July 1 — Latin America: MEXICO
Enrique Pena Nieto from the Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) defeats Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and wins Mexico’s presidential elections. Obrador refuses to concede victory, accusing his opponent of fraud. Nieto’s win ends 12 years of rule of the rightwing National Action Party (PAN). Nieto vows to tackle drug trafficking by adopting a different strategy. He announces he would create special paramilitary police squads to fight drug cartels alongside the military. He also promises to focus on strengthening the economy.
July 3 — Former Soviet Republics/Europe: UKRAINE
The Ukrainian parliament passes a controversial law drafted by President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of the Regions that grants the Russian language the status of an official language in Ukraine. In the east of the country, with its large Russian-speaking population, Russian becomes the regional language. The move sparks protests that the decision dilutes Ukraine’s sovereignty.
July 3 — South Asia/North America: PAKISTAN/UNITED STATES
Pakistan agrees to reopen the supply corridor for the NATO-led forces stationed in Afghanistan after the United States apology for killing two dozens of Pakistani soldiers in an air strike on the Pakistani-Afghan border last November. The route is crucial as the U.S. plans to pull its troops out of Afghanistan by 2014. Also, both sides hope the move will improve the Pakistani-U.S. strained relations.
July 7 — Africa: LIBYA
The Libyan people vote in their first free parliamentary election since 1952, with more than 100 political parties contesting 80 seats. The elected General National Congress will replace Libya’s National Transitional Council, which was established during the Libyan uprising against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Former interim Prime Minsiter Mahmoud Jibril’s National Forces Alliance comes first, winning 39 seats. The Assembly will also include independent candidates.
July 8 — South Asia/International Issues: AFGHANISTAN
During a conference in Tokyo, more than 70 countries and international organizations pledge $16 billion in civilian aid to Afghanistan over four years, an important move to secure the country’s future after the departure of the foreign troops in 2014. Most of the funds will come from the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, and Germany. On its part, Afghanistan agrees to new conditions to deal with endemic corruption. According to the World Bank, 95 percent of Afghanistan’s GDP comes from international aid.
July 11 — Africa: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
The United Nations peacekeeping troops are being redirected to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Goma to protect its population from advancing rebels. The rebels, mutineers from the army, say they want to protect the Tutsi minority in the city who, they say, is being mistreated. The UN and DRC accuse Rwanda of supporting and training the rebels, the claim Rwanda denies.
July 12 — East Asia/North America: MYANMAR/UNITED STATES
The United States lifts some restrictions for U.S. companies to do business in Myanmar. The move is in support of the recent democratic changes in the country and the release of political prisoners. The U.S. is also sending its ambassador to Myanmar, the first after 22 years. Other countries, including the European Union, have already lifted some economic restrictions on the country.
July 17 — Middle East: ISRAEL
Israel’s centrist Kadima party, the largest party in the country’s parliament, leaves Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition over a dispute involving military conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews who, so far, have been exempt from service. After the Israeli Supreme Court ruled the Tal Law — the law that allows religious students to defer their military service — unconstitutional, Netanyahu’s Likud party has proposed a new conscription agreement, which has been rejected by Kadima and other religious parties in his coalition.
July 18 — Middle East: SYRIA
The Free Syria Army attacks the national security building in Damascus, killing President Assad’s top security chief and brother-in-law, his defense minister, and the chief of the regime’s crisis management office. The rebels also seize the city of Aleppo, one of Syria’s major centers. The government launches an offensive to recapture the city, forcing 200,000 people to flee the fighting.
July 20 — North America: UNITED STATES
A 24-year old former graduate student, James Holmes, opens fire in a movie theater during a midnight showing of the new Batman film in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 58. Holmes is armed with three guns: semi-automatic rifle, an assault rifle, and a handgun. All weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were bought legally. The tragedy renews the controversial debate around gun control in the United States, and whether civilians should owe assault rifles such as AK-47.
July 22 — Latin America: PARAGUAY/VENEZUELA/MERCOSUR
The MERCOSUR trading organization suspends Paraguay’s membership for the violation of its democratic clause after the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo. Lugo, Paraguay’s first leftist president was impeached and removed from office by the parliament. Lugo argues that he was denied due process, and several Latina American countries described the incident as a parliamentary coup. (July 31): Venezuela becomes a full member of the organization, which until now was being blocked by Paraguay.
July 31 — South Asia: INDIA
Hundreds of millions of people in India’s 20 states are left with no electricity for two days in a row after a collapse of three power grids. The outage is blamed on several states that drew more power than their quotas allowed. On the second day of the power blackout, more than 1.2 billion people, hundreds of thousands of businesses and services have been affected. In recent years, India’s demand for electricity has soared, but the country’s infrastructure has been unable to keep pace with growing needs.