June 17, 2022

*) EU to give fast-tracked opinion on Ukraine membership bid The European Commission meets on Friday to give its fast-tracked opinion on Ukraine's EU bid, a step closer to membership for the country battling Russia's forces. The meeting comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian premier Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis visited Kiev. They met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who later promised that Ukraine was ready to put in the work to become an EU member. *) Israeli forces kill three Palestinians, injure eight others in raid At least three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli raid in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Eight others were injured in the raid, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement. Eyewitnesses said Israel’s forces opened fire on a vehicle with four Palestinians. After the incident, Israeli soldiers targeted protesting Palestinians with live ammunition and tear gas grenades. *) Covid vaccines, food, fisheries figure in WTO's deals package The World Trade Organisation has concluded hard-won deals on fishing subsidies, food insecurity and Covid-19 vaccines in a landmark bundle of agreements. WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the trade ministers' conference had struck an "unprecedented package of deliverables" which would "make a difference". The conference also agreed on deals on e-commerce, responding to pandemics and reforming the organisation itself. *) Two dead, one wounded in another US shooting A shooting at a church during a potluck dinner has left two people dead and one wounded in the US state of Alabama. The incident took place at St Stephen's Episcopal Church in the town of Vestavia Hills and a suspect was taken in custody, the town's police department said. The US is in the midst of a gruesome chapter of its gun violence epidemic. On May 24, a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 children and two teachers. And finally… *) Azt