Durban plays host to a major, bi-annual international meeting of HIV/AIDS scientists, policy leaders, activists and others. ”As 18,000 people gather this coming week in Durban, South Africa, for the 21st International AIDS Conference, the prospect of a cure is plausible enough that it is attracting increasing amounts of money, scientific research and attention. Discussion of a cure will lead off the conference, which comes little more than a month after the United Nations committed to action to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, despite formidable obstacles. Leaders of the global battle against HIV have described 2016 as a pivotal year in their effort…Worldwide funding for research on a cure rose to $201.8 million in 2015, up 25 percent over the previous year and more than double the $88.1 million spent in 2012, two years after the International AIDS Society launched a program to achieve a cure. The vast majority of the money comes from governments around the world. On Wednesday, the National Institutes of Health awarded $30 million annually for the next five years to six U.S. research centers working toward a cure.” (The Colombian http://bit.ly/2aljSbQ)
Turkey coup attempt, now comes the fallout…”Two days after a failed military coup, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed a continued crackdown on those behind it — and those perceived to have been involved — including the judiciary. He urged supporters to fill the squares in the week ahead. Since Friday’s uprising — which left at least 290 people dead and more than 1,400 injured in a chaotic night of violence — thousands of soldiers have been arrested and hundreds of judiciary members removed. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has vowed that “they will pay a heavy price.” Erdogan said in a TV address that he will remove the “viruses” from all state institutions.” (CNN http://cnn.it/2aljJoE)
Bill Gates make big pledge…”Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates said Sunday his foundation will invest another $5 billion in Africa over the next five years. Gates delivered the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture ahead of Mandela Day, when South Africans are encouraged to donate 67 minutes of their time to help others.Gates is also in South Africa to attend a global AIDS conference that starts Monday…Gates warned that if the world doesn’t come up with more creative ways to make HIV treatment and prevention accessible, “the hard-earned gains made against HIV in sub-Saharan Africa over the last 15 years could actually be reversed” as high birth rates continue.” (NYT http://nyti.ms/2aljdXI)
Africa
AU summit: Renewed fighting in South Sudan that has killed more than 300 people is set to dominate an African Union summit that starts in the Rwandan capital of Kigali on Sunday. A shaky ceasefire has held since late on Monday after fighting raged for four days in the South Sudanese capital of Juba, forcing 40,000 people to flee their homes. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/2alk9LR)
The United Nations Security Council is considering sending up to 228 U.N. police to Burundi to monitor the security and human rights situation there. (TVC http://bit.ly/2almtlR)
Zimbabwe’s finance minister blamed international sanctions on Sunday for a cash crunch that has forced the government to delay wages to soldiers and civil servants as President Robert Mugabe faces rare popular protests. (Reuters http://bit.ly/29NmtLy)
The electoral commission of Ghana has dismissed local media reports that the electoral body is not fully prepared to organize the anticipated November 7 presidential, parliamentary and local elections. This as parliament discusses an electoral amendment bill that will change the regular election date from December 7 to November 7. (VOA http://bit.ly/2a0Srot)
South Africa now is a global proving ground for treatment and prevention, including a study of an experimental HIV vaccine set to begin later this year. (AP http://yhoo.it/29NmyPn)
MENA
Opposition-controlled parts of Syria’s battered northern city Aleppo came under total siege on Sunday, after government forces severed the last route out of the east. (AFP http://bit.ly/2allxy8)
The top military official at Incirlik Air Base has been arrested, along with other officers at the base — a major U.S. air operations center in the Middle East — in connection with an attempt by a military faction to overthrow the government of Turkey, authorities said Sunday. (LAT http://lat.ms/2alkkH4)
Asia
A Woman in Pakistan, whom the western press has called “Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian, has been killed in a so-called “honor killing” for her Instagram posts. (Daily Beast http://thebea.st/2aljTMB)
A telephone helpline is aiding public health officials in Pakistan to predict dengue fever outbreaks. (VOA http://bit.ly/29NhmyW)
Police in Dhaka on Saturday arrested three people and another on Sunday, including a university professor, for failing to register information about tenants renting property who later attacked a cafe in the city, killing 20 people. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/29Nme3j)
The Americas
Three police officers were killed and three wounded in a shooting in the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge on Sunday, with at least two suspects at large, amid a resurgence of violence involving law enforcement. (AFP http://yhoo.it/2a26JrK)
Almost 100,000 Venezuelans, some of whom drove through the night in caravans, crossed into Colombia over the weekend to hunt for food and medicine that are in short supply at home. (AP http://yhoo.it/29Nm6kh)
The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday it has called off a search for 15 people reported missing in an attempt to reach the U.S. Virgin Islands. (AP http://yhoo.it/29NgSJ9)
Host city Cleveland insists it is prepared for the Republican National Convention, but on the eve of its biggest political moment in decades, it is bracing for protests that may well disrupt proceedings. (AFP http://yhoo.it/29NgDOt)
…and the rest
Exposing the uncertainties unleashed by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, the U.K. minister in charge of negotiating the divorce said Sunday that most EU citizens in Britain when it leaves the bloc will be able to stay — but some might have to leave. (AP http://yhoo.it/2a25MzO)
Opinion/Blogs
Will Turkey’s failed coup break up Erdogan’s echo chamber? (Reuters http://yhoo.it/29NfQgj)
Quinoa isn’t a threat to food security. It’s improving Peruvian farmers’ lives (Guardian http://bit.ly/29NgoD2)
Uganda: Can Uganda Sink As Zimbabwe, and Museveni Rise Like Mugabe? (Monitor http://bit.ly/29MT3vh)
Could Turkey Become US Ally ‘Like Pakistan’? (VOA http://bit.ly/29NgMRT)
Britain may have given up on the EU dream, but Africa still wants integration (Guardian http://bit.ly/2a0Szoj)
World AIDS Conference Returns To Durban, South Africa. How Has The Conversation Changed? (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/29Fe53I)
South Sudan: what hope for peace? (AFP http://yhoo.it/2a25IQJ)
The international criminal court is vital to our fight against impunity in Africa (Guardian http://bit.ly/29NmrDx)
A very Turkish coup (The Interpreter http://bit.ly/29NhFKc)
Here is Dani Rodrik on the Turkish coup (and other coup commentary of interest) (Chris Blattman http://bit.ly/29Nhnmx)