AU mission in Somalia jailed 9 soldiers from Uganda for misconduct. They are accused of running a fuel racket. The African Union said they had been sentenced to between one year and three years by a Ugandan military court, which has one of its headquarters’ in Somalia. Soldiers were serving under the mission for misconduct and for violating the rules and regulations of peacekeeping. The officers, including two majors, were arrested in a mentioned, cruel operation in June.

Since the signing of a staff-level agreement on the planned International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan for Egypt, domestic opposition to the proposed deal has mounted. An open letter signed by several political parties, civil society institutions and public figures claims that the IMF deal imposes ‘extremely tough economic and financial measures,’ that are implemented by the government ‘in complete negligence toward the Egyptian people, including its syndicates, unions, and political forces.’ The letter objects to planned reforms: devaluing the Egyptian pound (EGP), civil service reform, introduction of VAT and expansion of privatisation programme. Its signatories also note that the already high public debt will increase as a result of the IMF loan.

On the third anniversary of the massacre on Raba’a square in Cairo, which claimed at least 817 dead, the Human Rights Watch has called on the Egyptian Parliament to conduct an independent inquiry, enforce accountability of people responsible on the basis of transitional justice, and provide compensation for families of victims. The report on this issue has been published on Sunday, August 14, argues that the Egyptian authorities have failed to adequately account for the use of force against the protesters. According to the Egyptian constitution, a law on transitional justice has to be passed before the end of current parliamentary session in October 2016.

Foreign Minister Zarif underlined the need for further trilateral cooperation between Iran, Turkey and Russia in fighting terrorism in the region. Speaking during the press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Islamic Republic was "delighted" to see Turkey starting new cooperation with Russia. "We are also ready to cooperate and help. These three countries [Russia, Iran and Turkey] should work together to bring peace and prosperity to the region," Zarif said.

On Wednesday, lawmakers reformed a bill intended to address gender violence in the country and turned down a US$20 million credit offer that would have funded the Ministry of Women. According to Miriam Gonzalez, from the group Paraguay Coordination of Women, conservative sectors believe that gender studies are still an “ideology”. She said that by removing the word “gender” from legislation dealing with gender violence, the lawmakers made the victims “invisible” and nullified a measure that would have allowed women suffering the consequences of dangerous and illegal abortions to seek free medical attention at hospitals.

On Monday Fidel Ramos has set out for a visit to Hong-Kong, China. Before the trip he reassured that he wouldn’t raise the issue of the recent international ruling on the South China Sea; his mission was to rekindle relations with Beijing. Ernesto Abella the spokesman for the current Philippine president said that ‘this may pave the way for future diplomatic talks’. Ramos met with Fu Ying, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's top legislature and former Chinese ambassador to the Philippines from 1998 to 2000, as well as his former colleagues. His visit was not part of official negotiations with China, but passed in a hopeful atmosphere. China’s sate news agency said that Ramos’s visit was ‘the first concrete step’ for both sides to engage and ‘could open a new chapter in settling disputes’.