Colombia’s Marxist Farc rebels have concluded their disarmament, handing in all but a few of their individual weapons to the United Nations and ending their role in a half-century war that killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as Farc, turned in the remaining 40% of their firearms in Mesetas, a mountainous area in south-eastern Colombia. The roughly 7,000 former fighters have pledged to continue their struggle as a political movement.The 7,132 weapons will be stored in containers until they are molded into a monument for peace. Explosives and bigger weapons are being cleared from caches nationwide and a few guns will remain for security at 26 camps until they close on 1 August. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2tlBkJh)
State department releases new TIP Report...China “is not making significant efforts” to stop human trafficking, the US says, claiming that fewer people are now being prosecuted than before. The US Department of State released its annual Trafficking in Persons Report on Thursday, and downgraded China to one of the worst offenders. The reports highlights the treatment of North Koreans who may have been trafficked and then sent home by China. There has been no response from China, which could now face sanctions. Countries placed in the third tier of three in the report – including North Korea, Sudan and Venezuela – can lose non-humanitarian aid. But Associated Press reports that presidential waivers mean Tier Three countries do not always get punished. Afghanistan, Qatar and Malaysia were upgraded to Tier Two as they were seen to be making efforts to crack down on the practice, and improve conditions for those who have been trafficked.” (BBC http://bbc.in/2tlLnhP)
Stat of the Day: A ‘tarnished American brand…’ “Today, a global median of 49% hold a favorable view of the U.S. This is a considerable drop from the median of 64% recorded across the same countries in the final years of the Obama administration(Pew http://pewrsr.ch/2tlFwcm)
Top Stories
A major cholera outbreak in Yemen may have reached the halfway mark at 218,798 cases as a massive emergency response has begun to curb its spread two months into the epidemic, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. (Reuters http://reut.rs/2tlTvif)
A warning from the White House to Syrian President Bashar Assad about another possible chemical weapons attack was also aimed at two of Assad’s key backers, Russia and Iran, the U.S ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday. (ABC http://abcn.ws/2tlJ3qL)
Brazilian President Michel Temer has been charged with accepting bribes by the country’s chief prosecutor. (BBC http://bbc.in/2sirsuR)
The charred remains of a missing reporter have been found in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, bringing to seven the number of journalists murdered in that country this year. (VOA http://bit.ly/2sX2Fia)
Peru’s public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into human trafficking and labor exploitation following a fire in the capital that killed four young people. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2tRXm3s)
Three migrants died in the Mediterranean, a German aid group said, during rescue operations in which thousands more were pulled to safety from rickety boats. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2thfMx4)
The United Nations migration agency in Niger has saved more than 600 lives since April 2017 through a new search and rescue operation that targets migrants stranded in Sahara Desert, but 52 did not survive. (UN News Center http://bit.ly/2tlV0g6)
As India, the world’s third largest carbon polluter, races to green its energy sector, there is a push to install solar panels on homes and buildings in the Indian capital. A “solar bus” has been touring New Delhi and surrounding districts to encourage residents in the city to opt for solar energy. (VOA http://bit.ly/2sdzMRs)
Parts of Africa could face a massive unemployment crisis by 2040, with “catastrophic” consequences for the global economy, new research has found. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2tSigPR)
Child marriage will cost developing countries trillions of dollars in the next decade, seriously hampering global efforts to eradicate poverty, the World Bank said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2tgL3Aa)
Kenya’s ruling party promised to expand free education and healthcare in a manifesto, but did not acknowledge problems in existing social services that have triggered strikes as elections approach. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2rXV956)
The world’s food security is increasingly reliant on 14 “chokepoints” for trade, a think-tank report has warned. UK-based Chatham House says more needs to be done to protect key transport routes such as the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal and the Turkish Straits. (BBC http://bbc.in/2si7UXC)
Opinion/Blogs
A Big Week for the UN on Capitol Hill (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/2tgTGLl)
The case for removing US sanctions on Sudan (African Arguments http://bit.ly/2tgFO3s)
The case for a Global Business Council for Refugees (Devex http://bit.ly/2tglq26)
Sweden’s Smart Idea for Reducing Global Killing (Bloomberg View https://bloom.bg/2tgUe3U)
Foreign Aid Is About U.S. Interests (Foreign Policy http://atfp.co/2rXvOII)
Should immigration agents be allowed to wait around courts to detain people? (PRI http://bit.ly/2tgQrUf)
Why Is International Human Rights Law Such an Easy Target? (IPS http://bit.ly/2sMJxoo)
How the Lebanese school system is segregating refugees (IRIN http://bit.ly/2sici9j)
U.N. Brought Cholera to Haiti. Now It Is Fumbling Effort to Atone. (NY Times http://nyti.ms/2sMRcTY)
Mali’s Delayed Referendum: A Victory for the Opposition? (Sahel Blog http://bit.ly/2rY8kTA)
Clues to DfID’s economic plans emerge with post-Brexit trade (Devex http://bit.ly/2tgOWVM)
