The United States Congress recently approved a $777.7bn defense budget, a five percent increase from last year. This move came after they pulled the last American troops out of Afghanistan and was justified as a way of dealing with the intensifying competition with China. (Al Jazeera) The budget approval had bipartisan support and supports the USA’s current stance that China poses a significant threat to its global supremacy.

The BBC reported on the 19th of December that an Indian lawmaker, K.R. Ramesh, in the Southern State of Karnataka, advised women that in cases where physical violations may be inevitable, try to be positive in the process. The comment has come at a time where abuse of women in the world’s largest Democracy has no signs of being curbed and women and girls face the daily trauma of abuse…

The BBC reported on December 2nd that the crumbling infrastructure of Afghanistan has resulted in an almost nonexistent health care and social welfare system.Many doctors are now working without pay and the food crisis has added an unprecedented burden upon hospitals overflowing with citizens suffering from the desperate conditions of poverty.

 The Kimberley Process is an inter-governmental initiative, which started when Southern African diamond-producing states met in Kimberley, South Africa. The multi-stakeholder meeting between governments, the industry and NGOs aimed to discuss ways to stop the trade in ‘conflict diamonds’ and ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies who were seeking to undermine ‘legitimate' governments.