July, 2017

• 21 July

  US warns South Sudan regional plan is last chance for peace

  The United States warned on Thursday that a new regional plan to shore up South Sudan’s failing peace agreement was the last chance for Juba’s leaders to end the war, now in its fourth year. US Deputy Ambassador Michele Sison told the UN Security Council that Washington will reconsider its …

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• 21 July

  Egypt forces kill 30 extremists in Sinai

  Egyptian forces have killed 30 extremists during several days of security operations in the Sinai Peninsula involving the army, air force and police, the military said on Saturday. The Egyptian authorities are battling an insurgency by the Islamic State (ISIS) group in North Sinai that has killed hundreds of members …

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• 20 July

  Ram Nath Kovind elected as new India President

  Ram Nath Kovind, the son of a modest farmer, secured two-thirds of the votes from nearly 5,000 legislators. India’s legislators have elected Ram Nath Kovind, a member of Hinduism’s most oppressed caste, as the country’s 14th president—a triumph for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which nominated him. A total of 4,895 …

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• 20 July

  US welcomes UAE anti-terror steps

  The US State Department on Wednesday released the Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, where it highlighted the UAE’s increased counterterrorism efforts. “The nation increased its counter-terrorism prosecutions in the last year, with the Federal Supreme Court’s State Security Court hearing more than three dozen separate terrorism-related cases,” it said.

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• 20 July

  Iraqi forces recapture village in Mosul

  Iraqi forces on Thursday regained control over Imam Gharbi, a village south of Mosul, from Daesh militants who had seized it as their defence of their stronghold in the city crumbled, Iraqi police said. The action formed part of the next phase of the US-backed government’s campaign to drive Daesh …

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• 20 July

  Czech FM: EU military role in Libya to reduce migrants

  The Czech Republic’s foreign minister has suggested that the European Union consider a military engagement in Libya to reduce the flow of migrants arriving by boat from there to Europe. Lubomir Zaoralek says that “we must speak very openly what the real instruments are to stabilize Libya.” He told the …

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• 20 July

  UN to close five bases in eastern DRC

  Five UN peacekeepers’ bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo are to close at the end of July, the UN mission there announced on Wednesday, describing it as a change in operational style. But the closures come against the background of cuts to the overall peacekeeping budget pushed through under …

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• 19 July

  EU, Lebanon discuss political solution for Syria

  EU High Representative Federica Mogherini met with the Lebanese foreign minister Affairs Gebran Bassil Tuesday and discussed the Syrian crisis and its consequences on Lebanon. “We discussed in particular the Syrian crisis, the impact in Lebanon; We continue to be on the same side here agreeing that only a political …

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• 19 July

  EU increases support to Int'l investigation into war crimes in Syria

  The European Union (EU) announced on Wednesday that it will provide 1.5 million euro (USD 1.7 mn) to support the International Independent Mechanism to Facilitate Investigations into the Most Serious Violations of International Law committed in Syria since March 2011. “Achieving justice for the victims is essential for a genuine …

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• 19 July

  Over 40 IS terrorists killed by Iraqi airstrikes

  A total of 47 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Monday in Iraqi airstrikes in and near the IS-held town of Tal Afar in west of Mosul, the Iraqi military said. Iraqi jets conducted airstrikes on an IS post in the IS-held town of Mahalabiyah near the IS stronghold …

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