Fighting grips Yemen’s Hodeidah port, complicating peace moves
Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed pro-government forces battled in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday, breaching a ceasefire and potentially complicating a troop withdrawal agreement intended to pave the way for wider peace talks.
German, Dutch military suspend training operations in Iraq amid U.S.-Iran tensions
Germany and the Netherlands said on Wednesday they were suspending military training operations in Iraq as the United States warned of increased threats from Iran-backed forces amid an escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran.
U.S. pulls staff from Iraq amid concerns over Iran
Washington ordered the departure of non-emergency American employees from its diplomatic missions in Iraq on Wednesday in another apparent show of concern about what it describes as threats from Iran.
France grants asylum to wife of former Interpol chief charged in China
France has granted asylum to the wife of a former head of the international police cooperation agency Interpol, after he was charged in his native China with corruption, the wife’s lawyer said on Wednesday.
Polish bishops to discuss child sex abuse as documentary spurs outrage
Polish bishops will meet on May 22 to discuss steps to tackle paedophilia in Poland’s powerful Catholic Church after a documentary that showed victims confronting priests who had sexually abused them shocked the devout nation.
Netherlands suspends government mission in Iraq over security threat: ANP agency
The Dutch government has suspended a mission in Iraq that provides assistance to local authorities due to a security threat, Dutch news agency ANP reported on Wednesday.
Turkey says it is discussing S-400 working group with U.S., postponing not on agenda
Turkey is discussing with the United States setting up a working group to assess the impact of its purchase of Russian missile defences systems, but will not delay their delivery, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.
Defeat for SPD in bastion Bremen may threaten Merkel’s coalition
Germany’s weakened Social Democrats (SPD) look likely to lose the state of Bremen after seven decades next week in an election that could set the clock ticking on their strained national coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
UK PM May’s office declines to say if she will resign if Brexit deal fails again
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman declined to say on Wednesday whether May would resign if her latest bid to get support for her Brexit withdrawal deal is defeated when it comes back to parliament for a fourth time next month.
German armed forces suspend training ops in Iraq on regional tensions
Germany is suspending military training operations in Iraq due to increasing regional tensions, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
