The United Nations approves a small arms treaty;  Vladimir Putin’s bro-mance with his closest political ally appears to be over; and China’s extra-chunky air is blamed for millions of deaths.

The UN General assembly approved an historic Arms Control Treaty covering everything from Handguns up to Tanks.  The treaty was adopted despite “no” votes from Syria, Iran, and North Korea.  In the US, The National Rifle Association opposes it claiming it will infringe on gun rights (it won’t), putting the NRA in the company of Bashar al-Assad, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Kim Jong-un.

Israel launched its first air strike on Gaza since the November truce.  Jets pounded targets in the town of Beit Lahiya in retaliation for militants firing two mortar shells earlier in the day.  Four rockets were fired into Israel during US President Barack Obama’s visit two weeks ago.

Brazil’s former President Lula da Silva is backing ruling party candidate Nicolas Maduro ahead of Venezuela's presidential election.  Although he clearly waded into Venezuela’s political waters, Silva claimed he didn’t want to meddle in another country’s affairs.  Silva and the late Hugo Chavez were close allies and the two nations share close trade ties.

Police in Brazil have arrested a third suspect in the rape of an American woman aboard a minibus in Rio de Janeiro.  Her credit cards and those of another tourist on the vehicle were stolen and used by the assailants.  The attack highlights concerns about Brazil’s high crime rate before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.  Some critics say the Rio Police’s swift reaction highlights the uneven treatment that Brazil’s poor get from law enforcement.

Air pollution is being blamed for at least 1.2 million premature deaths in China every year.  Concern has been growing, especially with this year’s choking smog that covered much of the basin with the capital city Beijing, which then blew over Japan and browned the sky there for a couple of days.  Two-thirds of all of the world’s air pollution deaths occur in Asia, most in China.

Am old-school putsch in the Kremlin?  Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev appears to have fallen out of favor with President Vladimir Putin.  Attacks on Medvedev as a weak leader are appearing from all angles in the Kremlin.  A documentary film called “Game at Giveaway”, released on the Internet, is the harshest commentary, calling for Medvedev’s court-martial.  In the past, the two leaders appeared to be forever on the same page, with the loyal Medvedev supporting pretty much everything Putin ever did.

Putin is ordering his government officials to get their money out of foreign banks, or face dismissal.  They have until 1 July to get it done.  Lawmakers in Russia’s lower house got bogged down in passing the new rule, so Putin ended up ordering it by decree (presumably shirtless, wrestling a tiger with one arm while simultaneously piloting a MiG with the other).