Top of the Morning: Karachi Airport Attack

Gunmen Attack Karachi Airport…It was an audacious attack In a ferocious terrorist attack that stretched into Monday morning, 10 gunmen infiltrated Pakistan’s largest international airport in Karachi, waging an extended firefight against security forces and shaking the country’s already fragile sense of security. The military reported just before 5 a.m. that the last of the attackers had been killed, ending hours of siege and explosions at the Karachi airport. The chief minister of Sindh Province, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, told reporters that the attackers had killed 13 people, including 10 members of the Airport Security Forces. (NYT http://nyti.ms/1oLI9aV)

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea: It’s part of a trend. A Liberian-flagged oil tanker has gone missing off the coast of Ghanaand a senior port official told Reuters the captain sent a distress call to say the vessel was attacked by pirates…Pirate attacks jumped by a third off the coast of West Africa last year, pushing up insurance costs for shipping firms operating in a key commodities export hub. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1oAmDYs)

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Africa

Suspected Boko Haram militants from Nigeria attacked a town in Cameroon’s far north but local security forces fought them off, killing at least two gunmen, Cameroon’s government said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1oAmrsi)

Up to 37 people including women and children were killed in Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern province of South Kivu in an attack that government officials blamed on a dispute over cattle. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1oAmKmT)

South Sudan’s presidential spokesman says Sudan is undermining the legitimacy of President Salva Kiir’s government and bilateral relations between the two nations after representatives of rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar were allowed to hold a news conference in the neighboring country during the weekend. (VOA http://bit.ly/1oAnrwv)

Some Non-Governmental Organisations in Zambia have threatened legal action against the government over threats of deregistration for refusing to register under the new NGO Act. (Times of Zambia http://bit.ly/1oAq3uf)

One person was killed Sunday in the Sudanese capital as police fired tear gas to disperse a demonstration over water shortages, police and witnesses said. (AFP  http://yhoo.it/1oAqapx)

MENA

The US is sending two senior diplomatic officials to Geneva for rare direct talks with Iran on its controversial nuclear program. (VOA http://bit.ly/1oAn5Wx)

A couple and their four children, the youngest just six months old, were killed Sunday in Syrian army air raids in the northern province of Aleppo, a monitoring group said. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1oAoTPv)

Asia

China’s foreign minister has held talks with his Indian counterpart in New Delhi on ways to boost diplomatic ties between the two governments. (VOA http://bit.ly/1iek1cW)

More than 80 bodies have been found two days after a devastating flash flood in Afghanistan’s mountainous and remote north, a provincial official said Sunday. (AP http://yhoo.it/1iektrD)

Thai police arrested seven anti-coup protesters after a flashmob rally held Sunday outside a Bangkok shopping centre in defiance of thousands of security forces deployed city-wide to enforce a ban on political gatherings. (AP http://yhoo.it/1iekxaR)

The Americas

Metro workers in Sao Paulo vote to remain on strike in a dispute that could disrupt the opening match of the football World Cup on Thursday. (BBC http://bbc.in/1oAmUdP

Colombia’s leftist FARC rebels declared a ceasefire on Saturday for a three-week period covering a tight presidential election race on June 15, campaigning for which has centered on how to end five decades of war with the guerrilla group. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1ieknjX)

Officials are working to improve conditions at a makeshift holding center in southern Arizona where immigration authorities are housing hundreds of unaccompanied migrant minors. (AP http://yhoo.it/1oAplgr)

Opinion/Blogs

Universal health coverage – but mind the equity gaps (ODI http://bit.ly/1psfMzR)

Q&A: Developing World Leads in Advancement of Climate Change Laws (IPS http://bit.ly/1iejszQ)

Why I wear the Mexican education minister’s watch (BBC http://bbc.in/1iejS9B)

Help yourself: How do poor women and men understand their right to food? (From Poverty to Power http://bit.ly/1psfGIi)

A model for development built on indigenous foundations (SciDevNet http://bit.ly/1psfQ2D)

Categorising the poor (Pieria http://bit.ly/1psfWHh)

SIBs, DIBs and Ad-Libs (Stanford Social Innovation Review http://bit.ly/1hIkObI)

Madam Secretary Made a Difference (NY Times http://nyti.ms/1psgq0f)

Research/Reports

Over the past week, the United Nations Development Programme has delivered 500 tons of concentrate animal feed, fertiliser and seeds to farmers in 15 flood-affected municipalities, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (UNDP http://bit.ly/1oAm5BV)