#China’s consumer inflation slowed more than expected after a pullback in commodity costs with an easing of tensions over Iran last month

Carney’s NATO gun gift turned over to RCMP

U.S. begins removal of #Syria designation as state sponsor of terrorism.

#WASHINGTON - The United States on Wednesday began the removal of Syria’s decades-old designation as a state sponsor of terrorism that has severely impeded investment.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

This is a developing story. More details to come...

The #US Justice Department settled a second lawsuit against the government brought by Michael Flynn

#BELGOROD, July 7. Repeated missile strikes have been launched against Belgorod and the Belgorod district, resulting in injuries and damage, Acting Governor Alexander Shuvayev stated.

"The Ukrainian armed forces have launched repeated missile strikes on Belgorod and the Belgorod district. Preliminary reports indicate there were no casualties following the shelling. <…> A report has been received in Belgorod regarding a fire at an infrastructure facility. Firefighters are at the scene," he said.

Earlier, he reported "a massive Ukrainian missile attack" in which "although most of the missiles were intercepted, some struck civilian #infrastructure." The regional head then noted that "three people were injured in the village of Belovskoye."

Shuvayev also noted that power and water outages have been reported. Energy infrastructure facilities have sustained serious damage, the acting governor stressed.

#Lebanon says Israeli strike on south kills 4, including 3 women. Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said a school principal, her mother, a foreign female domestic worker and a male Syrian worker were killed when an Israeli drone targeted their car as they returned from inspecting their family home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

The Israeli military said on Monday that it identified “four suspects” approaching the area its forces occupy in southern Lebanon who posed a threat and so “conducted a precise strike in order to remove the threat”.

Israel has kept up intermittent strikes on south Lebanon, particularly in the Nabatieh area, despite the two-week-old truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives.

Both sides accuse the other of violating the ceasefire.

A lawmaker for Hezbollah, Ihab Hamade, denounced Monday’s strike as “a heinous crime against civilians” and blamed it “first and foremost” on the Lebanese state.

His movement has been highly critical of an agreement signed last month by Lebanon and Israel aiming to pave the way for a permanent end to hostilities.

The NNA reported further Israeli strikes on Monday afternoon.
‘Lasting peace’

The framework agreement followed an earlier deal between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the wider regional war that also established a ceasefire in Lebanon, in effect since June 21.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider war with rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The Israeli-Lebanese deal calls for the disarmament of the Iran-backed group, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, starting with two “pilot” areas, but without specifying a timeline for the pull-out.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Monday that Israel’s occupation was preventing the Lebanese army’s deployment to the south.

A statement from his office said he emphasised the need to pressure Israel to withdraw because “the occupation undermines the legitimacy of the (Lebanese) state and prevents the army from deploying, and the laying of foundations for achieving a just and lasting peace”.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reiterated that Israel’s military would maintain its presence “as long as necessary in order to protect the residents of the north and all the citizens of Israel”.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed around 4,300 people.

The conflict also displaced more than one million people, but according to the United Nations more than 640,000 have returned home since June 22.

United States President Donald #Trump, publicly thanked #FIFA after the governing body suspended the red-card sanction issued to #USA striker #Folarin #Balogun.

#Jewellery worth millions stolen from French glassmaker #museum. Jewellery worth millions of euros was stolen in a burglary at the museum of French luxury glassmaker Lalique on Sunday, the company and an investigation source said.

The thief or thieves broke in to the museum in Wingen-sur-Moder in northeastern France around 5:30 a.m. (0330 GMT) and headed straight for the jewellery room, the source close to the investigation told AFP.

“Around twenty pieces of jewellery were stolen. The loss is currently being assessed but could amount to several million euros, likely close to four million,” the source said.

The museum said on its website that it will be closed for several days because of the burglary.

“An alarm went off, but by the time the security company had completed its checks, it was a cleaning lady who arrived first on the scene and called the police,” the investigation source added.

The CCTV footage is currently being examined.

The museum, dedicated to the Art Nouveau and Art Deco jeweller and glassmaker Rene Lalique, was opened in 2011 near the company’s factory.

A dramatic daytime jewel heist at the Louvre museum in Paris in October last year put security at French museums and galleries under the spotlight.

Thieves made off with $102 million worth of jewellery from the Louvre in a raid lasting less than eight minutes.

#China launches coast guard patrol east of Taiwan despite international pushback

Moscow has no plans to attack Europe or the United Kingdom, escalation is possible only on the initiative of Western countries, said Russian ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin.

"Russia has no intentions, no plans, no reason to attack Europe, to fight Europe, or to attack Britain. Escalation is possible here only on the initiative of the West itself," Kelin said in an interview with Vesti.

He added that the talk in the West about the alleged threat from Russia is solely related "to knocking out money for the military-industrial complex," which has declined in recent decades.

Kelin also said that a significant part of the funds allocated by the EU and the #UK to prepare for war with Russia and as military aid to Ukraine will be stolen.