Monday, June 16 2014
UKRAINE/RUSSIA – After a dispute between the two nations over unpaid bills and after Kiev had missed a Monday morning deadline to repay $1.95 billion owed for previous purchases, Russia has cut off gas to Ukraine.(BBC)
IRAQ – After the ISIL pictures posted on Twitter who apparently show their fighters killing captured Shia soldiers, the UN rights chief accused ISIL for “almost certainly” committed war crimes in Iraq.
US/IRAQ – The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it could cooperate with Tehran and support the Iraq government against a rampage by Sunni Islamist insurgents across Iraq. (The Daily Star)
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phone call to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ to demand for help in the release of the kidnapped youths and the capture of the kidnappers. (The Daily Star)
Tuesday, June 17 2014
UKRAINE – A major pipeline has been hit by a blast in Poltava province in Ukraine. The Trans-Siberian Pipeline was carrying gas from Russia to the rest of Europe. The Gazprom source said that the transit of gas to Europe would not be affected. No one was injured. (BBC)
US/LIBYA – The suspected ringleader of the deadly 2012 attack on an American consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, which left four Americans dead, has been captured in a secret raid. (AlJazeera)
US/IRAQ – 275 soldiers were being deployed on Sunday to Iraq to protect US citizens and property and the embassy in Baghdad and if necessary, for combat announced the President Barack Obama on Tuesday in aletter to Congressional leaders. (Al Akhbar)
ISRAEL – Israel’s military has arrested 200 Palestinians in the West Bank since the since the Jewish seminary students went missing last Thursday.
Members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah condemned the kidnapping and called on Israel and the Palestinians to avoid violence. (Haaretz)
Wednesday, June 18 2014
SPAIN – The King Juan Carlos I handed over to his son Felipe VI of Spain who will formally swear an oath in parliament later on Thursday. It will be the first royal transition in Spain since democracy was restored. (Ansa)
UKRAINE – The Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced a day after a phone conversation with Vladimir Putin that he will soon order a unilateral ceasefire in the separatist east as part of a broader plan to end the crisis. (Ansa)
US/LIBYA – The Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Lassoued, announced that the US military operation to capture the suspected leader of the deadly raid on a US diplomatic post in Benghazi in 2012 has violated Libya’s sovereignty. (The Daily Star)
IRAQ – Militants pressing a major offensive in Iraq attacked the country’s biggest oil refineryin the city of Baiji. (The Guardian)
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Zebari has officially asked Washington to help under the security agreement and to conduct air strikes against terrorist groups,who attacked the country’s main oil refinery. (The Guardian)
A new government has formed in the Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region announcedNechirvan Barzani, the premier of the region’s president. (Al Akhbar)
SYRIA – At least 20 people, mostly children and women, were killed in the attack in the village of Shajra, southern Syria. From March 2011more than 160.000 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict. (The Daily Star)
Thursday, June 19 2014
ISRAEL – The Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians during an arrest raid in the West Bank. During this confrontation three Palestinians suffered bullet wounds. The Israeli army arrested 30 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight against the three Jewish settlers went missing a week ago.
The arrests raised the number of Palestinians to 280. (AlJazeera)
UKRAINE – Petro Poroshenko, the president of Ukraine, made the announcement that he will sign an association agreement with the EU on 27 June. (BBC)
The town of Krasny Liman has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks among the ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (The Daily Star)
SPAIN – After Juan Carlos announced his surprise decision to abdicate and on Wednesday signed legislation, the Crown Prince Felipe ascended to the Spanish throne at midnight Wednesday. (Ansa)
US/IRAQ – President Barack Obama has announced that the US will send 300 military advisers to Iraq to help fight Islamist-led insurgents. He insisted that US troops would not return to combat and US was prepared for “targeted and precise military action” if deemed necessary. (The New York Times)
Friday, June 20 2014
UKRAINE – Ukraine’s president, announced a week-long unilateral ceasefire in the east of the country on Friday, but said the army would fight back in case of a separatist attack.
There was no immediate reaction from separatist leaders, and show no sign of laying down their arms. (BBC)
SYRIA – At least 34 people were killed and more than 50 werewounded in a car bomb attack in Horra village, in central Hama province. (BBC)
ISRAEL – A Palestinian teenager has been killed in clashes with Israeli forces searching for three Israeli teenagers. Israel’s military said had fire after being attacked with rocks and fire bombs. (The Daily Star)
IRAQ – At Baiji, the country’s biggest oil refinery, Islamist-led militants and pro-government forces are engaged in fierce battles. The refinery remained closed. (AlJazeera)