers to scale the mountain in two years after a series of deadly disasters.
This was the first successful expedition to Everest since the deadly avalanche in 2014 that killed 16 Sherpa mountain guides. Also many climbers abandoned the mountain last year after an earthquake-triggered avalanche killed 18 people at Everest base camp.
The Nepalese Sherpa guides are hired by expeditions to carry equipment and fix ropes on the icy and rocky slopes for the use of the foreign climbers. Nearly 300 foreign climbers and their guides are attempting to reach the summit this year. - Parvez Musharraf Declared 'Absconder' By Pakistani Court
General Parvez Musharraf was ON 11TH May declared an "absconder" by a special tribunal trying the former Pakistani dictator for high treason as he failed to appear in person despite repeated summons and directed authorities to produce him before the court within 30 days.
The three-member court headed by Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Minakhel directed the government to publish advertisements in newspapers declaring General Musharraf an absconder, and also place similar posters outside the court and the former military ruler's residence.
Musharaf, on May, 2016 flew to Dubai for purported medical treatment after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on his foreign trips and it is believed that he may never return to face a slew of several high-profile cases against him.
The court - which had earlier asked the government to give a written explanation as to why it allowed General Musharraf to go abroad without its consent - declared him as "absconder" after he failed to appear in person despite several summons.
It also ordered the prosecutor to submit a record of all properties owned by the accused by the next hearing on July 12 besides directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to produce General Musharraf before the court within 30 days.
The court, that includes Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar and Justice Mohammad Yawar Ali as members, launched trial of Musharraf in 2013 for abrogating the constitution in 2007.
Such an act is considered as high treason under article 6 of the constitution, which is punishable by death. General Musharraf came to power in a bloodless coup in 1999, deposing then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Facing impeachment following elections in 2008, he resigned as president and went into self-imposed exile in Dubai.
He returned in 2013 to contest elections but was implicated in several high-profile cases and was not allowed to leave the country. He is facing trial in illegal detention of judges, also in 2007.
In January 2014, General Musharraf suffered a "severe heart attack" on his way to a special court to face the high treason charges following which he was admitted to an army hospital.
General Musharraf has also been charged in connection with the 2007 assassination of prime minister Benazir Bhutto. In January, he was acquitted by an anti-terrorism court in the 2006 murder case of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.
He had said before leaving Pakistan in March that he was going abroad to seek medical treatment for a spinal cord ailment which has now developed several complications and will "come back in a few weeks or months". - Oldest known axe found in Australia
Australian scientists on 11th May claimed to have unearthed a fragment of the world’s oldest known ground edge axe, created up to 49,000 years ago, around the time humans first arrived on the continent. The latest discovery, about the size of a thumbnail, was made by Archaeologists of Australian National University (ANU) in Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region.
ANU’s archaeologist Sue O’Connor has said the axe dates back between 46,000 and 49,000 years, around the time people first arrived on the continent.
“This is the earliest evidence of hafted axes in the world. Nowhere else in the world do you get axes at this date,” Prof. O’Connor from the university’s School of Culture, History and Language, said.
In Japan such axes appear about 35,000 years ago. But in most countries in the world they arrive with agriculture after 10,000 years ago.
New studies of the fragment have made it public that it comes from an axe made of basalt that had been shaped and polished by grinding it against a softer rock like sandstone. This type of axe would have been very useful for a variety of tasks including making spears and chopping down or taking the bark off trees. - French government survives no-confidence vote over labour reform
In France, embattled Socialist government survived a vote of no-confidence over its decision to force a controversial labour reform bill though parliament.
The motion brought by the centre-right opposition Les Republicains party won 246 votes in the National Assembly, falling short of the 288 required to bring down the government.
The draft law will now be debated in the Senate. Unions and student groups marched yesterday in Paris and other cities including Marseille, Nantes and Toulouse, as they have done regularly since the government put forward the reform two months ago. - Singaporean, Hong Kong terms added to Oxford Dictionary
Several Singaporean and Hong Kong English terms, including "wah", "shiok" and "yum cha", are now officially recognised as acceptable English. The Oxford English Dictionary added 19 Singaporean terms and 13 Hong Kong terms in its latest update.
Wah is an expression of delight or surprise, shiok means cool, and yum cha is a type of Chinese brunch. Additions also include blur, which means confused or ignorant, and sabo, which means to harm or play a prank on. The dictionary included formations of English that are mostly used in Singapore or Hong Kong. The OED records the meaning and development of the English language. - China reclaims over 3,200 acres of land in South China Sea
China has reclaimed more than 3,200 acres of land in the South China Sea in the last two years. A new US Defence department report says, the Asian giant is expected to add substantial military infrastructure, including surveillance systems, to the artificial islands in the Sea, this year.
It also says, China will be able to use its reclaimed features as persistent civil-military bases to enhance its presence in the South China Sea significantly. The report comes at a time of heightened tension over maritime territories claimed by China and disputed by several Asian nations.
USA has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased U.S. naval patrols and exercises in Asia. - Venezuela declares emergency
Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a three-month state of emergency on 13th May to face “threats from abroad”, as his emboldened foes geared for a vote to oust him.
According to Maduro, he had signed a new state of emergency decree “to neutralise and defeat foreign aggression”, which he says is closing in on the country. Mr. Maduro said the measures will likely last through 2017. - UN demands protection of hospitals in war zones
The UN Security Council on 3rd May demanded that hospitals and clinics be protected in war zones, in a resolution that draws attention to the rise in attacks on medical workers in conflicts worldwide.
Less than a week after air strikes on a hospital in the Syrian battleground city of Aleppo killed at least 30 people, the council unanimously adopted a measure that strongly condemned the targeting of health facilities and recalled that such attacks are war crimes.
French Ambassador Francois Delattre described the measure as a "major resolution" that sent a strong message that there will be "no impunity for the authors of attacks perpetrated against medical installations and medical personnel."
The resolution does not break any new legal ground. But British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft stressed that it was "shining a spotlight" on the increase in attacks and serves as a reminder that hospitals, ambulances and medical workers cannot be targets in war.
It was the first-ever resolution adopted by the council specifically on the need to protect medical facilities in war zones.
According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), there were 94 attacks in Syria against hospitals and clinics supported by that NGO and three MSF-managed or supported health facilities in Yemen have been bombed over the past six months. Hospitals and clinics in South Sudan have been pillaged repeatedly over the past three years.
The resolution "demands that all parties to armed conflicts fully comply with their obligations under international law... To ensure the respect and protection of all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities."
The resolution was drafted by five non-permanent Security Council members: Egypt, Japan, Spain, New Zealand and Uruguay. It was presented at a time when four of the five permanent council members -- Britain, France, Russia and the United States -- are backing parties in the Syria conflict.
The vote came days after the United States said its troops involved in the bombing of a MSF-run hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz would not face war crimes charges. - US: Trump emerges as lone Republican Presidential candidate
In US, Ohio Governor John Kasich has dropped out of the presidential race after struggling to gain traction against Republican front-runner Donald Trump. Kasich’s departure comes a day after Trump’s victory in the Indiana primary. This leaves Trump as the only candidate remaining in the Republican race. His closest challenger, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, had dropped out on 2nd May.
Kasich had vowed to stay in the race all the way until the Republican convention this summer, despite losing every contest except his home state. Trump holds a commanding lead and is closing in on the nomination. It is now certain that he will have the 1,237 delegates needed to become the nominee before the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio. - UNHCR calls for immediate transfer of refugees out of Manus Island, Nauru
The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has called for immediate transfer of refugees and asylum seekers out of the Australian-run detention camps on both Manus Island and Nauru. UNHCR said in a statement that the current policy of offshore processing and prolonged detention is immensely harmful.
There are approximately 2,000 very vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru. Over the last few years, the UNHCR has undertaken regular visits to offshore processing sites to monitor the situation of refugees and asylum seekers. - UNICEF calls for better protection of children under revised EU asylum rules
As the European Union (EU) prepares for critical talks on the rules governing applications from people seeking protection in Europe, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for the interests and rights of children to be given greater priority.
In the coming days, 28 EU member States and the European Parliament will begin examining a draft proposal drawn up by the European Commission to reform the so-called Dublin Regulation, under which it can take 11 months between a child’s arrival and his or her transfer to the State that will consider an application.
Such a lengthy process could hinder family reunification and expose children to various risks, prompting UNICEF to recommend a three-month deadline.
UNICEF is also calling for more resources and professionals to be made available to ensure that guardians are appointed immediately to adequately protect, guide and support an unaccompanied or separated child.
The agency is also calling for community alternatives to detention: no child should be detained pending his or her transfer to another State, the appointment of a guardian or provision of child-appropriate accommodation. UNICEF has stressed the use of non-custodial, community-based alternatives for children and their families claiming international protection.
The debate comes amid a refugee and migration crisis that has overwhelmed Europe’s existing asylum process, and left in the balance the fate of more than 400,000 children who applied for asylum in Europe between January and November 2015.
The new rules will determine which State is responsible for considering an application for international protection that has been submitted anywhere in the EU. - Brazil Senate Committee Recommends Dilma Rousseff Impeachment
A Brazilian Senate committee voted on 6th May to recommend starting an impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff, who now faces being suspended from office in less than a week. The special committee's decision was non-binding but marked the last formal stage before the full Senate votes whether to put the leftist leader on trial.
With the Senate considered almost certain to open the trial next week, Rousseff is preparing to step aside for up to six months while the 81 senators decide her fate, plunging Brazil into ever deeper political infighting.
As soon as Rousseff is suspended Vice President Michel Temer, a center-right politician whose party recently broke off its shaky alliance with Rousseff's Workers' Party, would become interim president.
At the end of the trial, which could take months, a two thirds majority would be needed to remove Rousseff from office.
The impeachment battle, a crumbling economy, and corruption probes against dozens of leading politicians and business executives have left Latin America's biggest country in turmoil ahead of the Rio Olympics this August.
The impeachment is based on accusations that Rousseff made illegal accounting maneuvers to mask the depth of Brazil's economic troubles during her tight 2014 reelection victory.
The country's first female president says the charges are trumped up to turn the impeachment process into a coup d'etat and that she will not give in.
The Senate vote and debate next week is expected to take more than 20 hours, likely stretching into, Brazilian media reports said. Rousseff's suspension could take effect Friday, according to current estimates.
She would be allowed to remain in her presidential residence but will lose access to the executive offices and will be on half pay. There are still questions over her exact status, including whether she will be able to use Air Force planes for travel.
While Rousseff fights for her political survival, both her closest allies and some of her most bitter enemies are being sucked into an ever deepening corruption scandal centered on state oil company Petrobras. - Panama Papers: Govt set up independent committee to recommend financial system cleanup
The Government of Panama has established a committee of independent experts to make recommendations on cleaning up the country's financial system, after leaks of documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca caused an international uproar over offshore accounts
President Juan Carlos Varela called for the review after the "Panama Papers" leak suggested rich foreigners were using the accounts to hide their wealth.
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