The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague ruled (PDF) in favor of the Philippines on July 12 in its dispute with China over most of the South China Sea. Manila brought the case in 2013 disputing Beijing's territorial claims, a move China decried as "unilateral." The PCA concluded that China does not have the right to resources within its "nine-dash line," an area covering nearly the entire 3.5 million square-kilometer Sea—believed to be rich in oil and minerals. The tribunal found that none of the disputed Spratly Islands are "capable of generating extended maritime zones." Therefore, the tribunal wrote that it could "declare that certain sea areas are within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, because those areas are not overlapped by any possible entitlement of China."  China entirely denies the PCA's jurisdiction in the matter, and rejected the ruling.

The US will send an additional 560 troops to Iraq to help secure a newly retaken air-base as a staging hub for the long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul from ISIS, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said during an unannounced visit to the country July 11. Most of the new troops will be devoted to the perparing the Qayara airbase, some 64 kilometers south of Mosul. They will help Iraqi forces planning the drive on Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. The increase brings the total US force in Iraq to 4,647. Unofficially, that figure is probably closer to 6,000, as troops who deploy on temporary assignments are not included in the Pentagon's official tally. Taqqadum, a base in Anbar governorate where US troops train Iraqis., served a key role in the taking of Ramadi late last year, and more recently Fallujah. (Al Jazeera, WP)

On the fifth anniversary of its independence from Khartoum, South Sudan is again descending into civil war, with last year's tentative peace deal breaking down. Fighting has escalated across the country in recent weeks, and on July 9 it reached the capital Juba, with clashes reported between the Sudan People's Liberation Army in the Government (SPLA-IG) led by President Salva Kiir and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) led by former South Sudanese vice-president Riek Macher. Some of the worst recent violence came in late June, when a force of SPLA-IG troops and irregular Dinka militia entered the northern town of Wau, reportedly attacking civilians and looting their property, causing more than 100,000 civilians to flee their homes. Those targeted were mainly from the Fertit ethnicity. The violence apparently began in a conflict over who is to control the newly created Wau state, which was carved out of the former Western Bahr el Ghazal state under last year's redrawing of administrative borders. (Radio Tamazuj, July 10; Al Jazeera, July 9; VOA, June 28; Sudan Tribune, June 24)

Another indigenous leader has been assassinated in Honduras, with local activists reporting July 6 that Lesbia Yaneth Urquía was found dead near a municipal dump with severe head trauma. Urquía, 49 and a mother of three, was a local coordinator of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) in Marcala, La Paz department, where she was slain. COPINH, which leads local efforts for land recovery and against destructive development projects, has seen a string of assassinations of its leaders this year—starting with that of co-founder Berta Cáceres in March. Said COPINH in a statement: "The death of Lesbia Yaneth is a political feminicide, and an attempt to silence the voice of those brave women who are courageously defending their rights and opposing the patriarchal, racist and capitalist system of their society."

Several hundred people marched July 6 in Asunción, the Paraguayan capital, to demand the acquittal of 11 landless peasants charged in deadly violence almost exactly four years ago in the rural community of Curuguaty. Verdicts are expected this coming week in the bloody incident, which supporters of the defendants call a "massacre." The violence erupted when police moved to evict the peasants from private lands they were occupying. Of the 17 killed, 11 were peasants. In the aftermath, Paraguay's left-populist president Fernando Lugo was removed from power in what his supporters called a "coup." Prosecutors are calling for prison terms of up to 30 years for the defendants, while their supporters say they only acted in self-defense when set upon by police.  Alicia Amarilla of the National Coordinator of Rural and Indigenous Women (CONAMURI) called the proceedings a show trial in which "not a shred of evidence" has been presented against the defendants. She said they have been accused "because of their ideology, for having fought for land." (Ultima Hora, July 9; EFE, July 6)

The suspected sniper who killed five police officers and wounded two civilians following a peaceful Black Lives Matter march in Dallas was killed when police deployed an explosives-rigged robot into the parking garage where he was holed up.  Police say there were hours of fruitless negotiations before the robot outfitted C4 explosive was sent in. Associated Press said this "appears to be the first time US police have used a robot for lethal purposes. As such, it may represent the latest escalation in the use of remote and semi-autonomous devices by law enforcement." Ironically, the robot was ostensibly procured by the police force for "bomb-disposal" purposes. This apparent first use of a killer robot in domestic policing comes as human rights groups are calling for restrictions on their use in actual warfare.

The findings of the seven-year inquiry, led by Sir John Chilcot, into Britain's role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq were delivered on July 6 in the form of a scathing verdict against former prime minister Tony Blair and his administration, stating that the war was based on "flawed intelligence and assessments" and had been launched before "peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted." Tthe Chilcot Inquiry concluded that the "judgements about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction—WMD—were presented with a certainty that was not justified... There was no imminent threat from Saddam Hussein. Additionally, "[t]he planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate."

Human Rights Watch has called on the Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Government authorities to prosecute ISIS fighters for war crimes against the Yazidi minority. "Yezidi victims of human rights abuses have a right to justice, not just government declarations with no consequences," said Skye Wheeler of HRW's women's rights division. Several ISIS fighters are now in custody following recent territory gains by both the Iraqi central government and Kurdish regional authorities. But HRW says so far no authorities in Iraq are investigating or prosecuting ISIS members for war crimes or crimes against humanity. (ARA News, June 23)