Bashar al-Assad was sworn in for a new term as Syria's president on Wednesday, after an election which his opponents dismiss as a sham but which he said proved he had achieved victory after a "dirty war" to unseat him.

• July 16, 2014

Israel resumed air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, six hours after agreeing to an Egyptian-proposed truce that failed to halt Hamas rocket attacks.

• July 15, 2014

U.S. President Barack Obama told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday he wants U.S.-Chinese relations defined by more cooperation and a constructive management of differences during a phone call in which Iran and North Korea were discussed.

• July 15, 2014

At least six Ukrainian soldiers were killed in renewed attacks on government military posts and checkpoints by pro-Moscow separatists near the border with Russia, the Ukrainian military said on Tuesday.

• July 15, 2014

A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
By Jack Sharples, EGF Associate Researcher on the external dimensions of Russian gas

Key points:

• Lithuania’s competition authority fines Gazprom $48m for ‘failing to comply with merger conditions’ in relation to its shareholding in Lietuvos Dujos, thus stifling competition in Lithuania’s gas market
• Gazprom sells its stakes in Lietuvos Dujos and Amber Grid
• European gas companies negotiated an average discount of 20 percent in 2013-14, according to Cedigaz
• Gazprom implements prepayment in Ukraine, meaning that Naftogaz will only receive gas for which it has already paid. Given that Naftogaz failed to pay up front for its June gas supplies, the practical result was the suspension of Gazprom deliveries to Naftogaz
• Bulgaria halts construction of South Stream, pending EU concerns over the tender process for its construction on Bulgarian territory
• Gazprom and OMV confirm Austria’s entry into the South Stream project
• Gazprom expects $25bn pre-payment in China gas deal, but terms yet to be finalised
• Rosneft claims that a Gazprom monopoly on domestic pipelines in the Russian Far East would be illegal, and promises legal action to secure its right to supply Russian consumers in the region
• Results of Gazprom's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

• July 15, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday major differences persist between Iran and six world powers negotiating on Tehran's nuclear program, with a week to go before a deadline for a deal.

• July 14, 2014

srael held back on Monday from a threatened escalation of attacks on the northern Gaza Strip and no Palestinian rockets streaked towards Tel Aviv, but elsewhere fighting continued unabated despite growing pressure for a ceasefire.

• July 14, 2014

Ukraine on Monday accused Russian army officers of fighting alongside separatists in the east of the country and said Moscow was once more building up its troops on the joint border.

• July 14, 2014