Hungary PM Orban backs Germany’s Weber for top EU job
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is backing Germany’s Manfred Weber to be the centre-right’s candidate to head the European Commission, national news agency MTI quoted Orban’s cabinet chief Antal Rogan as saying on Thursday.
Dutch call off Saudi trips due to concern over missing journalist
Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra on Thursday pulled out of next week’s investment summit in Riyadh and a Dutch trade mission to Saudi Arabia in November was put on hold over concerns about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
France sends mixed signals over Saudi ties after Khashoggi affair
France pulled its finance minister out of a Saudi investment conference on Thursday in response to the unexplained disappearance of a journalist but voiced confidence that relations between the allies would not be hurt.
Turkey searches Saudi consulate again, as French, Dutch ministers cancel Riyadh trip
Turkey searched the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for a second time overnight as part of a probe into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while the French and Dutch finance ministers pulled out of a Riyadh investment summit amid global criti…
Russia and Turkey give more time for Idlib deal in Syria: U.N.
Russia and Turkey plan to give more time for the implementation of their de-escalation deal in the Syrian province of Idlib, a “great relief” for an area of 3 million civilians, U.N. humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland told reporters on Thursday.
Special Report: Why Poland fell out of step with Europe
By Lidia Kelly, Justyna Pawlak and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk
UK is considering other ideas to break Brexit deadlock: PM May’s spokeswoman
Britain is considering other ways of making progress in Brexit negotiations with the European Union, not just a mooted extension to the transition period, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokeswoman told reporters on Thursday.
Extending Brexit transition is an option UK would hope not to use: UK official
Extending a so-called transition period after Britain leaves the European Union is an idea that has come up in Brexit negotiations in recent days, a senior British government official said on Thursday.
Former Malaysian deputy PM detained amid graft investigation
Malaysia’s anti-graft agency arrested a former deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, on Thursday in connection with an investigation into suspected misappropriation of funds from a charity foundation, the agency said.
EU leaders seek stronger euro zone as Italy challenges rules
European Union leaders will discuss on Thursday how to make the euro zone more resilient to crises, with the bloc’s third biggest economy, Italy, putting new urgency into the talks by challenging EU budget rules that underpin the single currency.
