Monday 25th
GERMANY: A 27-year-old Syrian man killed himself and injured 12 others when he detonated a rucksack of explosives outside a music festival in Ansbach, southern Germany. The man was due to be deported to Bulgaria after having his application for asylum turned down. Bavaria’s interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, said his personal opinion was that the attack in Ansbach appeared to have been driven by Islamic extremism, but other authorities cautioned against a rush to judgment. The attack has been claimed by Daesh through a note by the IS news agency Amaq. (ABC)
TURKEY: Turkey ordered the detention of 42 journalists on Monday, under a crackdown following a failed coup that has targeted more than 60,000 people, drawing fire from the European Union. Furthermore has been also ordered the removal of some ambassadors from their posts in connection with the failed military coup, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday in an interview with private broadcaster Haberturk TV. (The Jerusalem Post)
Tuesday 26th
FRANCE: Two men took five hostages at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, close to Rouen. The two men, armed with knives, killed a priest, Jacques Hamel, and wounded three persons before the intervention of the Special Forces. Daesh claimed the responsibility of this attack. One of the two men was just released by prison and was under electronic bracelet control. He was under an indictment after being arrested in March 2015 at the Turkish borders while trying to go fighting in Syria. A person has been taken in custody because in minor connection with one of the terrorist. (Le Figaro)
SPAIN: Spain will receive, predictably, two additional years, until 2018, to lower its deficit below 3%. The adjustments claimed by Brussels therefore be distributed over the next two years and not only in 2017, as expected for months. The Commission, which will meet tomorrow at noon, will also make a decision to make the necessary efforts to achieve its fiscal targets. (El Mundo)
Wednesday 27th
FRANCE: It has been identified the first terrorist who assaulted the Church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Adel Kermiche. The second assailant identification is due on course but the police declared to have already a trail. (Le Figaro)
Since the emergence of terrorism of IE, Le Monde has repeatedly evolved its behaviour in this regard. In particular, it decided not to publish images from the propaganda documents or claim of EI. Following the Nice attack, Le Monde will publish no more photographs or video of the killers, to avoid possible posthumous glorification effects. Other debates about these practices are ongoing. (Le Monde)
ITALY: Monte dei Paschi di Siena, one of the main Italian bank, asked to eight banks to guarantee an increased capital of 5 Billions Euros. This request has been made to reply to the requests of the European Central Bank to strengthen the quality of its balance. The bank is planning to create a consortium with Italian and foreign banks. Monte dei Paschi di Siena will present on Friday 29th the guidelines of this new project. (Reuters)
Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, received his British counterpart Theresa May. The two agreed to work together on the Migration Compact and to give a complex and strong reply to the migration emergency. Matteo Renzi also stated that the two Countries will continue to collaborate. Theresa May assured that even if UK will leave the European Union t will continue to remain anyway part of Europe and that all the Italian residents in United Kingdom will have their rights guaranteed as well as the English residents in Italy. (Agenzia Italiana Stampa Estera- AISE)
WAR ON TERROR: Two Moroccans has been arrested in the province of Savona, in the frame of an investigation linked to terrorism. A third person has been reported. The three men have already criminal records. Furthermore, in the afternoon a Moroccan Imam, Mohammed Madad, resident in Northern Italy, has been expelled on measure of the Ministry of Interior. Madad has been considered dangerous for the security of the State. (La Stampa)
SYRIA: Two explosions have struck a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens. A truck loaded with explosives blew up on the Western edge of the town of Qamishli, near the Turkish border. Minutes later, a motorcycle also packed with explosives blew up in the same area. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack. (Al Jazeera)
Thursday 28th
FRANCE: French President Francois Hollande confirmed that a National Guard would be formed from existing reserve forces to better protect citizens facing terror attacks. Hollande said parliamentary consultations on the formation of the force would take place in September. (The Daily Star- Lebanon)
The second terrorist of the Normandy attack has been formally identified: Nabil Abdel Malik Petitjean, 19. The Paris prosecutor’s office said the boy was labelled as “S” (danger of radicalization) since June 29 for trying to reach Syria via Turkey, according to a source close to the investigation. DNA samples carried on her mother allowed his identification. Several searches were conducted, especially within his mother house in Aix-les-Bains (Savoy) and in the near Montlucon (in the Allier), two cities where he lived with his family. (Le Figaro)
ITALY: The 57 Member Nations of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday elected Italy 2018 as president. Beginning on January 1, Italy will be working closely with Germany which is the 2016 OSCE president, and Austria (2017 president). Italy’s agenda will focus on a solution to the Ukraine crisis, the migrant and refugee crisis, and strengthening the partnership with countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean. (ANSA)
SYRIA: Russia said it had launched a “large-scale humanitarian operation” together with the Syrian regime around the battered city of Aleppo to open humanitarian corridors as the regime came under criticism by a human rights organization on the use of cluster munitions. Three humanitarian corridors were being opened “to aid civilians held hostage by terrorists and for fighters wishing to lay down their arms” and one more corridor to the north of the city for rebels to flee with their weapons. Medical posts and food handouts would be provided along the three corridors intended for civilians and fighters who have put down their weapons. (Asharq Al-awsat)
Friday 29th
GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel doubled down on her pledge that Germany would achieve what she called the “historic” task of integrating hundreds of thousands of migrants, while defending freedom and democracy against the hate sown by terrorists. (The New York Times)
ITALY: Italian banks under glare as EU stress tests results due. The results of stress tests of EU lenders that will show how much money the country’s financial sector, the most troubled in the region, needs to avoid rekindling a eurozone crisis. Of the five big Italian banks being tested by the European Banking Authority, Monte dei Paschi di Siena is most notably expected to come up short. (The Daily Star)
SYRIA: The leader of the al-Nusra Front Abu Mohamad al-Jolani struggled to show a new face of the organization while announcing a decision to end the relationship of al-Nusra’s Syria branch with al-Qaeda. Jolani announced that the group would reorganize itself under a new name. The decision of al-Nusra Front to split from al-Qaeda came following eight months of negotiations. (Asharq Al-awsat)
