GREXIT AVERTED, TSIPRAS IN TROUBLE AT HOME
After a 15-hour negotiation that represented the longest European summit meeting in history, Greece and its EU partners finally reached a unanimous agreement to avoid a "Grexit" and keep the euro in Greece. European Council President Donald Tusk announced the success of the marathon negotiations this morning in Brussels, stressing that financial support for Greece will come in exchange for serious reforms. Facing a potential political crisis at home despite sparing his country a bank collapse, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras welcomed the deal but admitted that implementing the reforms will be tough.
- Italian daily La Stampa reports that Athens secured negotiations for a new three-year bailout program and a 50-billion-euro investment fund in exchange for stringent fiscal reforms. The investment fund will be based in Greece, a victory for Tsipras, and half of it will go towards recapitalizing Greek banks, which otherwise would have run out of money today.
- But according to Madrid-based El Pais, many members of Tsipras' own Syriza party oppose the plan, which includes pension reforms, increases in VAT, and privatizations. Coalition partners are also opposed. Tsipras could lose his majority, causing his administration to collapse and raising the specter of a "national unity" government with the pro-European opposition.
- The deal, which includes financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), also allows Greece to delay repayment of its debt and must be approved by the parliaments of all Eurozone members, French daily Le Monde reports.
- A Syriza spokesperson called the agreement "a coup," and analysts said the government was effectively accepting harsher terms than those rejected in last Sunday's referendum, but Tsipras insisted he had obtained his goals of debt restructuring and a financing plan. French financial paper Les Echos writes that the new measures will worsen the Greek recession but represent a compromise between the hardline "pro-Grexit" stances of several Eurozone members and the demands of the Syriza administration.
"EL CHAPO" ESCAPES
The Mexican drug lord and cartel leader known as "El Chapo" Guzman escaped yesterday for the second time from a Âmaximum-security prison via a hole dug in his shower area that led to a mile-long tunnel. Read more about it in our Extra! feature here.
IRAN ANNOUNCEMENT IMMINENT
A deal on Iran's nuclear program could be announced today, as negotiators in Vienna reached their seventeenth straight day of talks. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi arrived in Vienna, indicating an agreement is imminent, but officials on both sides maintained that difficult issues remained to be solved. Ali Akbar Salehi, one of the leading Iranian negotiators and head of the country's atomic energy agency, sounded a more optimistic tone, saying "the technical issues are almost settled," Iranian news agency Tasnim reports.
IT'S DJOKOVIC!
Photo: Han Yan/Xinhua/ZUMA
Novak Djokovic cemented his place as No. 1 in men's tennis after a thrilling 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Roger Federer in yesterday's Wimbledon final. Serena Williams easily dispatched the 21-year old Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-4 in the women's final Saturday, clinching her sixth Wimbledon title.
CEASEFIRE IN COLOMBIA
After weeks of intensifying clashes despite continuing peace talks in Cuba, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group announced a ceasefire last night. In a televised address to the nation, President Juan Manuel Santos hailed the move as a step forward but emphasized that the armed forces are only "de-escalating," warning that the government will re-evaluate the negotiations four months from now if further progress isn't made, Colombian daily El Espectador reports.
FAREWELL
Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata died Saturday at age 55, due to a bile duct growth, the Japanese video game maker announced Sunday.
IRAQ OFFENSIVE BEGINS
Aided by Shia militias, the Iraqi army launched an operation to retake the western province of Anbar from ISIS militants who captured it in May. Reuters reports that the offensive began early in the morning in Baghdad time, with heavy bombardment of Ramadi and Fallujah, the province's two main cities. Al Jazeera reports that 5,000 troops have been mobilized, and their first objective is to recapture the city of Fallujah.
MY GRAND-PÈRE'S WORLD
POPE'S VISIT ENDS
Massive crowds gathered to see Pope Francis perform mass in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion, the final appearance of his nine-day trip to South America. A day after visiting a slum outside the capital, the pontiff continued his critique of global capitalism that has been the hallmark of his Latin American visit, urging Catholics to "embrace hospitality" and "reject selfishness," the BBC reports.
WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO
Le Monde's Allan Kaval traveled to Qamishli, the city in northeast Syria regarded as the capital of Syrian Kurdistan. "Behind the apparent confusion is a society still very much at war, where might makes right and the blood of martyrs has become the key to achieving legitimacy and rising in the new social order," Kaval writes. "Qamishli's streets are lined with the portraits of Kurdish men who lost their lives in the struggle against ISIS and the regime, a constant reminder of the war that transforms every city block into a symbol of conquest and victory."
Read the full article, Welcome To Qamishli, The Phantom Capital Of Syrian Kurdistan.
YET ANOTHER GOP CANDIDATE
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has entered the presidential race, becoming the 15th major candidate to announce a bid for the Republican nomination. In the announcement expand=1] video posted today, Walker pledged to "fight and win for the American people." A formal speech to mark the opening of his campaign is scheduled for later today in his home state of Wisconsin.
ON THIS DAY
Han Solo, Rick Deckard, Indiana Jones — all were technically born on this day, 73 years ago! Check out today's 57-second shot of history.
