Portal:Current events/2014 July 7

Current events of July 7, 2014 (2014-07-07) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • Minister of Defense of Ukraine Valeriy Heletey says that special forces have retaken the city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk from armed insurgents. (Presidental administration)
  • Ukrainian forces retake Artemivsk and Druzhkivka from pro-Russian armed separatists. (BBC)
• Gaza–Israel conflict and Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Nine Palestinian militants are killed in overnight Israel Air Force bombing raids including seven Hamas members. Over 20 rockets and shells were fired at Israel over the past 5 days, including 50 today. (Haaretz)
• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal)
  • Sittings of the Council of Representatives of Iraq are postponed for five weeks as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces kill an Iraqi Army general on the outskirts of Baghdad. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• A Russian-made Mil Mi-8 crashes in the Thạch Thất District of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi with 16 people dead. (AFP via GlobalPost), (BBC)
• 2014 Pacific typhoon season
  • Japan braces for the impact of Typhoon Neoguri which is expected to hit Okinawa and then Kyushu on Tuesday. (Market Watch)
• A strong 6.9 magnitude earthquake hits southern Mexico and Guatemala causing at least three deaths. (Wall Street Journal)

International relations

• Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, says that if allegations that a German intelligence officer was working for the United States are true, it would be a "clear contradiction" of trust between allies. (AP via US News and World Report)

Law and crime

• An antitrust trial begins pitting the U.S. Justice Department against American Express over tactics the latter have employed in the credit card market. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Afghan presidential election, 2014
  • A preliminary count indicates that former finance minister Ashraf Ghani is favourite to win the election. (Euronews)
• Senegal's president Macky Sall appoints his close aid Mohammed Ben Abdallah Dionne as the third prime minister in Sall's time in office, following the resignation of Aminata Touré. (AlJazeera)
• Thousands rally in Nairobi against the President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta's rule. (AP)