US, Turkey Poised for Joint Anti-ISIS Operation, Despite Differences

Turkey and the United States have confirmed that their forces are poised to launch a major military operation to close a 98-kilometer strip of the Turkey-Syria border used by Islamic State.

Already fragile ceasefire under strain in east Ukraine

Fighting flared near an airport in eastern Ukraine in breach of a fragile eight-day ceasefire as the prime minister accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of planning to destroy his country.
Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said only membership of NATO would enable Ukraine to defend itself from external aggression.

Poroshenko and militia leaders order to cease fire in Ukraine

The press service of the President of Ukraine said that Petro Poroshenko ordered the Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to cease fire starting from 18:00 local time (19:00 MSK), on September 5.

"Based on the appeal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the leaders of illegal armed formations in the Donbass to cease fire, on the base of the protocol signed at the meeting of the trilateral contact group to implement the peace plan of the President of Ukraine, I herewith order the Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to cease fire starting from 18:00 on September 5," said Poroshenko.

Egypt pushes for Gaza truce, presents Palestinian demands (the Rafah border crossing)

CAIRO - Egypt asked Israel on Monday to accept a ceasefire as a first step toward comprehensive negotiations with Palestinian factions to end more than three weeks of fighting, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said.
Palestinian groups, including envoys of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, met the head of Egyptian intelligence in Cairo earlier in the day to formulate a plan to end the violence that has displaced more than one quarter of Gaza's 1.8 million people.

Immediately after the meeting, Egypt presented Israel with the key Palestinian demands: a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, an end to the blockade of the impoverished enclave and the reconstruction of the area.
An Egyptian diplomatic source said Cairo expected Israel to accept a temporary halt to the fighting to allow for talks.

Israel rejects US truce proposal for Gaza. (Security cabinet refuses US-initiated ceasefire in the Gaza Strip)

Israel TV reported on Friday that the cabinet had rejected the proposal in its current form, mainly because it would mean Israel would cut short an ongoing effort to destroy Hamas military tunnels under the Gaza-Israel border.
The proposal called for a week-long pause in fighting over the Muslim holiday of Eid. During that time, the two sides would begin indirect talks on easing the border closure of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, says any truce must include a guaranteed end to Israel's eight-year siege of the enclave. Israel had previously said it would reject any deal that included a clause to ease the blockade.

UN Security Council calls for Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire

The UN Security Council called for a ceasefire in hostilities between Israel and Palestinians on Saturday, expressing its deep concern over the welfare and protection of civilians on both sides of the conflict.

“The Security Council members called for de-escalation of the situation, restoration of calm, and reinstitution of the November 2012 ceasefire,” the 15-member body said in a statement.

It also called for the respect of international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.

The Security Council’s statement came as Israel rushed an eighth missile interceptor battery into service on Saturday to counter stronger-than-expected rocket fire from Gaza, and the military struck positions in the Palestinian enclave for a fifth day.

Lawrow und Kerry für Feuereinstellung “zumindest in einigen Regionen Syriens”

Die Außenminister Russlands und der USA, Sergej Lawrow und John Kerry, haben am Montag, nach ihrem Treffen mit dem Syrien-Beauftragten Lahdar Brahimi in Paris, zur Feuereinstellung in einigen Regionen Syriens aufgerufen.

„Wir haben darüber gesprochen, wie man die Konferenz ‚Genf-2‘ erfolgreich machen kann“, sagte Kerry. „Wir werden unser Äußerstes tun, damit die Seiten eine Feuereinstellung zumindest in einer Region, beispielsweise in Aleppo, vereinbaren könnten.“