Monday, 7th April 2014
HUNGARY – Sunday’s parliamentary elections ended with the victory of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, well known for his hostility to the European Union, though the results are not official. His party will gain 134 over 199 seats in the Parliament. (EuroNews)
SOMALIA: Two UN operators, one French and one English, were killed at the airport of Galkayo from armed men. Galkayo is situated along the border, in an area populated by jihadists. (Le Monde)
UKRAINE: Pro-Russian activists occupied government buildings in the city of Dontesk and proclaimed a “popular democracy”, affirming their willingness to hold a referendum on regional sovereignty in May. Pro-Russian activists remain also in control of security service headquarters in in the eastern Ukrainian region of Lugansk. According to Ukraine’s President, Olexander Turchynov, these events reflect Russia’s attempt of intervention and influence on national issues. (The Guardian)
Tuesday, 8th April 2014
LIBYA – Libya’s Parliament asked the Prime Minister Abdullah Al- Thinni to form a new government within one week. The Government had previously asked for more powers face to the turmoil and security problems – with the rebels, in particular- following to Gaddafi’s removal and death. (Al Jazeera)
ISRAEL AND PALESTINE – Israeli High Court confirmed military decision to ban a Gaza Olympian from a marathon in West Bank. Restrictions to freedom of movement of people have been enforced after Hamas took control of the Palestinian territories in 2007. (Al Jazeera)
EGYPT – Human rights activists alarmed by Egyptian Court’s sentence condemning four men to up to 8 years for homosexual acts. These are not formally forbidden by law and the decision represents an “increasing crackdown on individual freedoms after Morsi’s removal”. (BBC)
Wednesday, 9th April 2014
SPAIN – Spanish Members of Parliament (MPs) have voted against a request by the Catalan authorities to hold a referendum on independence on 9th November 2014. The economic crisis is one of the causes behind the nationalist-oriented request by the Catalans. (BBC)
AFRICA AND EUROPE – the Ebola virus, which broke out on February in Guinea, has started spreading also in European airports where the alert has been launched. The virus has already caused 152 victims in Guinea, 101 of which mortal. (Euronews)
ITALY – Italian Internal Affairs Minister, Angelino Alfano, launches an appeal to the EU for requesting help concerning the immigration problem. In fact, during the last 48 hours, more than 4000 immigrants reached Italy’s shores by boat. (The Guardian)
Thursday, 10th April 2014
GREECE – A day before Merkel’s visit to Greece, a bomb exploded in front of the Greek Central Bank, not far from the ‘Troika’ offices (UE, BCE, IMF). The explosion took place also in the same day of Greece’s return into the bonds market. (NY Times)
ISRAEL AND PALESTINE: Hours after Israel’s decision of a partial closure of every contact with Palestine, The Arab league agreed to provide Palestine a monthly reimbursement of 100 million dollars. (Al Jazeera)
LIBYA– a Libya’s crude oil terminal is going to be re-opened next week after nine months of closure due to the rebels’ blockade. (Al Jazeera)
Friday, 11th April 2014
PALESTINE – Swiss government allows Palestinians to join the Geneva conventions after Israel’s failure in the releasing of Palestinian prisoners by March. Moreover, The United Nations has accepted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ request to join several UN agencies and conventions. (The Washington Post and Al Jazeera)
ISRAEL – Israel imposes new sanctions on Palestine after the failure of a new round of talks – mediated by John Kerry. The Israeli authority decided to witheld tax revenues of the Palestinian authority following the signature of UN Human Rights Conventions. (New Straits Times)
UKRAINE – The Ukrainian government sent an ultimatum to the pro-Russian activists occupying the government buildings in Luhansk and Donetsk: if they do not leave the buildings within 48 hours, the government is likely to use the force.The dissidents had already refuse the amnesty offer by President Oleksandr Turchynov. President Vladimir Putin, from his part, warned the Ukrainian government not to take “irreversible actions” meanwhile Russian Foreign Minister tried to lower the tension about the ‘routine military activities’ along the Ukrainian border. (Al Jazeera and AdnKronos)
