Several explosions were reported in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday, with two occurring near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was expected to stay during his first official visit to the country. The blasts caused plumes of smoke but no immediate casualties were reported. This incident follows a recent bomb blast in central Damascus on July 3 that killed five people.
The presidential visit to Clairefontaine ahead of a World Cup has become a ritual for French leaders ever since Jacques Chirac visited the squad in the run-up to the 1998 tournament.
An inconclusive end to this war will pose high risk for Netanyahu of a cascading demand for a regime change in Israel, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last month, in 14 images.
'Who would have thought that Brexit would take place or Donald Trump would become US president or Kim Jong-un's madness could bring the prospect of nuclear war over Asia?' 'It is the time of the unexpected; the French elections should perhaps be seen in this perspective,' says Claude Arpi.
Ukraine advanced to the Euro 2020 finals after an impressive first half helped them to a 2-1 home win over Portugal, whose talismanic captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 700th career goal.
