Ukraine

Kiev claims victory in rebel stronghold

A rebel stronghold in east Ukraine has been taken by government troops, the country's president and a spokesman for the rebels said on Saturday. President Petro Poroshenko said in a statement that government troops took the city of Slovyansk, a city of about 100,000 that has been a center of the fighting between Kiev's troops and the insurgents, after a night of fighting. Poroshenko commanded the armed forces to "raise the government's flag" over Slovyansk, which has been under rebel control since early April when they seized the city's administrative and police buildings.

Germany

Spy case provokes US envoy summons

Germany summoned the US ambassador in Berlin on Friday following the arrest of a man reported to have spied for the United States, heightening friction between the two countries over alleged US eavesdropping in Germany. US Ambassador John B. Emerson was asked "to help in the swift clarification" of the case, the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Federal prosecutors say a 31-year-old German man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of spying for unidentified foreign intelligence services.

Iraq

Al-Maliki signals his intent to stay in job

Despite mounting pressure to step aside, Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki vowed on Friday not to abandon his bid for another term as prime minister and pledged to stay on until the Sunni militants who have overrun much of the country are defeated. The sharp words are certain to prolong the political impasse gripping Iraq, which is facing urgent demands for a new government that can hold the nation together in the face of an onslaught that threatens to cleave it in three along ethnic and sectarian lines. Al-Maliki, a Shiite who has been prime minister since 2006, has been accused by former allies and others of monopolizing power and contributing to the crisis by failing to promote reconciliation with Sunnis.

Israel

Clashes spread after boy's funeral

Clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters spread from Jerusalem to Arab towns in northern Israel on Saturday following the funeral of an Arab teenager who Palestinians say was killed by Israeli extremists in a revenge attack. Riots erupted in east Jerusalem on Friday as thousands of Palestinians massed for the burial of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir. The violence spread to northern Arab towns on Saturday morning, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. Protesters there threw rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. More than 20 people were arrested, she said. Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem also used an electric saw to damage the light rail that connects the heavily Arab-populated eastern sector of the city with the mostly Jewish West, Samri said.

Egypt

Brotherhood leader gets life in prison

An Egyptian court sentenced Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie to life in prison on Saturday, Egypt's ON TV said, for inciting the violence that erupted after the army deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last year. Badie, convicted along with some 36 other Brotherhood leaders and supporters for the same crime, is facing the death sentence in two separate cases. The court also upheld death sentences for 10 other Brotherhood supporters.

Belgium

NATO: No new members for now

Faced with a newly active Russia, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been mulling how to react, but it is ruling out one option: rapid expansion. Four would-be members, including the former Soviet republic of Georgia, have been informed that admission to NATO isn't in the cards anytime soon. For some, that means dashed hopes. Macedonia's foreign minister said in a statement it was a "step backward". The bottom line: NATO, celebrating important anniversaries this year of a dozen nations joining its ranks, will welcome no new members when President Barack Obama and other leaders convene for a summit in Wales, the United Kingdom, in early September.

Bahrain

Policeman dies of bomb-blast wounds

A Bahraini policeman died on Saturday of wounds sustained in a bombing that the Interior Ministry said was a terrorist act. Attacks on security forces have been on the rise in the strategically located Gulf Arab country, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, more than three years after authorities quelled Shiite Muslim-led protests against the Sunni-led government. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack on Friday night.

AP - Reuters

(China Daily 07/06/2014 page2)