Angela Merkel’s popularity has dropped abruptly over her handling of Europe’s refugee crisis, a poll for ARD television network showed. Merkel, who was criticized for being slow to condemn violent protests against refugees in an east German town last month, saw her ratings slip by 4 points from the previous month to 63%. Source: Reuters
The Turkish president has announced a fresh offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria is just around the corner. But the US has warned that such action would harm efforts to destroy the “Islamic State” in the region. Source: Deutsche Welle
Canadian businessman Michael Spavor, who worked with North Korea, is being investigated on suspicion of harming China’s security, China said on Thursday, days after a former Canadian diplomat was detained in an escalating diplomatic row. Source: Reuters
The sea phase of the bilateral Russian-Indian maritime exercise Indra Navy-2018, which involves Russia’s Pacific Fleet ships, starts in the Bay of Bengal today near the Indian port of Visakhapatnam, the Pacific Fleet press service reported on Thursday. Source: TASS
