‘Unholy alliance’? SE Asian authorities accused of trading exiled activists
Three Thai policemen approached Vietnamese refugee Nguyen Van Chung at his home in Bangkok in January and asked him whether he was in touch with another Vietnamese man, Truong Duy Nhat, who had fled to Thailand.
EU concerned about Iran situation, support talks: Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday she and fellow EU leaders were concerned about the situation around Iran after reports that the United States was on the verge of military strikes against the country.
UK junior minister suspended after grappling with eco-protester
A junior foreign office minister has been suspended pending an investigation after grabbing a female demonstrator by the neck and pushing her when a climate-change protest interrupted a speech by Britain’s finance minister.
SPD members need a say over German coalition’s fate, Scholz tells Spiegel
Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) should involve rank-and-file members in a decision on whether to remain in the governing coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, the center-left party’s most senior minister said.
U.N. chief Guterres calls for ‘nerves of steel’ in the Gulf
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, commenting on Friday on the situation in the Gulf, said “I have only one strong recommendation: nerves of steel”, U.N. spokeswoman in Geneva Alessandra Vellucci said.
U.S. ‘very pleased’ that Saudi Arabia ensuring well-supplied oil market
The United States is “very pleased” that Saudi Arabia is making sure that the global oil market is well supplied, a U.S. official said on Friday, amid fears of energy disruption because of growing military tension in the Middle East.
Italy protests Swiss delay in releasing evidence in Nigeria graft case
Italian prosecutors have complained to Switzerland about lengthy delays in obtaining evidence they have requested in an international corruption case involving oil firms Shell and Eni, a source familiar with the matter said.
Deputy PM Salvini says no commitments on 2020 budget deficit
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday Italy could not make any commitments with Brussels over its 2020 deficit, and needed 10-15 billion euros in tax cuts to boost its stagnant economy.
Exclusive: NATO aims to make space new frontier in defense
NATO aims to recognize space as a domain of warfare this year, four senior diplomats said, partly to show U.S. President Donald Trump that the alliance is relevant and adapting to new threats after he signed off on the creation of a U.S. Space Force.
Pro-Kurdish party says Ocalan’s call does not change strategy in Istanbul
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said on Friday its strategy of supporting the opposition in the Istanbul mayoral election has not changed despite a last-minute call from jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan for it to be neutral.
