Global Round Ups This Week

· President Vladimir Putin has slammed NATO for what he calls the alliance’s rhetoric and aggression close to Russia's border. Addressing lawmakers, Putin warned that Moscow is being forced to boost its military capacity. He was alluding to NATO’s war games and planned troop deployment in Eastern Europe.

· Spain’s Princess Cristina and her husband are facing the final day of trial on charges of tax fraud and corruption. The trial which began nearly six months ago centers on accusations that Cristina’s husband embezzled more than 6.5 million dollars in public funds.

· Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has released a video showing the arrest of a terror cell. Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi says security forces busted ten terrorists in Tehran and three other provinces. He also says that the suspects had planned to carry out attacks against 50 targets across the country.

· The UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen has voiced concern over a humanitarian crisis in the war-stricken country. More than half of the Yemeni population is living under emergency levels of food insecurity. Jamie McGoldrick has cited import restrictions as one of the reasons behind the worsening food crisis.

· The US has expressed concern after North Korea reportedly fired two missiles over the Sea of Japan. The Pentagon says the projectiles were intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The missiles were fired within hours from each other. Japan has also condemned the move, saying it cannot be tolerated.

· Floods and landslides in Japan have left at least six people dead and one person missing. Hundreds of thousands have been advised to evacuate a wide swath of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island. The flooding came as several thousand people, made homeless by two recent quakes, are living in evacuation centers.

· Two raging bushfires in the US state of California have forced some 800 residents of two cities to flee their homes. More than 600 firefighters worked to contain the blazes near Azusa and Duarte. The fires have cause massive power outages.

· At least 100 people have been killed and scores injured by lightning and torrential rains in various parts of India. Nearly 50 deaths have been reported from the eastern state of Bihar since Tuesday. Dozens of people were also killed in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh.