EUROPEAN UNION: Lawmakers today adopted a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza, on the condition that Hamas is dismantled and that all hostages it holds be released.

The resolution is non-binding but is highly symbolic as the European institutions have so far refused to call for an end to the Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

INDIA: A boat carrying a school group capsized in a lake in western India today, drowning 15 students and one teacher, fire service officials said.

Eleven students were rescued when the boat capsized in Harani Lake in the city of Vadodara, and rescuers were searching for a person who was still missing, Vadodara fire officer Jitu Parmar said.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

CHINA: The Chinese and Filipino governments said today that they have agreed to work on lowering tensions after a year of public and tense confrontations in the South China Sea between their ships that have raised concerns of armed engagement in the region.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two sides agreed to continue to improve communication and use friendly negotiations to manage their differences at sea, “especially the situation at Ren’Ai reef.”

SLOVAKIA: President Zuzana Caputova voiced her strong opposition today to a plan by the new government of Prime Minister Robert Fico to overhaul the country’s penal code.

Ms Caputova said the proposed changes could jeopardise the rule of law and cause “unpredictable” damage to society.

Mr Fico’s plan includes abolishing the special prosecutors office, which handles serious crimes, such as organised crime and extremism.