Monday, 22nd September 2014
LIBYA – Libya’s elected parliament approved on Monday a new cabinet proposed by Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani. (Reuters)
TURKEY – More than 130,000 Syrian Kurds fleeing an advance by ISIS militants have crossed intoTurkeyin the past three days and the authorities are preparing for more, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on Monday. (Reuters)
Tuesday, 23rd September 2014
ISIS CRISIS – The US military has launched its first air strikes against ISIS militants in Syria supported by a coalition of five Arab states, the Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday. (The Independent)
YEMEN – Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Manṣūr Hādī has vowed to restore state authority and warned of a “civil war” in the Sunni-majority country as Shia rebels were seen in near-total control of the capital, Sana’a. “Sana’a is facing a conspiracy that will lead towards civil war”, Hādī said in a speech at the presidential palace on Tuesday, two days after the rebels took control of all other key state institutions in the capital, overshadowing a UN-brokered peace deal. (Al Jazeera)
ISRAEL – Israelshot down a Syrian warplane on Tuesday, saying the aircraft crossed the battle lines of Syria’s civil war and flew over the Israeli-held Golan Heights, perhaps by accident. (Reuters)
Wednesday, 24th September 2014
LYBIA – Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani has ordered “a general mobilization of the armed forces at the request of the people of Tripoli to free the capital from the Islamic militias of Operation Alba (Faraj)”. The government led by al-Thani had been confirmed one day prior in a parliament vote of confidence. (ANSAmed)
SYRIA – As the United States and its allies pounded Islamist militants inSyriawith airstrikes, Washington and members of the so-called “Friends of Syria Group” on Wednesday pledged more than $90 million in new funds for non-lethal and humanitarian assistance. (Reuters)
QATAR – Qatar, which provided support for US-led airstrikes inSyriathis week, urged the international community to confront the Syrian regime, highlighting pressure by some of Washington’s Gulf Arab allies to widen its campaign against ISIS. (Reuters)
Thursday, 25th September 2014
PALESTINE – The two main Palestinian factions, Fataḥ and Ḥamās, have reached a “comprehensive” agreement that would turn over the civil administration of Gaza immediately to officials of a Palestinian unity government led by President Mahmoud Abbas. (The Guardian)
IRAN – Iran President Hassan Rouhani blamed the rise of the ISIS and other militants on the mistakes of the West and said the solution to stopping them must come from the Middle East. “The strategic blunders of the West in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus have turned these parts of the world into a haven for terrorists and extremists”, he said in a speech to the 193-memberUNGeneral Assembly. (The Guardian)
SPAIN – The leader of Catalonia plans to sign a decree on Saturday formally calling for a vote on independence from Spain. The move by Catalan leader Artur Mas would schedule the vote for November 9, as previously announced. Spain’s government has already said it plans to seek a court injunction blocking the referendum, and has vowed not to allow it. (The Wall Street Journal)
Friday, 26th September 2014
UKRAINE – Proclaiming that “the main, most dangerous part of the war is already in the past”, President Petro Porochenko of Ukraine said on Thursday that his office was in constant communication with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to sustain a truce in eastern Ukraine, and that Ukraine was now looking ahead to pursue membership in the European Union. (The New York Times)
EGYPT – Egypthas accused Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of supporting terrorists and seeking to provoke mayhem in the Middle East after he questioned the legitimacy of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in a speech at the UN General Assembly. (Reuters)
PALESTINE – There is no value in peace talks withIsraelunless the goal is ending its 47-year occupation of the Palestinian territories within a “firm timetable”, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly on Friday. (The Guardian)
