July 11, Tuesday, 2017 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

1. Delegates from the Syrian government and opposition forces are in Geneva for peace talks aimed at ending the civil war in Syria.
2. A Japanese law that criminalizes the act of preparing to carry out terrorist attacks or other serious crimes came into effect on Tuesday.
3. Japan, the United States and India have begun a joint naval exercise in the Indian Ocean.

July 10, Monday, 2017 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradhan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says Iraqi forces have defeated the Islamic State militant group and liberated the northern city of Mosul.
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has told former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori that he is increasingly willing to solve a territorial dispute with Japan.
3. Japan’s prime minister reportedly plans to remove Defense Minister Tomomi Inada when he reshuffles his Cabinet.