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This week, the United Nations accepts responsibility for Haiti's 2010 cholera outbreak; French cities ban Muslim women from wearing burkinis at beaches; a top North Korean diplomat defects; and more.
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Americas

The United Nations has accepted responsibility for a cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010 that killed about 10,000 people. The outbreak is believed to have originated from UN peacekeeping troops from Nepal, which was experiencing an epidemic at the time. A report from a UN adviser said the body’s refusal to acknowledge the incident or offer reparations “is morally unconscionable, legally indefensible, and politically self-defeating.” The office of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said a “significant new set of UN actions” will be needed to respond to the crisis.

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• One quarter of Puerto Rico expected to contract Zika virus by end of 2016 – Kali Holloway, AlterNet

Central & South Asia

Following 40 days of violent protests in Kashmir, India said it is ready to send its top diplomat, Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, to Islamabad for talks focused on fighting cross-border terrorism. However, in a letter to Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhury, Indian officials said the talks cannot include discussion of Kashmir itself, as Pakistan had originally proposed. On Tuesday, Indian security forces opened fire on a crowd of stone-throwing protesters in Kashmir, killing five and wounding 10. On Wednesday, militants ambushed an army convoy and killed three members of the Indian security forces.

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• China wants to establish diplomatic ties with Bhutan – India Times

China & East Asia

On Wednesday, Thae Yong Ho, second in command of North Korea’s embassy in London, defected to South Korea along with his family. He is one of the highest ranking officials from the DPRK government to seek asylum. South Korean officials said Thae had grown “disappointed” and “disgusted” by Kim Jong-un’s government.

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• China’s Olympians disappoint their government, but not the people – Stuart Leavenworth, Christian Science Monitor

Europe & Russia

Several French cities have banned the “burkini,” a full-body swimsuit worn by Muslim women, on public beaches. Government officials say the garment is a symbol of Islamic extremism and goes against the country’s values of secularism and equality. Many Muslim women, however, say the ban is discriminatory and will deepen the religious and cultural rift in French society. This week, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he supports the burkini ban at the city level because it is based “on the enslavement of women.” Italy, on the other hand, has ruled out the possibility of a similar ban, saying it will only lead to more violence.

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• These photos show how hard climate change has hit Greenland – Justin Worland, TIME

Middle East & North Africa

Russia launched three waves of airstrikes in Syria this week from a base in Iran. U.S. officials are investigating whether or not the move violates UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was passed as part of the Iran nuclear deal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected that assertion and stated that “there are no grounds to suspect Russia of breaching the resolution.” Iraq announced that it will also allow Russia to use its airspace for strikes in Syria if needed.

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• Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza urges overthrow of Saudi Arabia regime – Agence France-Presse/The Guardian

Southeast Asia & Oceania

Australia and Papua New Guinea have come to an agreement to close a widely criticized detention center for migrants on Manus Island. Australia has a strict policy on migrants and refugees. If asylum-seekers attempting to reach the country by boat are intercepted at sea they will never be allowed to settle in the country, even if they qualify for asylum. Nearly 1,000 people still remain in the Manus Island camp, which rights groups have criticized as having inhumane conditions. A timeframe for closure has not yet been established.

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• Vietnam lifts ban on Australian commemoration of 1966 battle – Rod McGuirk and Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press

Sub-Saharan Africa

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has ordered an independent investigation into why peacekeeping troops in South Sudan did not respond to calls for help from international aid workers last month when soldiers attacked civilians and foreigners. The UN troops were minutes away and reportedly knew of the attacks, yet failed to respond. Witnesses told the Associated Press that soldiers “shot dead a local journalist while forcing the foreigners to watch, raped several foreign women, singled out Americans, beat and robbed people, and carried out mock executions.”

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• Saying kids were endangered, Uganda is closing schools backed by U.S., World Bank, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg – Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

Stay informed. We’ll see you here again next week.