Israel approved on Wednesday 284 new housing units in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank at a time of heightened international concern over a construction drive on land Palestinians seek for a state.
The United Nations will not hold another round of Syria peace talks in Geneva until officials on all sides agree the parameters for a political transition deal, which has an August 1 deadline, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said a faltering truce in Syria must be "brought back on track" as he held talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on ending a fresh upsurge in fighting.
