Europe

May heads to Brussels as Spain threatens Brexit summit

  by Alex PIGMAN and Toni CERDÀ Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May was headed back to Brussels on Saturday to defend the planned Brexit divorce deal even as Spain threatened to boycott an EU summit meant to endorse it. May has final day talks scheduled with EU leaders Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, although diplomats said the withdrawal agreement is finished and ready for EU leaders to approve […]

Spain’s PM Sanchez repeats Brexit veto threat after May talks

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez maintained his threat to scupper Britain’s draft deal to exit the European Union following a meeting with UK counterpart Theresa May on Thursday. “After my conversation with Theresa May, our positions remain far away. My government will always defend the interests of Spain. If there are no changes, we will veto Brexit,” Sanchez wrote on Twitter after arriving for a historic state visit to Cuba. Madrid […]

EU says all responsible for Khashoggi murder must be held ‘accountable’

  ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — The EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini said on Thursday all those “really responsible” for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi have to be held accountable. After Saudi Arabia accepted responsibility and said that 21 people were in custody, with death penalties sought against five men, attention turned to whether the crown prince would be found culpable. “Those responsible, really responsible for this terrible murder have to be accountable,” Mogherini told […]

One dead, 49 hurt as landslide derails train in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — One person was killed on Tuesday and 49 others were injured, five seriously, when a train derailed near Barcelona due to a landslide caused by heavy rains, emergency services and Spain’s rail operator said. Two carriages of a convoy of six came off the tracks at 6:15 am (0515 GMT) near the town of Vacarisses, 35 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of Barcelona, emergency services said on Twitter. Of the 133 people […]

One dead after landslide derails train in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — One person was killed and six injured on Tuesday after a commuter train derailed near Barcelona due to a landslide caused by heavy rains, emergency services and Spain’s rail operator said. The accident happened in the town of Vacarisses, about 35 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of Barcelona, when two of the train’s six carriages came off the tracks, local emergency services said on Twitter. The train, which was travelling between Manresa […]

China’s Xi to make state visit to Spain next week

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to Spain next week as the two countries celebrate the 45th year of ties, Spain’s royal palace said Monday. Xi “will begin a state visit to Spain on November 28,” a spokesman told AFP, without specifying how long it would be or giving details of the programme. A state visit typically involves a meeting with Spain’s King Felipe VI and Prime Minister […]

Germany to bar 18 Saudis over Khashoggi murder

  BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Germany will bar 18 Saudis from entering its territory and Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone over their alleged links to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday. Maas said the move was “coordinated very closely with” states France and Britain and the broader EU as they seek more information in Khashoggi’s death last month in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Berlin has “decided that Germany should impose […]

Divided APEC leaders battle for unity after US, China spat

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — New Zealanders have been quick to find a way to celebrate Ireland’s historic Test win in Dublin, highlighting that the All Blacks loss was at least masterminded by a Kiwi. In a country where 20 percent of the population claim Irish ancestry, the All Blacks’ defeat on Saturday was still seen by some as a win for New Zealand. The 16-9 victory was the third time in the […]

British PM fights rebellion over Brexit deal

by James PHEBY Agence France Presse LONDON, United kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May battled to salvage a draft Brexit deal and her political future on Thursday, as ministers resigned and members of her own party plotted to oust her. The Conservative leader said she believed with “every fibre of my being” in the Brexit course she had set, hours after facing a hostile parliament and seeing four ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic […]

‘Allies owe each other respect,’ Macron says of Trump tweets

PARIS, France (AFP) — President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that “allies owe each other respect,” after he was assailed on Twitter by US President Donald Trump after his visit to France for World War I commemorations. “I think he’s doing this for American politics,” Macron said in a televised interview on board France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea. “At every crucial moment in our history, we have been allies,” he said […]

UK’s Hunt visits Gulf for Khashoggi, Yemen talks

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will visit Saudi Arabia on Monday where he will press King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. During a trip to the region that includes a visit to the United Arab Emirates, Hunt will also seek to build support for UN efforts to end the conflict in Yemen, the Foreign Office said. His visit comes amid an […]

Macron snubs US arms in defence spat with Trump

PARIS, France (AFP) — Europe should not spend higher defense budgets on US-made weapons, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview due to air Sunday, after a defense row with President Donald Trump. One of dozens of world leaders attending World War I commemorations in France this weekend, Trump tweeted after landing in Paris that Macron’s call for a “real European army” was “insulting”. In an interview recorded on Saturday with CNN after talks […]