July 5 – Europe / Former Soviet Republics:
UKRAINE / RUSSIA
Ukrainian government troops take over the stronghold of the separatists, the town of Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine. The fighters flee to the regional capital of Donetsk. Russia is accused of continuing arming the insurgents and sending Russian citizens to help the separatists. Russian government denies the claims. (July 14): Ukrainian separatists shoot down a military transport aircraft. The Ukrainian government accuses Russia of supplying the rebels with missiles. (July 17): Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam is shot down in eastern Ukraine, in the area held by the separatists, killing all 298 passengers and the crew. It is believed that the rebels hit the plane with a Russian-supplied missile, mistaking it for a Ukrainian military plane. (July 30): The United States and the European Union announce new sanctions on Russia for its involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. New sanctions target Russian intelligence officials, as well as oil, defense, and energy sectors. The United Nations reports that at least 1,129 people have been killed and 200,000 displaced since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine in mid-April.
July 7 – Latin America: NICARAGUA
Nicaragua reveals a route of the planned canal that will link the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans and rival the Panama Canal. The route starts from the mouth of the Brito River on the Pacific side, passes through Lake Nicaragua, and ends in the Punta Gorda River on the Caribbean. The proposed canal will take five years to build and will be173 miles long (the Panama Canal is 48 miles long). It is hoped to create jobs and raise revenue in the future.
July 8 – Africa: SOMALIA
Militants from the Islamist group Al-Shabab in Somalia raid the presidential compound in Mogadishu. The country’s president was not at the palace at the time of the attack. The militants retreated from Mogadishu in 2011, but continue their attacks on the city. (July 23): A popular Somali musician and a member of parliament Saado Warsame is killed by militants in a drive-by shooting in Mogadishu. She is the fourth Somali politician killed by the Islamists this year.
July 8 – Middle East: ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Israel launches an open-ended aerial operation on the Gaza Strip to end rocket attacks against Israel. These hostilities are preceded by murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank blamed on Hamas, and a Palestinian teenager killed in retaliation in Jerusalem. Hamas increased rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel, especially after a few of its armed wing members were killed in Israeli attacks. (July 14 and 26): Ceasefires are mediated and proposed, backed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but are rejected by Hamas leaders, who say that any ceasefire has to be precipitated by an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza. (July 17): Israel expands the operation to a ground invasion with the stated aim of destroying Gaza’s tunnel system. (July 30): Reports say at least 1,200 Palestinian have been killed (most of them civilians) and 55 Israelis (53 are soldiers) in this conflict so far.
July 14 – Europe: UNITED KINGDOM
Despite deep divisions on the issue, the Synod of the Church of England votes to allow women to become bishops. The vote comes 20 years after the women were allowed to become priests. The vote signifies a ground-breaking cultural change.
July 15 – International Organizations: BRICS
The BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – agree to establish their own regional development bank and emergency reserve fund during the 6th Annual BRICS Summit held in Brazil. The bank is supposed to counter the influence of other regional banks, such as the World Bank, and give the BRICS countries more political influence. The BRICS Bank will focus on loaning more funds to developing countries.
July 18 – Middle East: IRAQ
Thousands of Iraqi Christians are fleeing the town of Mosul after the militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), who control the city, threatened to kill them unless they make protection payments. Many Christian families make their way to the neighboring autonomous Kurdish region.
July 29 – Africa/Middle East: LIBYA
Islamic militants in Libya seize a special forces base in the country’s second largest city of Benghazi. The United States has evacuated its staff from the capital Tripoli as security situation deteriorated. Since the overthrow of Libya’s dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been plagued by infighting of thousands of various militant groups and weak and ineffective government.
July 31 – Africa: LIBERIA / SIERRA LEONE
Sierra Leone declares a health state of emergency to tackle the epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus. The places in the epicenter of the outbreak will be quarantined. Liberia has already introduced such measures. Since the outbreak in February, Ebola has killed more than 720 people in West African countries. Ebola causes external hemorrhaging and internal bleeding, leading to organ failure.