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EU imposes sanctions on 2 individuals over Turkey's hydrocarbon drilling off Cyprus
On Thursday, the Council of the EU added 2 individuals to the Turkey sanctions list, over involvement in planning, directing and implementing offshore hydrocarbon...
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UK may quit EU trade talks if no 'broad outline' of deal by June
UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened to withdraw from trade talks with the EU, if "good progress" is not made within four months.
The...
Kazakhstan
EU-Kazakhstan enhanced partnership agreement comes into force
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - On 1 March, the Agreement on Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union will enter into force, the...
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EP Foreign Affairs Chairman McAllister calls for intensification of EU-Turkey dialogue
"Turkey is an accession candidate and a key strategic partner for the EU, despite the current difficulties in our relations," said David McAllister, Chairman...
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France braces for coronavirus epidemic, Macron warns
French president Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that the country was preparing for a spike in the number of coronavirus cases.
"We are facing a crisis,...
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Turkey says will not stop Syrian refugees reaching Europe
Turkey is "no longer able to hold refugees" following a Syrian attack in Idlib, a spokesman for president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party,...
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Syrian airstrikes kill dozens of Turkish soldiers in Idlib
33 Turkish soldiers were killed and dozens more wounded in an airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province, in the bloody battle for control of the...
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IMF finds decrease in Ukraine’s purchasing power
According to figures released by the International Monetary Fund, in 2019, Ukrainians had significantly less purchasing power than Russians, Belarussians, and Poles. Purchasing power...
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Russia to hold nationwide vote on Putin’s proposed constitutional changes
A working group chaired by Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has set a date for a nationwide vote on the proposed amendments to the country’s...
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EU urged to launch own OS, web browser
Finnish finance minister Katri Kulmuni on Wednesday urged the European Union to develop its own computer operating system and internet browser, and to reduce...
Albania
Amidst crises, Greece finds time for renewed Balkan diplomacy
Despite the multiple crises Greece is currently facing – a continuing refugee deluge and massive public reaction on some islands, the spreading coronavirus threat,...
Archive
Germany at start of coronavirus epidemic
Germany’s health minister said Wednesday that the country was “at the beginning of an epidemic”, just a few days after the number of people...
Israel
Spanish Holocaust-themed carnival celebration triggers outrage
A Spanish Carnival troupe performing a Holocaust-themed parade has canceled its shows after it triggered widespread outcry.
The parade in the central Spanish region of...
Archive
WHO calls on EU for Coronavirus pandemic preparedness
The World Health Organisation's (WHO) regional Director in Europe, Hans Kluge has called on European countries to be in a "phase of preparedness" for...
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Romania's president appoints finance minister to head government
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has nominated finance minister Florin Citu to serve as PM in the new government. He now has 10 days to...
Archive
Countries sending arms to Libya to face consequences, Germany warns
German foreign minister Heiko Maas threatened the countries that continue delivering weapons and sending troops and mercenaries to Libya, despite the arms embargo. Ahead...
Energy
Slovakia and Kazakhstan intensify bilateral cooperation
Slovakia’s President Zuzana Čaputová accepted credentials from the first Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Bratislava Roman Vassilenko, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said.
Čaputová, noting the positive...
Archive
Slovak parliament rejects women’s rights treaty
Slovakia’s parliament has rejected an international treaty on women’s rights, known as the Istanbul Convention, that was first adopted in 2011 by the Council...
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UK to ban two far-right groups under terror laws
The United Kingdom took steps in parliament to make membership in two extreme right-wing groups illegal.
The government said in a statement that it will...
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France reports first coronavirus death, as epidemic spreads in Europe
The French Health Ministry reported that a 60-year-old man died of a COVID-19 (popularly known as coronavirus) infection overnight on Wednesday, February 26 in...
Archive
Opera star Domingo apologizes after found guilty of sexual misconduct
The Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo apologized to the women who accused him of sexual harassment. In a statement sent to Spanish media, Domingo,...
Energy
Kazakhstan plans to increase green energy production by 25%
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan intends to generate about three billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy from renewable sources of energy in 2020, the Minister of...
Archive
Greece reports first Coronavirus case
A 38-year-old woman in Thessaloniki is the first confirmed case of Coronavirus in Greece, according to a Health Ministry spokesperson.
The woman, who had recently...
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Italy may miss on budget targets over coronavirus outbreak
Italy's deputy economy minister Laura Castelli said Tuesday that the EU should leave Italy more room on its budget targets as the country’s struggle...
Afghanistan
Tokayev appoints Special Representative of the president for Afghanistan
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan – Kazakhstan President Kassym - Jomart Tokayev appointed on 26 February Talgat Kaliev as the Special Representative of the President of Kazakhstan...
Archive
UK venues to be required to provide protection from terrorism
The owners of public spaces will be legally bound to protect their venues from terrorism under a new law, called the “protect duty”, which...
Archive
China jails Swedish book publisher for 10 years
Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai, who holds Swedish citizenship, has been sentenced by a Chinese court to 10 years in jail for "illegally providing...
Archive
Dozens injured as German man slams car into carnival crowd
A man intentionally drove a car into a crowd at a Carnival parade in the German town Volkmarsen, injuring around 30 people including children,...
Archive
Coronavirus fears lead to volatility, economic slowdown, oil price drop
Investor fears that the spread of the coronavirus in countries outside China, including Iran, Italy and South Korea, may slow world demand led to...
Archive
EU27 to approve Brexit negotiating mandate
EU Ministers are set to approve on Tuesday during the General Affairs Council's (GAC) session the final negotiation mandate for trade talks with the...
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Merkel’s CDU to elect new leader in April
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is to elect a new leader at the end of April, its current head has announced. Merkel has...
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan presents its candidacy to Human Rights Council for 2022-2024
Kazakhstan has presented its candidacy to the Human Rights Council for the period of 2022-2024, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi said in Geneva on...
Archive
COVID-19: EU advances efforts to tackle outbreak, pledges €232 million aid
EU's Health Chief, Stella Kyriakides and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič announced on Monday that €232 million will be allocated by the European...
Archive
Worst ever result for Merkel’s CDU in Hamburg state election
German chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) had their worst ever result in the Hamburg regional election on Sunday.
The centre-left Social Democratic Party...
Archive
Macron unsure of EU-UK deal by end of year
French president Emmanuel Macron has said he is not sure a UK-EU trade deal will be signed by the end of the post-Brexit transition...
Archive
Erdogan confirms presence of Turkey-backed Syrian fighters in Libya
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday confirmed for the first time that pro-Turkish Syrian fighters are in Libya alongside training teams dispatched by...
Archive
Iran announces 50 dead from coronavirus in city of Qom
50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, local media reported on Monday.
Just a few hours...
Ireland
Ryanair CEO accused of racism for demanding extra checks on Muslim men at airports
Michael O’Leary, CEO of the Irish budget carrier Ryanair, is facing criticism for suggesting Muslim men flying alone should be singled out as threat...
Archive
International fears grow with rise of coronavirus deaths outside China
New cases and fatalities from the new coronavirus outbreak outside China have seen a major spike, days after the World Health Organization has warned...
Archive
Assange to seek asylum in France, lawyers say
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's European defense team has said it intends to seek political asylum in France for the whistleblower. Assange’s US extradition trial...
Archive
Irish government enters stalemate
Ireland’s Fine Gael party leader Leo Varadkar has formally resigned as prime minister after Ireland’s parliament entered a stalemate over the choice of a...
Archive
Naftogaz seeks nearly $8 bln for assets expropriated by Russia in Crimea
Ukraine’s joint stock oil and gas company Naftogaz said on 17 February the group seeks nearly $8 billion of compensation for its assets expropriated...
Archive
Global demand for LNG grows by 12.5% in 2019
Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) grew by 12.5% to 359 million tonnes in 2019, according to Shell’s latest annual LNG Outlook published...
Archive
Commissioner urges Italy to suspend cooperation activities with Libyan Coast Guard
The Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović in a letter sent to Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio has urged the country's government to suspend...
Japan
Coronavirus: Four Kazakh citizens Diamond Princess evacuees test negative
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - Four citizens of Kazakhstan, who were stranded on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan due to the...
Archive
SolarPower Europe, RGI, WindEurope, smartEn discuss climate neutrality goals
Leading associations of the energy transition – smartEn, SolarPower Europe, the Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI), and WindEurope issued a declaration in Brussels on 18...
Archive
US envoy to Serbia-Kosovo talks to become Acting Director of National Intelligence
President Donald Trump has named Richard Grenell, the US Ambassador to Germany and concurrently Special Envoy to Serbia and Kosovo, to become the acting...
Archive
Clashes in Syria escalate as Turkey-backed forces launch assault in Idlib
At least two Turkish soldiers were killed and another five wounded in Syrian government air raids on Thursday near Idlib. Turkish officials said that...
Archive
EU officials meet Cyprus' Anastasiades amid growing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean
Amid growing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades met with EU officials in Brussels, where he...
Archive
Erdogan warns EU against ‘interference’ on Libya
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the European Union's decision to launch a maritime effort focused on enforcing the UN arms embargo around Libya.
Erdogan...
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