Political and economic unrest also remains unabated in Africa where countries are rocked by the power struggle between political factions, ethnic tension and terrorism by violent extremist groups. In South Sudan, the clash between federal government forces and opposition forces in July 2016 ended in bloodshed, causing as many as 150 casualties. In countries like Nigeria, Somalia and Mali, acts of terrorism by violent extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab are recurrent. 2. Transnational and non-military Threats Compound security Uncertainties Terrorist acts by ISIL and other violent extremist groups are spreading fear in the international community. ISIL carried out terrorist attacks in Paris, France, in November 2015, in Jakarta, Indonesia, in January 2016, in Brussel, Belgium, in March 2016 and in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 2016, causing the loss of hundreds of innocent lives. ISIL is recruiting foreign combatants and is expanding its influence beyond the Middle East to Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa through active propaganda. Rising cyber-attacks constitute another serious type of transnational threat. There have been various cases where computing systems of not only private-sector firms but also government institutions are infiltrated causing serious system failure or system collapse. The hacking of Sony Pictures by North Korea in November 2014 and the Bangladesh Bank cyber-heist in February 2016 are two major examples that alerted the global community to the dangers of cyber-threats. Accelerated efforts are currently underway in countries around the world to develop a response strategy to cyber-threats. The spread of new types of infectious diseases has emerged as a cause of acute concern to the global community. The Ebola virus epidemic in 2013 was followed in 2015 by the outbreak of MERS which rapidly spread to twenty-six countries, with cases of infection found in seventy-one countries according to the latest report. The UN Security Council and the wider international community have recognized infectious diseases as a major security threat6) and are working toward building response capabilities to this new threat. Global warming and other climate change effects are causing natural disasters and calamities around the globe. The April 2015 Nepal earthquake, April 2016 earthquake in Japan and Hurricane Matthew that struck Haiti in October 2016 clearly show that there is a limitation in the capabilities of the afflicted nations to carry out swift and effective recovery efforts. 6) in UN Security Council resolution 2177, adopted on September 18, 2014, it is stated that “the unprecedented extent of the ebola outbreak in africa constitutes a threat to international peace and security.’ 10 Chapter 1 Changes and Challenges in the Security environment