EU Commission, not ECB, presidency is priority for Merkel: Handelsblatt
Chancellor Angela Merkel is focusing on securing the European Commission presidency for a German candidate, rather than backing Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann to succeed Mario Draghi at the helm of the European Central Bank (ECB), Handelsblatt reported…
Afghanistan will not attend Russia-led peace talks with Taliban: govt. sources
Afghanistan will not attend peace talks hosted by Russia, two senior government officials said Wednesday, a decision that could make Moscow reconsider its plan to invite the Taliban to a multinational conference to discuss the future of the country.
Rattled quake survivors mark Muslim festival on Indonesian island
Hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors on the Indonesian island of Lombok celebrated the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in makeshift camps on Wednesday, in a rare moment of joy after weeks of strong tremors that have killed more than 500 people.
Tanker with 19 crew on board missing in piracy-plagued West African waters
A tanker vessel with 19 crew members on board, most of them Georgians, has gone missing in pirate-plagued waters off Gabon in West Africa and no word has been heard from it for a week, the ship’s managers and the crew agency said on Wednesday.
NATO says forces defensive, don’t compare to Russian deployments
NATO rebutted on Wednesday President Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that the alliance’s forces in eastern Europe posed a threat to Russia, saying they were no match for Moscow deployments.
After summer’s growth revisions, Macron has budget work cut out
French President Emmanuel Macron will make the tough political choices needed to meet his deficit commitments, his government spokesman said, as he looked to put a bodyguard scandal behind him at his first cabinet meeting after the summer break.
After IS killed her sons, Iraqi grandmother fends for 22 children
Iraqi grandmother Sana Ibrahim al-Taee has a full-time job feeding and clothing her 22 grandchildren after Islamic State killed their fathers – her sons – a struggle in a cramped flat with little help from the state.
Islamic State video claims to show boys behind Chechnya attacks
Islamic State’s media arm released a video on Wednesday of four boys it said were behind multiple attacks on police targets in the Russian region of Chechnya two days ago which were claimed by the group.
Merkel cool on EU independent payment system to save Iran deal
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she agreed with her foreign minister that relations with the United States were changing but she stopped short of backing his call for a separate EU payments system to save a nuclear deal with Iran.
Lula’s rising star in Brazil election poll rattles markets
The popularity of imprisoned former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s has grown strongly despite his corruption conviction, an election poll on Wednesday showed, a result that rattled markets and raised the possibility that Lula’s running…
