POLITICAL RELATIONS
IRAQ
1. Iraq crisis: Government wants Parliament to issue Ramzan appeal to captors
New Delhi, Thursday, 24 July 2014
With 41 Indians in captivity in Iraq for the last 45 days, government suggested that the Parliament should issue an appeal to the captors to release them as a "Ramzan gift" before Eid.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi; See Also: The Indian Express, Mumbai

ISRAEL
2. Rajya Sabha vs. Lok Sabha on Israel vs. Palestine
New Delhi, Friday, 18 July 2014
Two days after it rejected opposition demands in the Lok Sabha for a statement condemning Israel for the military strikes on Gaza, the government was forced to agree to a discussion in Rajya Sabha after Chairperson Hamid Ansari rejected External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s plea against a debate on the matter.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai' See Also: Business Standard, New Delhi

3. Government says supports Palestinian cause but India has relations with Israel too
New Delhi, Tuesday, 22 July 2014
After five-days, the Rajya Sabha finally discussed the Gaza situation. The government said that there was "no change in India's foreign policy on Palestine." The Opposition walked out as its demand for issuing a resolution on Gaza was rejected. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj emphasized "all governments have continued the policy that we support the Palestinian cause but we continue to have relations with Israel."
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi; See Also: The Indian Express, Mumbai

PALESTINE
4. Government blocks Rajya Sabha discussion on Israel-Palestine row
New Delhi, Wednesday, 16 July 2014
The Israel-Palestine conflict issues were not discussed in the Rajya Sabha as the government refused it by saying that no discourteous reference should be made to a friendly nation, also adding, "We have friendly relations with both the countries". A discussion on the violence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank areas of Palestine was listed in the upper house's list of business.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

5. Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 PM over Gaza crisis
New Delhi, Thursday, 17 July 2014
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 PM over the procedural wrangle on whether to take up the discussion on the ongoing violence in Gaza or not.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

ECONOMIC RELATIONS
OMAN
6. BORL defers 120,000 bpd Bina refinery maintenance to Q1 2015
New Delhi, Thursday, 31 July 2014
India's Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd (BORL) has postponed a maintenance plan for its Bina refinery in central India to the first quarter of 2015 from this year, head of refineries at Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) B K Datta said.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
7. Saudi Arabia bans import of pepper from India
New Delhi, Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Saudi authorities have decided to impose temporary ban on import of pepper from India with effect from 30 May.  Presence of high levels of pesticides in the Indian consignment was the reason for the import restriction.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
IRAQ
8. After Kerala, Punjab families hope for safe return of sons from Iraq
Amritsar, Saturday, 5 July 2014
As 46 Indian nurses from Iraq reached Kochi in Kerala, families in Punjab are still praying for the safe return of their sons, who were abducted by militants in Iraq. At least 40 Indian construction workers are in the custody of ISIS militants in Mosul.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

9. Four men from Mumbai believed to have joined Iraq jihad, a father appeals for help
Mumbai/New Delhi, Monday, 14 July 2014
Four young Mumbai men are missing from Kalyan district. The father of one of the missing person named Arif filed a complaint with the police. Arif is believed to be fighting with Sunni insurgents of the ISIS along with Thane residents Fahad Tanvir Sheikh, Aman Naim Tandel and Shaheen Farooqi Tanki.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai

LIBYA
10. Indians should leave Libya, move to safer places, says advisory
New Delhi, Tuesday, 29 July 2014
As the situation in Libya deteriorates, India’s mission in Tripoli advised all Indian nationals to leave the strife-torn country using all available means and not to travel to that country.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai

COMPILED BY MANJARI SINGH

Manjari Singh is a doctoral candidate in School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.  Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy