• A glacial wave has hit central and north Peru since June 2018 and has caused significant losses all across the country.
• The national weather agency Meteo France extended a heatwave alert from 19 departments to 34 as temperatures continued to rise in most of eastern and southern France.
• In the Philipines, militants linked to the Abu Sayyaf terror group attacked a military checkpoint in the southern region with a van loaded with explosives.

• Recently, Microsoft announced that in January-March 2018, a multi-tier attack against supply chains was detected in a PDF editor.
• Recently, a group of security researchers discovered a new Spectre-class vulnerability that can be launched over the network.
• A new version of AZORult information stealer and downloader is being used by cyber-criminals in an email phishing campaign since it became available on July 17.

• On August 2 in Chile, workers at the Escondida mine; the largest copper mine worldwide, approved going on strike after rejecting the company's salary offer.
• The National Water Commission (CONAGUA) has announced that the heat wave recorded in Mexico since June has caused a severe drought in the country, especially in the states of Sonora, Puebla, Mexico, Queretaro, Michoacan, and Oaxaca.
• In the United States, the Journal of Commerce published an article discussing the effects of transportation shortages and rate increases on major U.S. manufacturers' recently released earnings results.
• On July 31, 2018, engine maker Cummins, Inc. announced the recall of 770,000 trucks due to faulty pollution controls. These trucks were made in 2010-2015 and include big pickups, utility trucks, and semi-trucks.

• Responding on August 2, 2018, to new sanctions laid on by the Trump administration over Turkey's detention and trial of a U.S. citizen for aiding terrorism, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said the sanctions are unacceptable – but that they will have little economic effect on Turkey.
• The bureaucratic challenges to doing business in Ethiopia continue to persist despite Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's attempts at liberalizing the economy and promoting trade.
• Germany's government initiated legislation changes that aim to curb tax evasion by online sellers by making Internet platforms liable.

• Vietnam's Ministry of Transport has released a report highlighting violations committed by the state-controlled Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), which holds authority over all civil airports in the country.
• In India, a nationwide indefinite truckers' strike called by the All India Motor Transport Congress has been ongoing since July 20. Approximately 9 million trucks have stopped operating to protest high diesel prices, toll barriers across the country, and reduced third-party insurance premiums.
• Per reports, the number of vanilla theft cases has increased substantially in Madagascar in recent years due to its high market value.
• Last week, Cuban officials confirmed an outbreak of dengue fever in the Cuban city of Florida, located in Camaguey Province. As of July 21, there were seven verified cases of the virus in Camaguey; three of those cases were fatal.

• Per reports, about 315 people were injured in four earthquakes in Iran since July 22.
• Last week, a security operation was initiated in the state of Michoacan after a new wave of violence reached its peak on July 20, when the elected mayor of Buenavista municipality was killed by the alleged members of an organized crime group.
• Over the past two months, hospitals in the Mexican state of Yucatan have registered a significant increase in the number of patients infected with the Influenza virus. In this period, hospitals reported 365 positive cases.

• Per media reports, a new cyber-espionage group has been discovered, and its attacks analyzed. The group, unofficially named Leafminer, had an active Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) since early 2017, detected on at least 44 computers in Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.
• Researchers from Kaspersky Lab have identified security loopholes in 13 car-sharing mobile applications available on Google Play for Android devices.

• In recent days, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of El Salvador declared that trade in Central America had been hit as a consequence of the Nicaraguan conflict.
• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced has that five zeroes would be removed from the actual currency. The decision follows after inflation reached 46,000% in June.

• An expansion of the Magniber ransomware has been recorded. The malicious program was first identified in October 2017 when the Magnitude exploit kit operator began its distribution.
• An increase in the number of cyber-attacks targeting Internet of Things (IoT) devices was recorded during the Helsinki Summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Recently, social media app Instagram announced that it would be updating its security measures to guard users' information against SIM hacking.

• The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recommended the imposition of a 25% tariff on solar cells and modules imported from China and Malaysia.
• The EU competition commission has fined Google EUR 4.34 billion (USD 5.1 billion) for anti-competitive practices after 39 months of investigations.
• Cuba will officially recognize private property under a new constitution featuring economic policy changes.

• A steam pipe under the street at Fifth Avenue and W 21st St in Midtown Manhattan, New York, exploded at the beginning of the morning rush hour on July 19, 2018.
• On July 18, Japan and the EU signed an agreement on free trade between the two parties. The deal includes almost all types of goods traded between the two parties; Japanese cars and European food products have been highlighted as products that the agreement would impact the most.
• Last week, Peru's President Martin Vizcarra declared a 60-day state of emergency period on the Amazon basin province of Putumayo, near the Colombian and Ecuadorian border, after the arrest of 50 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels who were taking refuge in the region.

• On July 14, the South Korean Minimum Wage Commission (MWC) announced that the country's minimum wage would be raised to KRW 8,350 (USD 7.4) an hour from January 1, 2019 - a 10.9% increase from the existing wage.
• In Panama, protest action against the increase in electricity tariffs has intensified, and on July 16 it reached a breaking point with a 24-hour general strike reported.
• In recent days it has been reported that the maritime port of Manzanillo, Colima, has exceeded its capacity due to a shortage of cargo vehicles. The transportation of merchandise out of the port has recorded up to 24-hour delays affecting operational productivity.

• In Japan, heavy rains and an impending Typhoon are creating a crisis resulting from flooding and landslides
• In Mexico, the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Attention of Electoral Crimes reported that 19 people have been arrested for their alleged participation in electoral crimes.

• On June 27, Wired reported that a security researcher had uncovered a data breach made by marketing and data-aggregation firm Exactis that exposed the personal information of U.S. citizens contained in an estimated 340 million files, divided between approximately 230 million consumers and 110 million businesses.
• The California State Legislature has passed the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, and Governor Jerry Brown signed the act into law on June 28.
• Per reports on July 5, 2018, Germany's telecommunication regulator is considering regulating Internet-based telecommunication services in order to meet data protection, public safety, and registration requirements.
• Per reports on last week, Gmail users who have connected their email accounts to third-party applications risk unknowingly having their emails read by the staff of the third-party app.

• Per reports on July 2, 2018, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) held protests across India against Walmart's USD 16 billion (INR 1,099.12 billion) acquisition of Bengaluru-based e-commerce firm Flipkart. CAIT representatives stated that Walmart's acquisition of Flipkart will create a monopoly in the retail sector in India, affecting the business strategies of small-scale retailers.
• This week, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced that the government is standing firm after two months of violent protests against the presidential mandate and despite the more than 250 deaths reported in clashes with the police.
• Scotland is considering restrictions on the sale, advertising, and promotion of foods deemed unhealthy to tackle the increasing rates of obesity, especially among children.

Market and Economic Risk

• The People's Republic of China's State Council has released a three-year action plan to improve air quality.
• Per a press release, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore issued a Proposed Infringement Decision (PID) against the sale of Uber's Southeast Asian business to Grab for a 27.5% stake.
• In the Mexican resort town of Mazatlan, fishermen have reported a reduction in seafood production in the region, which is creating a shortage in the fish markets of the Mexican Pacific Coast.

• The U.S.-based restaurant chain PDQ's customers' credit card details were subject to theft in a breach of the company's computer systems lasting May 19, 2017-April 20, 2018.
• Cyber-security researchers found that the newly discovered RAMpage vulnerability could impact almost all Android devices manufactured after 2012.
• Per a blog post by the Pen Test Partners, threat actors can hack into the navigational system of ships and manipulate their course. Researchers showed in a proof-of-concept attack that it is possible to access the network of systems that control a ship.
• Reports released stated that there have been recent cyber-attacks on several brands of security cameras, webcams, and baby and pet monitors.
• Researchers from cyber-security company Appthority discovered that multiple app developers did not configure their apps' back-end Firebase endpoints correctly, granting attackers access to sensitive data. The problem affects Firebase, which is an app development tool that allows developers to secure the endpoints with firewalls and authentication measures while creating the app.
• A Google developer discovered a significant vulnerability in modern web browsers, which allows websites to steal sensitive content such as online accounts in recently visited sites in the same browser.

• Per a report submitted to the Vietnamese government by the Transport Ministry, all ports along the Sai Gon River are to be relocated by the end of 2018.
• On June 28, 2018, Amazon announced their new Delivery Service Partners program which helps entrepreneurs create small delivery companies to deliver Amazon packages.
• The National Chamber of Cargo Transportation (CANACAR) announced that the distribution chain of fuel in Mexico is at risk due to the increasing attacks against vehicles and drivers.

• Following the implementation of a total ban on all single-use plastic products in the Indian state of Maharashtra, which was enforced on June 23, 2018, multinational corporations have intensified lobbying to soften the new regulations.
• Kenyan bankers and fund managers have expressed concerns following the 2018-2019 budget announcement. The Finance Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich introduced a financial transaction tax (FTT), also called the "Robin Hood tax," of 0.05% on transactions more than  500,000 Kenyan Shillings or  (USD 4,960) made through financial institutions.
• The Supreme Court of the United States has issued a ruling in the Janus v. AFSCME case. The case centered on forcing public employees to pay agency fees to unions when they are not union members.
• Argentina's Department for Agro-Economic Information (DIA) stated that Cordoba province reported the production of 792,000 tons (718490.31 tonnes) of peanuts during the 2018 harvest - a decrease of 40% compared to the 2016-2017 crop.

• Per reports on June 14, 2018, French authorities aim to tackle contamination caused by cigarette butts.
• According to a C.D. Howe Institute research study titled "Assessing Canada's Drug Shortage Problem", one in ten medicines in Canada have been affected by shortages since 2016.

• Per reports, in a security alert posted on June 8, 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Mozambique advised U.S. citizens not to go to or leave the city of Palma in the northern Cabo Delgado Province due to the risk of impending militant attacks.
• On June 8 in Mexico, political candidate Fernando Puron Johnson was shot outside the Autonomous University of Coahuila's auditorium in the city of Piedras Negras city at Sonora estate after an official debate.
• Per reports last week from Cambodia, supporters of the main opposition party that was dissolved, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), are calling for demonstrations in the U.S., Japan, Europe, and South Korea over Japan's support for the Cambodian national election scheduled to be held on July 29.

• Recently, cyber-security company Trend Micro found a new version of the KillDisk malware targeting organizations in Latin America.
• On June 8, 2018, ESET security researchers confirmed that they discovered a new and rarely used malware strain, InvisiMole. The complex piece of spyware has only been found on a few dozen computers in Russia and Ukraine.
• On June 12, 2018, 91% of Vietnamese lawmakers voted in favor of a cyber-security law amid violent nationwide protests against its approval. Per the law that will take effect from January 1, 2019, technology companies such as Google and Facebook will have to store data in Vietnam, open local offices, and remove content termed "offensive" by the government within 24 hours of being ordered to.
• Per reports on June 12, 2018, the recently discovered cryptocurrency miner malware, "PyRoMineIoT" is misusing a National Security Agency-linked remote code execution exploit to spread as well as to use infected machines to scan for vulnerable Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

• Per media reports on June 14, 2018, the exemption of value added tax (VAT) for petroleum products in Kenya will come to an end in 2018.
• According to the latest Bloomberg report, the expectations of annual economic growth for Latin America published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the beginning of 2018 could fall in the coming months.

• According to a press release on May 31, 2018, New Zealand's Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said that a task force is being "set up to deal with the impact of the Chinese government's ban" on waste.
• On May 29, 2018, Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that Canada plans to buy the Trans Mountain expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline with its related infrastructure for CAD 4.5 billion (USD 3.4 billion).
• On May 30, 2018, President Donald Trump signed the "Right To Try Act" into law, which will facilitate the use of experimental treatments by severely ill patients. During the signing ceremony, Trump made a statement that apparently took Washington's healthcare lobbyists by surprise, saying that in two weeks some of the major pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. will "announce voluntary massive drops in prices."
• In recent days, the Chilean Public Health Institute (ISP) announced the recall of 28,300 bottles of amoxicillin for oral suspension 500mg/5mL, which expire in September 2019.

• Per reports on May 27, 2018, security forces have killed more than 70 people as part of their ongoing anti-drug operation, which is being compared to a similar crackdown in the Philippines known as the "war on drugs."
• According to several media reports, cargo robberies in Brazil have tripled in the last three years, especially in the highways across the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

• Per Avast researchers, thousands of Android devices were found to be delivered with pre-installed adware known as "Cosiloon;" it was first found in 2016.
• On May 28, 2018, the Bank of Chile, the largest bank operating in the country, declared in a public statement that a virus presumably sent from outside of the country affected the bank's operations.

• On May 28, 2018, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) announced that China's "one size fits all" approach to tackle pollution will be replaced by a more localized one that will minimize economic disruption.
• Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced that it will recall about 4.8 million vehicles from several of its brands in North America, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and RAM, due to a defect that could prevent drivers from deactivating the cruise control.
• The Assistant Secretary of the Guild of Workers of the Subway and Premetro Association (AGTSyP) in Buenos Aires warned that there would be "different measures" taken if workers are not called for a negotiation with Metrovias Company and members of the government.
• On May 29 in Brazil, the Single Federation of Oil Workers (FUP) called for a three-day national strike in which all affiliated oil workers are expected to participate.

• Per reports from India, the fatal Nipah virus (NiV) has killed at least 11 people in Kerala state, while two people suspected to be infected are undergoing treatment in Karnataka state.
• In recent days, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended travelers to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela due to the current scarcity of healthcare supplies and services.

• Per reports last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that the country was considering alternatives to the severe sanctions imposed on Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE Corporation.
• On May 21, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled companies be allowed to require employees to sign away the ability to bring class-action lawsuits over disputes. It is estimated approximately 25 million employees have signed arbitration agreements.
• On May 23, 2018, the United States Department of State (DOS) issued a warning to U.S. citizens in China, that a U.S. government employee in Guangzhou had been the victim of a possible sonic attack

• Per reports on May 23, 2018, technology company Cisco has warned of an imminent cyber-attack through the VPNFilter malware. Over 500,000 routers across 54 countries, a majority of them in Ukraine, have reportedly been hacked.
• Researchers from Microsoft and Google's Project Zero have discovered a new vulnerability in Intel, ARM, and AMD processors.

• Per reports on May 25, 2018, the bailout of Indian banks is "stumbling" as banks record continuous losses.
• On May 23 in Bolivia, more than 100 people in Santa Cruz department took to the streets to protest the increase to the electricity tariffs applied since the beginning of the month. Inhabitants of the city urged the Ministry of Electricity to seek alternative ways to settle production costs and prevent the service from becoming a "luxury good."
• Per reports on May 24, 2018, the number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia has dropped by 785,000 employees in the past 15 months, while the employment rate of Saudi nationals has increased during the same period.
• Per reports on May 21, 2018, fears of a cobalt supply disruption have surfaced amid an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

• On May 14, approximately 10,000 to 12,000 people, mostly women, gathered outside the home of a steel mill owner who was distributing alms ahead of Ramadan in the district of Chittagong, southeast Bangladesh.
• Per media reports on Friday,, the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached urban areas. The virus has been detected in Mbandaka, the north-west city comprising of nearly 1.2 million people.
• In Colombia last week, Puerto Valdivia authorities in the northwestern department of Antioquia confirmed that at least 544 people were evacuated after the Cauca River overflowed and destroyed some houses and damaged public infrastructure.

• On May 14, 2018, U.S.-based clothing and accessories retailer Gap apologized for the "unintentional error" of selling t-shirts reportedly with an incorrect map of China and assured "rigorous reviews" to prevent a repeat of the incident.
• Per reports from Italy, negotiations between the 5-Star Movement and the far-right League parties are coming to an end, and the two parties will highly likely form a governing coalition.
• In a report published on May 13, 2018, the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned UK businesses that they are likely to encounter more corrupt markets and criminal business approaches as they try to expand their business operations outside of the European market.

• Per media reports on May 17, 2018, three critical flaws have been detected in the Cisco Digital Network Architecture (DNA) Center, an open, software-driven platform that integrates innovations in networking software.
• Per media reports, users of the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) have been warned of critical vulnerabilities.'
• On May 16, cyber-security researchers at Motherboard revealed that Securus, a company known for allowing law enforcement customers to live track any phone in the U.S., has been hacked.
• On May 14, 2018, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) acknowledged that in recent days a cyber-attack affected the banking operations in the country. The head Banxico said during a press briefing that "with the information we have so far, we can say that it was a cyber-attack against the application that connects banks in Mexico with Banxico's interbank transfer system (SPEI)."

• Per media reports, over 120 people were kidnapped along the Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road in Kaduna state in northern Nigeria during May 11-15, 2018.
• On May 14, 2018, Ecuador's new Defense Minister announced that the military command configuration along the border with Colombia would be restructured. From now on there will no longer be a Unified Command, but rather a joint task force that will handle all Ecuadorian military deployments under the command of a general.

• Canadian newsprint mill Corner Brook is expanding its export market beyond the U.S. due to high fees. In January, a 10% export duty was placed on the mill.
• In Mexico, several media outlets have reported that scams and cyber-attacks increased at least 47% during 2017 affecting the country's e-commerce industry.
• Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has announced that the National Tax Policy (NTP) committee had drafted five amendment bills and two Executive Orders that will be sent to the Federal Executive Council in the near term.

• On May 11 in the Philippines, judges voted 8-6 against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and removed her from the post following differences with President Rodrigo Duterte over the ongoing "war on drugs."
• In India, opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 has intensified in Assam state's Brahmaputra Valley. The Assamese-majority region's marked difference of opinion in the matter with Bengali-dominated Barak Valley has come to the forefront over concerns of losing their cultural and linguistic identity.
• Last week, hundreds of Chilean students took on the streets of Santiago to demand the end of sexist education, harassment, and "machismo." The demonstrations come after weeks of university closures by students which have been called "feminist seizures" and which have taken place in about a dozen universities in Chile

• On Thursday in Indonesia, five police officials and one imprisoned Islamic militant were killed in a hostage situation during a two-day riot standoff at a high-security prison in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java.
• Local media in Nicaragua have reported that hundreds of students protested in several locations against what they consider excessive use of force by the government during past protests. According to several reports, the students joined the protests that have been occurring during the past weeks.
• Per reports, Shia Muslim worshippers at the Imam Hussain mosque in Ottawa Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal were attacked on May 10.

• Kaspersky Lab has discovered a cyber-spying campaign that targets Android users. Cyber-security researchers stated there are four versions of the malware, known as ZooPark.
• Kaspersky Lab has also identified a new zero-day vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer. According to the report, the exploit does not download automatically to the computer; additionally, users must have Internet Explorer browser open for the malicious webpage to be launched.
• The Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced the repeal of net neutrality due to the Restoring Internet Freedom Order taking effect on June 11, 2018.