Qatar sees no need to re-open embassy in Syria -foreign minister
Qatar’s foreign minister said on Monday that he saw no need to re-open an embassy in Damascus, nor any encouraging signs for a normalization of ties with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Urging Gulf states to heal rift, Pompeo lands in Riyadh
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that a rift between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors had gone on for too long and was threatening regional unity needed to counter Iran.
Germany’s CDU chief: There are ‘crusades’ against diesel
The chairwoman of Germany’s governing conservatives, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer increasingly has the impression that there was a “crusade” going on against diesel by environmental lobby groups, she told broadcaster n-tv on Monday.
Pompeo cancels Kuwait leg of MidEast trip: spokesman
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will cut short his Middle East trip because he needs to return to the United States for a family funeral, a state department spokesman said on Monday.
Military cargo plane crashes in Iran, 15 killed
A Boeing 707 military cargo plane crashed in bad weather on Monday west of the Iranian capital, killing 15 out of the 16 people on board, the Iranian army said.
China says detained former Canadian diplomat does not have diplomatic immunity
Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, being held in China on suspicion of endangering national security, is not entitled to diplomatic immunity, China’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
With warning and EU letter, May tries to pull lawmakers behind Brexit deal
Prime Minister Theresa May makes a last ditch effort on Monday to convince rebel lawmakers to back her Brexit divorce deal, warning them that Britain’s exit from the EU is now in peril from politicians seeking to thwart it.
UK trade minister Fox says no Brexit deal is default government policy
The default policy of the British government is to leave the European Union on March 29 without any deal if Prime Minister Theresa May cannot get an agreement through parliament, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said on Monday.
Crashed plane belonged to military, 15 people killed: army cited by news agency
Iran’s army said a cargo plane that crashed in Iran’s Alborz province on Monday was a military plane and that 15 out of the 16 people on board had been killed, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
EU to issue letter over Irish backstop reassurances to UK: RTE News
The European Union will issue a letter Monday morning to the British government spelling out a series of reassurances on the Irish backstop, RTE News reported.
