The unrest in southern Iraq is sending nervous jitters in Kuwait, as bloody protests in neighbouring Basra province continue to spread over poor government services and corruption and inch closer to the border. Source: The New Arab
Pivot Countries
At least five people have been killed since the beginning of protests in southern Iraq’s oil hub earlier this month, as security forces respond with a hard hand while thousands continue to take to the streets over rising unemployment and chronically lacking public services. Source: Oil Price
A senior Iranian oil official urged U.S. President Donald Trump not to use the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to push prices lower, and instead drop sanctions on Iran’s crude exports. Source: Bloomberg
The Syrian army and its allies have taken control of a strategic hill overlooking the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as it pushes forward with an offensive to seize the remaining parts of the southwest from rebels, state tv and rebels said on Monday. Source: Reuters
The US said it would impose “unprecedented financial pressure on Iran.” The refusal to grant EU businesses an exemption for Iran sanctions pushes Europe and the US further down a collision course over ties to Tehran. Source: Deutsche Welle
Turkey’s plans to buy the Russian S-400 missile defense system would give a weapon used by “known foes” of NATO deep insight into the radar-evading F-35 fighter jets arriving in growing numbers in Europe, the top U.S. Air Force general in Europe said. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Evidence is mounting that Saudi Arabia is heeding U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for OPEC to keep the oil market amply supplied and rein in prices. Source: Bloomberg
The unrest in southern Iraq is sending nervous jitters in Kuwait, as bloody protests in neighbouring Basra province continue to spread over poor government services and corruption and inch closer to the border. Source: The New Arab
A senior Iranian oil official urged U.S. President Donald Trump not to use the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to push prices lower, and instead drop sanctions on Iran’s crude exports. Source: Bloomberg
Shopkeepers and restaurant owners on Paris’s emblematic Champs-Élysées Avenue boarded up their businesses ahead of the French national team’s victory parade on Monday afternoon fearing a repeat of Sunday night’s violence and looting. Source: The Local
The Syrian army and its allies have taken control of a strategic hill overlooking the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as it pushes forward with an offensive to seize the remaining parts of the southwest from rebels, state tv and rebels said on Monday. Source: Reuters
France erupted in joy after winning the World Cup on Sunday but scenes of joy turned to violence on the Champs Elysees in Paris where youths looted a store and clashed with police. At least two men died in accidents during the celebrations. Source: The Local
A German federal police report says that deportation orders were up 17 percent, but that actual deportations were down 4 percent. Meanwhile, the labor minister argues that some of those being deported shouldn’t be. Source: Deutsche Welle
Turkey’s plans to buy the Russian S-400 missile defense system would give a weapon used by “known foes” of NATO deep insight into the radar-evading F-35 fighter jets arriving in growing numbers in Europe, the top U.S. Air Force general in Europe said. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
All of the 450 migrants aboard two EU border agency boats have disembarked in Sicily after disputes over which countries would take in the rescued migrants. Source: The Local
Germany’s foreign minister said on Monday Europe could not rely on Donald Trump and needed to close ranks after the U.S. president called the European Union a “foe” with regard to trade. Source: The New York Times
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday “Italy has a backlog of 500,000 illegal immigrants and if we don’t manage to expel more than 10,000 a year we’ll take 50 years to make up for the past”. He said there had been “no concrete results” from EU initiatives in Africa. Source Ansa
For three nights straight, there have been riots between African migrants and the French police in the city of Nantes. The riots began after the police stopped and shot an alleged criminal, named Abubakar. Wednesday the police declared that they shot the African young man in self-defence after he tried to overrun a police officer.
At least five people have been killed since the beginning of protests in southern Iraq’s oil hub earlier this month, as security forces respond with a hard hand while thousands continue to take to the streets over rising unemployment and chronically lacking public services. Source: Oil Price
Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said during a visit to Moscow on Monday that he wanted to see EU sanctions against Russia dropped “by the end of the year”. Source: The Local
EU-China relations took a symbolic step forward in Beijing on Monday (16 July) when leaders agreed on a joint statement that includes trade and climate issues – something they failed to achieve a year ago at a previous summit in Brussels. Source: EUobserver
The European Union’s top officials arrive in Japan Tuesday to sign the single market’s biggest trade deal ever and present a united front as Washington upends the international trade order. Source: Agence France Presse
The US said it would impose “unprecedented financial pressure on Iran.” The refusal to grant EU businesses an exemption for Iran sanctions pushes Europe and the US further down a collision course over ties to Tehran. Source: Deutsche Welle
Evidence is mounting that Saudi Arabia is heeding U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for OPEC to keep the oil market amply supplied and rein in prices. Source: Bloomberg
Russia is getting ready to invest US$50 billion in Iran’s oil and gas industry as the two countries continue to seek closer ties, just as the United States is looking to cut as much Iranian crude oil exports from the market as possible. Source: Oil Price
Demonstrations which began in Basra have extended to Najaf, Nasiriya, Baghdad and Amara, where two protesters died. Protests against high unemployment, poor government services and corruption that began in Basra have extended to several other Iraqi cities, including Najaf, Amara, Nasiriya and Baghdad. Source Middle East Eye
On July 13, special forces from the counterterrorism unit arrived in Basra to protect the oil companies and oil fields in the province. Equipment from the oil fields has also been stolen in the ongoing protests, but demonstrators managed to arrest eight of the perpetrators on July 11, handing them over to the authorities in an exchange of confidence between the protesters and security forces. Source Al Monitor
The US secretary of state has called on European allies to take a harsher stance against Iran, which he accused of violating UN resolutions, as some of Tehran’s biggest oil customers appear to be succumbing to the US pressure. Source: Al Jazeera
Saudi Arabia intends to invest as much as $10 billion in South Africa’s economy, with a focus on energy. The commitment was made during a state visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the Middle Eastern nation, his spokeswoman Khusela Diko said by phone on Thursday. Officials from Saudi Arabia will take part in an investment summit in October in South Africa when they are expected to give more detail about the planned spending, she said.Source: Bloomberg
