Bulgaria would face ‘major crisis’ if Black Sea tensions worsen
Bulgaria would face a “major crisis” if military tensions in the Black Sea were to worsen, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Friday, after Russia’s capture of three Ukrainian naval ships and its crews last month prompted fears of an escalation.
Turkey, U.S. commit to accelerated progress on roadmap regarding Syria’s Manbij
Turkey and the United States have agreed to speed up efforts to put in place an agreement on Syria’s Manbij by the end of the year, a working committee between the NATO allies said on Friday.
Greece’s Tsipras tells Russia he’s concerned by Turkish arms purchases
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Friday that he had expressed his concern during talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Turkey buying weapons from Russia, TASS news agency reported.
French retailers lost around 1 billion euros since start of protests: FCD
French retailers have lost around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in revenue since the start of the “yellow vest” protests in the country last month, the French retail federation (FCD) told Reuters on Friday.
Mexico’s new government strikes Jalisco cartel finances, promises more
New Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is taking aim at the finances of the powerful Jalisco cartel in what a top anti-money laundering official said was the opening salvo in the fight to stop criminal gangs from flourishing with impunity.
‘It’s been an honor,’ says Merkel as German CDU picks new leader
Angela Merkel bowed out as leader of her Christian Democrats on Friday with an emotional speech to her conservative party as it met to pick her successor who will move into pole position to become Germany’s next chancellor.
Germany sees no new EU sanctions on Russia for now
Germany does not envision EU sanctions against Russia over its conflict with Ukraine as long as de-escalation efforts continue, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Friday.
Italy’s economy minister denies resignation reports
Italy’s Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Friday he would not resign and dismissed newspaper reports that he was on the verge of quitting amidst talks with Brussels over next year’s budget.
Paris protests could hit tourism and transport stocks again
France braced on Friday for another wave of protests against high living costs that could inflict more pain on tourism and transport stocks in the euro zone’s No. 2 economy, after retailers, airlines and hoteliers suffered their worst week in months.
Thailand holds Cambodian critic over sex-trafficking film, wife says
A Cambodian labor activist faces deportation home from Thailand over his role in making a sex-trafficking documentary that angered the southeast Asian nation’s government, which dismissed it as fake, his wife said on Friday.
