In rare press appearance, Congo’s Kabila denies repression
KINSHASA (Reuters) – Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Friday rejected charges that his forces had violently broken up pro-democracy protests, using his first press conference in six years to accuse demonstrators of attacking police and arson.
UK’s Davis confident of political agreement over Brexit implementation by March
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Brexit minister David Davis said he was confident a political agreement could be reached at a European Union council meeting in March to secure a time-limited implementation period after the country leaves the bloc in March…
Italy’s 5-Star says would respect EU’s 3 percent deficit limit
ROME (Reuters) – The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement said on Friday that if it wins power at Italy’s March 4 election it will respect the European Union’s budget deficit limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product, reversing an earlier stance.
Trump warns Davos on unfair trade, says U.S. ‘open for business’
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump took his “America First” message to the world’s elite on Friday, telling a summit of business and political leaders that the United States would “no longer turn a blind eye” to what he describe…
Parties aim to wrap up German coalition talks by next weekend
BERLIN (Reuters) – Negotiators thrashing out a new coalition deal between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) aim to wrap up talks by next weekend, in a sign Germany’s months-long political limbo could be nearing an …
Spanish government asks court to block Puigdemont’s bid to lead Catalonia
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s government on Friday decided to ask the Constitutional Court to block former leader Carles Puigdemont’s bid to lead Catalonia again, the deputy prime minister said.
Algerian army kills seven armed men in Khenchela province: ministry
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria’s army killed seven armed men on Friday in Khenchela province, 700 km east of the capital Algiers, the Defence Ministry said.
Turkey’s Erdogan says military operation to make big sweep east across Syria
ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkish forces would sweep Kurdish fighters from the Syrian border and could push all the way east to the frontier with Iraq — a move which risks a possible confrontation with U.S. forc…
Six Afghan children killed in fighting
GHAZNI, Afghanistan (Reuters) – As many as six children were killed in fighting near the central Afghan city of Ghazni on Friday but there were conflicting accounts of how they died, with officials blaming the Taliban and others saying they died in an …
EU condemns Venezuela’s expulsion of Spanish ambassador
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union on Friday condemned Venezuela for expelling the ambassador of Spain, calling for the decision to be reversed and diplomatic relations to remain in place.
