US-led coalition airstrike kills seven members of Syrian family

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Seven members of a Syrian family have been killed in an airstrike allegedly conducted by the US-led coalition on a village near the city of Mare’. The planes reportedly entered Syrian airspace from Turkey. The US and its allies have been carrying out strikes on Syria without Damascus consent since 2014. 
• Head of US Central Command, General Joseph Votel, has secretly entered Syria without permission from Damascus. During his visit, the top military commander met US-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government. Votel is the highest-ranking US military official known to have entered Syria since 2014.
• The US army says it has targeted Taliban leader Mulla Mansour in an airstrike in an Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Military officials say the militant leader is likely killed in the attack authorized by President Barack Obama. The Taliban are yet to confirm Mulla Mansour’s death.
• The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council accuses the US of being behind the slow implementation of the nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1. Ali Shamkhani voiced concern over Washington’s ambiguous behavior regarding the issue. He made the comments during a meeting with New Zealand’s foreign minister in Tehran.
• Two senior European officials have voiced concern over Turkish parliament’s passing of a bill that will strip lawmakers of their immunity from prosecution. EU Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini, and the bloc’s Enlargement Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, said immunity must apply to all on a non-discriminatory basis. 
• Parisians have taken to the streets of the French capital to demonstrate against US multi-national agriculture company Monsanto. The protesters are concerned by Monsanto’s genetically-modified crops which could cause severe health problems such as cancer. The company is also under fire for selling a weed-killer that contains a highly dangerous chemical.
• In Chile, at least one security guard has been killed during clashes with anti-government protesters in the capital Santiago. The protesters were outraged by President Michelle Bachelet’s educational reforms. They called on the president to fulfill promises she made regarding free higher education.
• Brazilian protesters have staged a rally in Sao Paulo to voice support for suspended President Dilma Rousseff and demand interim President Michel Temer’s resignation. Rousseff was suspended for six months after the senate voted to impeach her earlier this month. She’s accused of manipulating budget laws in 2014.

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