Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Akira Amari told reporters in Atlanta progress had been made on a number of sticking points in the agreement - including dairy, a crucial issue for New Zealand. "There was major progress over the outstanding issues of pharmaceuticals, dairy products and place-of-origin rules for automobiles," he said. (NZ Herald News http://bit.ly/1PYVief)

Afghan hospital bombing investigation underway….U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter pledged on Sunday a full and transparent investigation of the U.S. air strike at a hospital in northern Afghanistan that left at least 22 people dead on Saturday. (VOA http://bit.ly/1KV1enf)

More bombings...The United States and its allies carried out 16 airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq on Saturday, a U.S. military statement said. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1PYU6aM)

Stat of the Day: The number of people living in extreme poverty around the world is likely to fall to under 10 percent of the global population in 2015, according to World Bank projections released today, giving fresh evidence that a quarter-century-long sustained reduction in poverty is moving the world closer to the historic goal of ending poverty by 2030. (World Bank http://bit.ly/1LcE5OL)

At least eight people died in shootings in Burundi's capital Bujumbura overnight, an administrator said, and explosions rang out in several districts, the latest in a series of attacks to hit the city since a disputed presidential election. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1PYRFVI)

Suspected Islamist militants from Nigeria's Boko Haram group killed three civilians and a soldier in a double suicide attack across the border in Niger on Sunday, security sources said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1PYRGcf)

Buses to Burundi from neighbouring Rwanda used to be full, but nowadays they struggle for passengers: a reflection of tensions amid accusations Kigali is backing a rebellion against Bujumbura. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1Lczufl)

Guinea-Bissau's president on Saturday accused the new prime minister of overstepping his constitutional bounds by claiming the right to name the cabinet, suggesting a months-old political crisis in the coup-prone West African state is not over. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1LcwZd5)

Central African Republic's interim President Catherine Samba-Panza called on Saturday for a tougher mandate for the U.N. mission, MINUSCA, and the disarmament of militias and rebels after more than 40 people were killed in the capital of Bangui. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1Lcx1S3)


Almost 200 migrants from North and sub-Saharan Africa were rescued overnight as they tried to reach southern Spain in makeshift vessels, Spanish coastal rescue officials said Sunday. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1KV25nU)

The bodies of at least 95 migrants have been found washed ashore in Libya over the past five days, a spokesman for Libya's Red Crescent said Sunday. (AP http://yhoo.it/1j8zym7)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that "military efforts" were needed in Syria but they would not be enough to end four years of bloodshed in the war-scarred country. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1KV24QU)

British Prime Minister David Cameron signaled that he would push ahead with plans for a vote in the British parliament to approve military action against Islamic State militants in Syria, The Daily Telegraph newspaper said. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1KV2B5A)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said a coalition of Iran, Iraq, Russia and Syria had to prevail in his country's civil war or else Syria might not survive, Iranian state television reported. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1LczsnH)

At a military facility outside Bangkok, a drill sergeant barks orders at a group of film students learning the hard way that creative license has its limits in Thailand. (AP http://yhoo.it/1LczprX)

Myanmar's firebrand Buddhist monk Wirathu has openly endorsed President Thein Sein's ruling party in the Nov. 8 general election, saying Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party was "full of themselves" and unlikely to win the vote. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1LcztIq)

Thousands of Myanmar's nationalist monks and their supporters prayed, clapped and held speeches at a large rally in the country's biggest city on Sunday, in a show of growing clout of radical Buddhists ahead of a Nov. 8 election. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1Lczz2w)

The Guatemalan authorities say the number of people killed when a hillside collapsed on houses in the village of El Cambray, 9 miles outside the capital, has risen to 96. (CNN http://bbc.in/1RpFfqW)

Mexico's government human rights commission says it has opened an investigation into complaints that a Venezuelan official was stopped by Mexican authorities and questioned at a Mexican airport Saturday while traveling on official business. (AP http://yhoo.it/1LcAn7B)

Shaker Aamer, the last British resident held in Guantanamo Bay who is due to be freed in weeks, has said he is on hunger strike and may not make it out alive, the Mail on Sunday reported Sunday. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1Lczqw3)

Record rainfall left large areas of the US southeast under water Sunday as roads were closed and residents were warned to stay indoors. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1RpHk6j)

Bermuda was lashed Sunday by gusting winds and pelting rains from a weakening Hurricane Joaquin as its spinning center tracked just west of the wealthy financial haven and tourist destination after plowing through the Bahamas as a major storm. (AP http://yhoo.it/1LczvQv)

The EU's border agency chief has pleaded for radical changes to the way Europe is dealing with its migrant crisis as he revealed 630,000 people have entered the bloc illegally so far this year. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1RpHj2a)

German authorities expect up to 1.5 million asylum seekers to arrive in Germany this year, the Bild daily said in a report to be published on Monday, up from a previous estimate of 800,000 to 1 million. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1Vzdcpp)

Visualizing gun deaths - Comparing the U.S. to rest of the world (Humanosphere http://bit.ly/1LcClos)

The Hypocrisy of ‘Helping’ the Poor (NY Times http://nyti.ms/1KV0VJb)

How Competitive Is Your Country? (VOA http://bit.ly/1PdLizu)

MissionCreep #10: Jargon, mentoring and festivals (WhyDev http://bit.ly/1PdNVBD)

Why we need to buy in to the World Humanitarian Summit NOW (Aid Leap http://bit.ly/1RpIazS)

Dependency is dead! (FAO http://bit.ly/1RpIf6A)

J’accuse: Laying Poverty Blame Where It Belongs (Development Truths http://bit.ly/1PYWgHx)

Contextually Comparative: A Conundrum? (HURDL http://bit.ly/1j8AIOi)

The Imperfect Trial of Congo’s ‘Terminator’ (Foreign Policy http://atfp.co/1PYWr5x)

An Unguarded Malala Is The Perfect Talk Show Guest (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/1PYWsqb)

Good video explaining the #WormWars (A View from the Cave http://bit.ly/1RpIIpp)

Easterly on the SDGs: utopian and worthless (DevPolicy http://bit.ly/1LcC1Gk)

If You're Poor, There's No Way To Save Money, Right? Wrong! (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/1RpIRJF)

Editorial

Demand Equity

DAWNS Digest: Major Pacific trade deal (TPP) not quite done

By Mark Leon Goldberg  and  Tom Murphy