Main News of July 23

A roundup of what has happened during the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Syria may only use chemical weapons against external aggression, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said

* The Arab League has called on embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to swiftly cede power in exchange for a “safe exit” for him and his family members, al-Arabiya reported

* The European Union approved a new set of sanctions against Syria, including a tougher arms embargo, in response to the escalating violence in the country, Western and Arab media reported

* The health of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is good enough to attend the hearings on the 2009 tax evasion case, a judge in Kharkiv district court, Konstantin Sadovsky said citing the report by the forensic experts

* At least 76 people have been killed and 131 injured in a series of gun and bomb attacks throughout Iraq since Sunday, including capital Baghdad, Al Jazeera reported

RUSSIA

* Ballot stuffing boosted United Russia’s result at local snap elections allegedly meant to pave the way for a party boss into the Federation Council, vote monitors said

* A Moscow city court judge refused to summon President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in the trial of three women from the Pussy Riot punk group