Monday, July 14 2014
US/IRAN
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister have had a “serious and potentially lengthy conversation” in attempt for an agreement to Iran’s nuclear programme. (The Guardian)
SYRIA
On Monday, the UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution for authorize humanitarian aid to rebel-held areas of Syria without government approval.
The aid shipments will travel through four different border crossings – two in Turkey, one in Iraq and another in Jordan. (Reuters)
EGYPT
On Sunday night, eight person have been killed in two rocket attacks in the northern Sinai peninsula. (BBC)
Tuesday, July 15 2014
EUROPE
Jean-Claude Juncker has been elected as President of the European Commission with 422 votes.
He will replaces Jose Manual Barroso of Portugal in November. (BBC)
ISRAEL/GAZA STRIP
After Hamas rejected the Egyptian truce plan, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to ramp up Israel’s military campaign against Gaza. He said that Israel has “no choice” and the Operation Protective Edge launched on 8 July will continue. (Ansamed)
LIBYA
After two days of fighting between liberal and Islamist militias , the Tripoli International Airport is out of action. 90 percent of planes parked there have been destroyed, said the government spokesman Ahmed Lamine. (Al Arabiya)
US/IRAN
After three days of talks in Viennawith the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, Iran looks to prolonging nuclear talks beyond a July 20 deadline.
The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said “There has been tangible progress on key issues” but “there are very real gaps on other key issues.” (AlJazeera)
Wednesday, July 16 2014
ISRAEL/ GAZA STRIP
Four Palestinian boys were killed and wounded several others in Israeli shelling of Gaza beach.
“The kids were playing on the beach. They were all … under the age of15” a witness said. “When the first shell hit land, they ran away but another shell hit them all”. (Al Akhbar)
NETHERLANDS/BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA
A Hague court has ruled that the Netherlands is civilly liable for the deportation of 300 Bosnian Muslim men and boys killed at Srebrenica in Bosnia-Hercegovina in July1995 by Serb forces.
The 300 were those sheltering in the headquarters of the Dutch battalion.
The Srebrenica massacre is considered Europe’s worst since World War Two. (The Independent)
GERMANY/UKRAINE
The Chancellor Angela Merkel said “Russia has been insufficient in meeting expectations” on steps to end the fighting and Europe might choose to increase sanctions. (Ansa)
SYRIA
President Bashar al Assad was sworn in for a new seven- year term, at a ceremony in his palace in Damascus after an election victory that underlined his grip on power. (AlJazeera)
Thursday, July 17 2014
EUROPE
The summit of EU leaders in Brussels has ended without agreement on who should get the prestigious job as the 28-nation bloc’s new foreign policy chief and European Council president.
A new summit will be held on 30 August. (Euronews)
TUNISIA
At least 14 Tunisian soldiers have been killed in a militant attack near the Algerian border. (Reuters)
UKRAINE/RUSSIA
A Malaysia Airlines jet departed from Amsterdam at 12.14am local time bound for Kuala Lumpur, has been brought down over eastern Ukraine killing all 298 people aboard.
Ukraine accused “terrorists” – fighters aiming to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia – of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with a Soviet-era SA-11 ground-to-air missile. (The Independent)
ISRAEL/GAZA STRIP
Israel launched a ground offensive against Hamas. Tanks and troops have entered in Gaza Strip after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a ground invasion, a major escalation in a ten-day offensive that has already killed more than 250 Palestinians. (Euronews)
Three Palestinian children were killed in an Israelishelling. They were playing on the roof when an airstrike hit their home. (The Daily Star)
SYRIA
The fighters from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) took control of a Syrian gas field near the UNESCO World Heritage site Palmyra. (Ansamed)
Friday, July 18 2014
ITALY
An Italian appeals court has cleared the Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of all charges in the Rubygate case, in which he was accused of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and abusing his power to try to cover up the affair.
“The verdict goes beyond our rosiest predictions,” said Franco Coppi, one of Berlusconi’s defence lawyers. (Ansa)
US/RUSSIA
The US President Barack Obama said that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 carrying 298 people was shot down by a surface-to-air missile from an area in Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
“This is an outrage of unspeakable proportions,” Obama said.(Reuters)
ISRAEL/GAZA STRIP
Israel was reducing the diplomatic presence in Turkey after the protesters draped Palestinian flags on the ambassador’s residence in Ankara. (Reuters)
Pope Francis has demanded an immediate ceasefire in a phone call with Israeli President Shimon Peres and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas. (Ansamed)
