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The BRICS have finally launched their much-anticipated new international development bank …”The leaders of the five Brics countries have signed a deal to create a new $100bn (£583m) development bank and emergency reserve fund. The Brics group is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.The capital for the bank will be split equally among the five participating countries. The bank will have a headquarters in Shanghai, China and the first president for the bank will come from India.” (BBC http://bbc.in/1p4argv)
Horrific bombing in Afghanistan…At least 89 people were killed in a car bomb attack in a remote town in eastern Afghanistan. This was the worst since attack since the toppling of the Taliban in 2001.It comes as the USA helped broker a deal to end Afghanistan’s election stand-off. “There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, and the Taliban issued a statement denying involvement, saying they “strongly condemn attacks on local people.” Several other insurgent groups operate in Afghanistan. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said initial reports “suggest that the attacker prematurely detonated after police detected the explosives in his vehicle.” (AP http://yhoo.it/1p4bYTY)
Africa
At least 26 people were killed when suspected Islamist Boko Haram militants stormed a village in northeast Nigeria and a government warplane opened fire to repel the attackers, local residents and a security source said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1tNEeRu)
The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in West Africa has risen to 603 since February, with at least 68 deaths reported from three countries in the region in the last week alone, the World Health Organisation said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1tNEkIV)
Militant group Al-Shabab has lived up to its promise to step up attacks in Somalia, mainly against government installations and personnel, during the holy month of Ramadan, which began on 29 June. Over 30 people have been killed in Mogadishu alone. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1tNEwru)
The UK’s Department for International Development is to face a full judicial review over its alleged funding of rights abuses in Ethiopia. (Guardian http://bit.ly/1tNEIqG)
Human Rights Watch says Boko Haram militants have killed more than 2,000 civilians in Nigeria this year, nearly three-fourths of them in the northern state of Borno. (VOA http://bit.ly/1tNF2FX)
The EU is about to launch its first ever multi-donor development trust fund, in support of the Central African Republic. With an initial amount of €64 million the fund creates an effective and coordinated international instrument to help the population of the country and contribute to its stabilisation. (EC http://bit.ly/1l0xq9Q)
The Kenyan government’s continued failure to properly investigate crimes committed during the 2007-2008 post-election violence and to provide justice and reparation for its victims is having a devastating impact on their lives and livelihoods. (Amnesty International http://bit.ly/1l0xSVk)
The presence of armed groups and continued fighting causing displacement across the Central African Republic has led to an escalation of insecurity leaving women and girls vulnerable to forced marriage and extreme violence, including rape. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1l0AjqW)
At least 750,000 people are stateless in West Africa, according to UNHCR, which is calling for governments to do more to give or restore the nationality of stateless individuals, and improve national laws to prevent statelessness. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1jNhCML)
MENA
The first Israeli was killed by a Hamas rocket attack since the crisis began eight days ago. Some 200 Gazans are believed to have been killed. (NYT http://nyti.ms/1p4cwcy)
A militia shelled Tripoli airport, destroying 90 percent of planes parked there, a Libyan government spokesman said, as heavy fighting between armed groups prompted the United Nations to pull its staff. (Reuters http://reut.rs/1p4d2Hp)
As Israel continues to bomb hundreds of targets in the Gaza Strip, hospitals are facing a shortage of medical supplies. Pre-existing shortages are being exacerbated by heightened need and by the border policies of the Egyptian government. (IRIN http://bit.ly/1tNJtkc)
John Kerry warned that the escalating violence by Libyan militias was alarming and said Washington was working through its envoys to restore peace to the North African nation. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1l0H9wN)
Aid agencies said Tuesday they were ready to truck desperately-needed supplies to 2.9 million more Syrians after the UN Security Council finally passed a resolution backing cross-border convoys. (AP http://yhoo.it/1ktw1Za)
Preliminary findings of a UN survey show that while food security has improved in some areas, over 10 million Yemenis – more than 40 percent of the population – don’t know where their next meal will come from. (WFP http://bit.ly/1jNbYuf)
Asia
Warnings as another typhoon hits the Philippines there are insufficient evacuation centers available to keep people safe. (Oxfam http://bit.ly/1l0y1YU)
Bangladesh’s anti-graft agency will file charges against the owner of a building that collapsed last year killing more than 1,130 people, most of them garment workers, in a construction violation case, an agency spokesman said. (AP http://yhoo.it/1l0GSd2)
The World Bank said that it and its private sector arm have committed concessional loans of up to $4.2 billion to the Philippines to help the country reduce poverty, create jobs and sustain growth as it recovers from the impact of a devastating typhoon and separatist rebellion. (AP http://yhoo.it/1tNPRIb)
The Americas
During a visit to Haiti, the UN Secretary General promises to help fight the cholera epidemic which has killed more than 8,500 people since 2010. (BBC http://bbc.in/1l0wPoA)
Pope Francis calls for moves to protect thousands of unaccompanied children found migrating from Central America to the US every month. (BBC http://bbc.in/1l0AJO1)
Bolivia’s President Evo Morales will run for re-election in October to press on with his promise of expanding social reforms in the Andean nation, the vice president of the ruling party said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1tNLVaq)
Honduran President Juan Hernandez blamed U.S. drug policy for sparking violence in Central American countries and driving a surge of migration to the United States, according to an interview published on Monday. (VOA http://bit.ly/1oXeRHH)
Brazil’s sluggish economy faces substantial risk of falling into a light recession in 2014, and may already have done so, providing opposition candidates with extra ammunition in the run-up to October’s presidential election. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1tNQiCe)
Opinion/Blogs
How flawed are current aid responses? (IRIN http://bit.ly/1l0wUbV)
South Sudanese Debate: Should We Leave or Stay? (VOA http://bit.ly/1l0xjuR)
Why A Village Leader Ordered The Rape Of A 14-Year-Old In India (NPR http://n.pr/1tNHbl2)
No School, No Handshakes: Reporting On Ebola From Sierra Leone (NPR http://n.pr/1l0yWZm
The Caribbean: A Clean Energy Revolution on the Front Lines of Climate Change (IPS http://bit.ly/1l0z1w7)
Who Aids Whom? Exposing the True Story of Africa’s $192 Billion Losses (Think Africa Press http://bit.ly/1l0AyT7)
Much Hangs in the Balance in Indonesia’s Election (CGD http://bit.ly/1tNJhkX)
Research/Reports
Attacks on teachers and other educators are a disturbingly common tactic of war and a serious threat to education, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack said in a new study. (GCPEA http://bit.ly/1l0xCFT)
Jens Martens, director of the Global Policy Forum, says that in general, the current list of proposed goals and targets that will follow the MDGs is not an adequate response to the global social, economic and environmental crises and the need for fundamental change. (IPS http://bit.ly/1l0zGO5)