Venezuela's National Assembly to meet
Venezuela's freshly elected 545-member National Assembly will have its first official session today. President Nicolas Maduro said the assembly is necessary to give him the powers needed to bring peace to the country, after more than four months of opposition protests punctuated by violent clashes between security forces and hooded demonstrators. More than 120 people have been killed since the unrest began in April.
Experts to share insights on security
Military officers and security experts from around the world are in town for a pow-wow on security matters ranging from fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and terrorism, to defence diplomacy. Speakers for the Asia Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers include those from the United States, China, India and Indonesia. Professor Wang Gungwu of the East Asian Institute will give a lecture on China's responses to a changing world.
US July job data out today
The United States will release its job report today. Payrolls climbed by 222,000 in June, above an upwardly revised 152,000 in May, as employment increased in healthcare, social assistance, financial activities and mining. Last month's figures are expected to fall between the June and May numbers. If last month's report disappoints, it could lessen the odds of an additional interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. It could hit the greenback hard too.