German conservative big guns rally behind Merkel
A powerful caucus of German conservatives wants Angela Merkel to stay on until her term ends in October 2021, dismissing calls for her to step down sooner and hand power to the next leader of her Christian Democrat (CDU) party.
All eyes on Renzi as fate of Italian government hangs in balance
The fate of Italy’s six-month-old government hung in the balance on Thursday, with former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi expected to spell out later in the day his conditions for remaining within the ruling coalition.
France will not indiscriminately sign a post-Brexit deal on December 31 – minister
France would not sign a bad post-Brexit deal with the United Kingdom on Dec. 31 just for the sake of agreeing one to meet a deadline, said French European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin on Wednesday.
France wants customs controls in Irish Sea in post-Brexit talks
France on Wednesday said it was imperative that negotiations over a future trade relationship between Britain and the European Union included customs checks in the Irish Sea.
Armenian PM dismisses two senior defense officials
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sacked two high-ranking military officers at the defense ministry following criticism over the high number of deaths in the armed forces.
Swedish prosecutor says may be close to solving Palme’s 1986 murder
Sweden may soon get closure over the 1986 murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme after the lead prosecutor said he would either bring charges in the coming months or close the case.
Greece says Marbles’ return not linked to Brexit talks
Greece distanced itself on Wednesday from suggestions that it planned to drag a centuries-old dispute over the return of the Parthenon marbles into Brexit negotiations.
North Korea quarantines in place for coronavirus: envoy
North Korea has imposed a strict quarantine around foreigners or returning nationals who display fever on entering the country, but has found no cases of coronavirus yet, its envoy to the United Nations in Geneva said on Wednesday.
Swiss postpone global patient safety summit amid coronavirus outbreak
The Swiss government has postponed an annual patient safety summit scheduled for the end of this month, it said on Wednesday, citing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Mexico’s president says foreign firms optimistic on investing
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday he met with a group of executives from foreign companies and discussed plans to maintain and increase investment in Mexico under a new North American free trade deal.
