The European Union said late Monday that it would establish a special payment channel to allow European and other companies to legally continue financial transactions with Iran while avoiding exposure to U.S. sanctions. Source: The Wall Street Journal
Germany
The German chancellor views the EU-Turkey migrant deal as a model for working with North African countries. Following an informal EU summit, the bloc decided to broaden engagement with Arab states to stem migration. Source: Deutsche Welle
The Trump administration persuaded Volkswagen AG to comply with sanctions on Iran and end almost all of its business in the country, according to a U.S. official, a symbolically charged step in undercutting European Union efforts to keep the 2015 nuclear deal alive. Source: Bloomberg
The sale of arms to parties in the Yemen conflict is against the German government’s coalition agreement. But Berlin has now approved a delivery of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, despite allegations of war crimes. Source: Deutsche Welle
Germany will chose where to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal by the end of 2018 as a gesture to the United States which wants to ship more gas to Europe, the economy minister said on Tuesday. Source: Reuters
Hans-Georg Maassen is changing jobs. The move is a compromise between Social Democrats, who demanded Maassen’s removal, and conservative Interior Minister Horst Seehofer. Hans-Georg Maassen, the under-fire head of the domestic intelligence agency — formally known as the “Office for the Protection of the Constitution” (BfV) — will be stripped of his current job but gain a theoretically better one as a deputy head of the interior ministry. Source Deustche Welle
The US administration plans to start exporting its new and vast gas supplies to Europe via Germany within the next four years. As doubts continue over a Russian pipeline to Germany, Washington sees a gap in the market. Source: Deutsche Welle
Called for a fight in progress, it was actually nothing …All started from a call to “17” this Sunday afternoon, shortly after 15 hours. A call signaling a fight street Jena La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendee). The policemen from La Garenne police station then went there. But once on the scene, they did not find anyone. It was then that about twenty individuals whose faces were concealed by scarves or hoods, attacked them. A real ambush. The attackers threw stones and firecrackers on the police. Source Actu17
China has denied a request for a U.S. warship to visit Hong Kong, the U.S. consulate in the Chinese city said on Tuesday, amid rising tension between Beijing and Washington over trade and a U.S. decision to sanction the Asian nation’s military. Source: Reuters
France is not ready for now to let the Mediterranean rescue ship Aquarius dock and disembark dozens of migrants at the port of Marseille, France’s finance minister said on Tuesday. Source: France24
Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven will have to stand down after losing the support of parliament. The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats (SD) backed the vote to remove him, weeks after a general election that delivered a hung parliament. Source: BBC
Open Society Foundations is taking the Hungarian government to court over legislation that makes it illegal for individuals or organizations to support asylum seekers, claiming the law undermines democracy and establishes a “dangerous precedent.” Source: Politico
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against delivering an advanced air-defense system to Syria, saying it will further destabilize the war-torn region. Source: Radio Free Europe
Within two weeks Russia will complete the delivery to Damascus of an S-300 air defense system previously suspended on a request by Israel as part of response to the downing of a Russian plane amid an Israeli air raid on Syria. Source: RT
A year after winning over 66 percent of French voters, Macron’s support has fallen to just 29 percent, according to a new poll. The president’s policies are now seen by some as favoring big business and the rich. Source: Deutsche Welle
A ‘deadly and unforgiving revenge’ for attack that killed 29 people, says Iranian elite force as UAE denies involvement. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has vowed to revenge the attack on a military parade that killed 29 people, including the four attackers, and wounded 70 others. Source: Al Jazeera
“Engaged in an attack zone , on a settling of accounts in a city, or to hospitalize an armed psychiatric patient, these are different types of interventions for which our teams were far from being protected as it should be”, explains Samu du Var in a statement. Source 20 minutes
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has welcomed the passage of Ukrainian warships to the Sea of Azov, noting that the vessels will be part of a new naval base of the Ukrainian fleet in the area. Source: UNIAN
President Macron promised French households a €6 billion tax cut as he launched plans designed to reinvigorate his flagging presidency. The tax cut, earmarked for next year, would be paid for in part by cutting more than 4,000 public-sector jobs as well as reducing pensions and benefits. Mr Macron said that it would help to usher France towards a new era of prosperity and shore up his credibility within the European Union. Source The Time
China has reacted with anger to the news that the United States is ready to approve a $330 million arms sale to neigboring Taiwan. Source: CNBC
The European Union said late Monday that it would establish a special payment channel to allow European and other companies to legally continue financial transactions with Iran while avoiding exposure to U.S. sanctions. Source: The Wall Street Journal
COSCO shipping lines, China’s largest state-owned international and domestic container shipping and related services company, is opening its first branch in Sarajevo on Tuesday. Source: Balkan Insight
Swedish truckmaker AB Volvo has stopped assembling trucks in Iran because U.S. sanctions are preventing it from being paid, a spokesman for the company said on Monday. Source: Investing
Turkey’s Fatih drilling vessel is reportedly in danger of being left without a scientific team and the necessary technology needed to commence operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Source: Ekathimerini
Saudi’s Aramco Trading Company (ATC) expects to increase its oil trading volume to 6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, 50 percent higher than current levels, the company’s top official said on Monday. Source: Reuters
OPEC’s leader Saudi Arabia and its biggest oil-producer ally outside the group, Russia, ruled out on Sunday any immediate, additional increase in crude output, effectively rebuffing U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for action to cool the market. Source: Reuters
China’s largest lithium producer, Ganfeng Lithium, said on Friday that it had signed a three-year deal to supply Tesla with lithium hydroxide for batteries—another lithium supply agreement for Tesla as it tries to stay ahead in raw materials sourcing before the coming massive EV competition from legacy carmakers. Source: Oil Price
The world’s two first hydrogen-powered trains have begun service in Germany. The trains, which operate in between northern German towns, are a step away from traditional diesel power. According to a press release from Alstom, the trains’ French parent company, they are are “equipped with fuel cells which convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity. Source Popular Mechanics
U.S. President Donald Trump linked American support for Middle Eastern countries to oil prices on Thursday as he again urged OPEC to lower prices. Source: Reuters
