Jews

In the first visit of a European foreign minister to Israel after the inauguration of the new government on December 29, Nikos Dendias' trip on Tuesday will focus on energy, investment, defense and the deepening of Greek-Israeli cooperation.

Russian missiles struck Vinnytsia in central Ukraine on July 14, killing at least 23 people including three children, in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called "an open act of terrorism".

U.S. President Joe Biden will hold bilateral talks on July 14 with Israeli officials in Jerusalem, where the two allies are expected to declare a "united stand" on common foe Iran.

Biden touched down in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for the first Middle East tour of his presidency, which will see him meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders before flying onwards to Saudi Arabia.

Israel's parliament voted Thursday to dissolve itself, triggering the country's fifth election in just over three years and thrusting veteran politician Yair Lapid into the role of interim prime minister as he tries to persuade a deeply polarized nation to embrace his centrist vision.

Israel's National Security Council on June 28 lowered its travel warning for Istanbul from the highest level, after the government said Iranian assassination plots targeting Israelis in the city had been thwarted.

He said that while waiting for the decision of the European Union on granting the status of a candidate country.
"Obviously, we should expect Russia, for example, to intensify its hostile activities this week," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
"And not only against Ukraine, but also against other European countries. We are preparing. We are ready," Zelensky added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country's forces were "doing everything" to stop the Russian offensive, with fierce battles in the east and the south.

Kiev said Friday it had launched new air strikes in the captured southern region of Kherson, one of the first areas to be taken by Russia after the February 24 invasion.

By George Gilson

When 44-year-old Leon Saltiel was growing up in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest, the Jewish community, which once constituted the majority group, remained introverted and did not talk about their Jewishness, even 40 years after the city's Jews were deported and 95 percent of them were exterminated in Auschwitz.

By George Gilson

When 44-year-old Leon Saltiel was growing up in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest, the Jewish community, which once constituted the majority group, remained introverted and did not talk about their Jewishness, even 40 years after the city's Jews were deported and 95 percent of them were exterminated in Auschwitz.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov in Brussels in May 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ