Monday, 6th July 2015
GREECE – Greek voters have overwhelmingly rejected international creditors’ tough bailout terms, leading to fears that the cash-strapped nation was on its way out of the Eurozone. Voters had been asked on Sunday whether to accept or reject the country’s multibillion-euro bailout deal with the European Union that called for more austerity in exchange for rescue loans. (Al Jazeera)
IRAQ – An oil-sales deal between Iraq and the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government is close to collapse about six months after it was signed, undermining the country’s unity as it struggles to fight Islamic State and contain an escalating financial crisis. (The Wall Street Journal)
TUNISIA – Tunisia’s President has declared a state of emergency just over a week after an ISIS gunman slaughtered 38 people on a popular holiday resort. It temporarily gives the Government the power to restrict certain freedoms such as people’s right to protest and it also grants the police and army more authority. (Daily Mail)
Tuesday, 7th July 2015
GREECE – Greece’s outspoken Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, resigned on Monday under pressure from his Government and his country’s creditors, who both identified him as an obstacle to productive talks about a new bailout deal. (The Wall Street Journal)
ISRAEL – Israel accused Hamas on Tuesday of supporting last week’s assaults by Islamic State affiliates on Egyptian forces in the Sinai in hope of freeing up arms smuggling to the Gaza Strip. The remarks followed Israeli allegations that Hamas members provided training and medical treatment for the Sinai insurgents – charges dismissed by the Palestinian Islamist group as a bid to further fray its troubled ties with Cairo. (Reuters)
Wednesday, 8th July 2015
GREECE – Greek banks will remain closed until July 13 and a 60-euro per day ATM withdrawal limit will remain in force, the Greek Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. The Government ordered the banks to close their doors on Monday, June 29, after the collapse of negotiations on an international aid deal. (Reuters)
ISLAMIC STATE – Seven weeks after their frenetic retreat from Ramadi, Iraqi security forces are preparing to mount a counteroffensive in the coming weeks to try to reclaim the pivotal western Iraqi city from the Islamic State, American and Iraqi officials say. (The New York Times)
Thursday, 9th July 2015
EGYPT –Egypt’s Government is seeking approval for a controversial antiterrorism law that could grant police wider powers, speed up trials and imprison journalists whose reports on attacks stray from the Government line. The legislation follows deadly terrorist attacks that have shaken the regime and according to the Government is needed to combat the violence that has plagued the country since the ousting of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. (Financial Times)
GREECE – When Greece infuriated its creditors by abandoning bailout talks and instead calling a national referendum, the most blistering German condemnation came not from Chancellor Angela Merkel or her tough Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble. Instead, it was voiced by Sigmar Gabriel, the leader of the center-left Social Democrats, who told the Tagesspiegel newspaper that Greek premier Alexis Tsipras had “pulled down the last bridges over which Europe and Greece could have moved to a compromise”. (Financial Times)
MIGRANTS CRISIS – European Union Governments are nearing an agreement on how to redistribute migrants who have been flooding European shores in increasing numbers, officials are expected to announce on Thursday. (The Wall Street Journal)
UNITED KINGDOM – The primary role of the Royal Navy ship that is leading Britain’s contribution to saving lives in the Mediterranean is not search and rescue, but to gather intelligence on people smugglers, according to the Immigration Minister. (The Guardian)
Friday, 10th July 2015
GERMANY – The parties in Angela Merkel’s coalition Government sent conflicting signals on the latest reform proposals from Greece on Friday, underscoring the challenge for the German chancellor before a pivotal summit of EU leaders this weekend. Leading Social Democrats (SPD) welcomed concessions from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on taxes, pensions, defense spending and privatization, saying the measures showed his Government was finally getting serious about reform. (Reuters)
GREECE – Greece is under intense pressure to table a last-chance blueprint for radical economic reform, tax increases and spending cuts on Thursday in order to secure a future in the Euro and stave off financial collapse. (The Guardian)
