Turkey's campaign against PKK militants have displaced large number of civilians

• Clashes between the Turkish army and militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party have displaced a large number of civilians in the country’s southeast. Reports say around 100-thousand residents of the towns of Yuksekova in Hakkari province and Nusaybin in Mardin province have fled their homes. 
• The European Council president says there’s a lot to do to finalize an EU-Turkey deal on the refugee crisis. Donald Tusk said the agreement should respect international law and assure that no new routes to Europe are created. The EU wants Ankara to take back all the refugees coming from its shores.
• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on parliament to strip pro-Kurdish lawmakers of immunity from prosecution. The government accuses the lawmakers of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party. Erdogan says Turkey will quote-redefine terrorism so that legal action can be taken against anyone supporting terror.
• The Iraqi president has rejected accusations leveled by some countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, that the popular volunteer forces are bent on a sectarian agenda. Fuad Masum refused the claims as politically-motivated and said the volunteer fighters will be part of the Mosul liberation battle.
• The Russian foreign minister says Turkey’s shelling of Syrian territories is undermining the efforts of the international community to resolve the conflict. Lavrov expressed optimism that the recent success in the cessation of hostilities in Syria will be bolstered through UN-mediated negotiations in Geneva. 
• France says it is concerned about Israel’s decision to confiscate more Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The French Foreign Ministry spokesman has called the Israeli move a violation of international law. Israel has revealed its plan to seize 234 hectares of Palestinian land to build more settler units.
• The British Chancellor of the Exchequer says the country’s economy will grow more slowly than expected this year. George Osborne said Britain’s growth estimates for this year has been revised down from two-point-four percent to two-percent. He warned that leaving the European Union will negatively affect the British economy.
• US republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has warned against denying him a party ticket to run for the November election. In an interview with CNN, Trump said any attempt to block his presidential nomination would spark riots. The billionaire businessman has so far dominated the 2016 presidential campaign.

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