“We resolutely condemn the US embargo against Cuba and demand to lift it fully and immediately,” Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said. Source: TASS
Global Organisations
Austria will not sign on to a landmark UN pact regulating global migration. The right-wing government of Sebastian Kurz is following in the footsteps of leaders from the United States and Hungary. Source: Deutsche Welle
Denmark said Thursday it would not take in any refugees under the UN’s quota system in 2018, focusing instead on integrating those recently arrived in the country. Source: The Local
In late October, NATO will conduct its largest military exercises since the end of the Cold War in Europe’s North, amid growing tensions with Russia over Moscow’s development of new nuclear-ready missiles and uncertainty over the Trump administration’s commitment to transatlantic security. Source: Euractiv
The Trump administration on Wednesday pulled out of two international agreements after Iran and the Palestinians complained to the International Court of Justice about U.S. policies, the latest withdrawal by Washington from multilateral accords. Source: Reuters
It is necessary to aim a result-oriented, scheduled and strategic package deal for the Cyprus negotiation process, the president of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) told reporters following his meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN headquarters in New York. Source: Hürriyet Daily News
Iran’s foreign minister denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allegations against Tehran at the U.N. General Assembly as an “obscene charge,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday. Source: Associated Press
Protests are continuing tonight in Barcelona against the ongoing trial of a dozen Catalan separatist leaders in Madrid. They are in the dock over a 2017 referendum and subsequent declaration of independence deemed illegal by the Spanish government. If found guilty, the group could each face up to 25 years in jail. Source Euronews
In an interview with CNN, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that the country must be prepared for China’s growing military threat, but the rest of the world should take notice because it is a sign of more to come from the communist regime if other nations sit idly by. Source: Taiwannews
A bill being currently processed in parliament would allow the deportation of a dual national for crimes such as high treason or terrorism, but the intention now is to include more “ordinary” aggravated crimes as well. Source: Xinhua
Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced tax and loan benefits earlier this month to increase the number of Hungarian children.
It later prompted Swedish minister Annika Strandhall to compare the policy to Nazi Germany.
Hungary’s deputy prime minister said the remarks were an aberration triggered by political correctness.
Moscow will match any U.S. move to deploy new nuclear missiles closer to Russia by stationing its own missiles closer to the United States or by deploying faster missiles or both, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. Source: Reuters
Nearly one hundred people met this afternoon for a hotel in Verviers to protest against the arrival of Theo Francken (N-VA). The former secretary of state for Asylum and Migration was expected in the city at a lecture, but it has since been canceled. His car was attacked and the police can not guarantee his safety, he reports on Twitter. Muriel Targnion, mayor of Verviers (PS), joined the demonstrators as well. Source HLN
Fearing a nuclear arms race between China, Russia and the United States after the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which the United States is withdrawing from, Merkel made her call for a global treaty. Source: Reuters
Members of Italy’s ruling governing party the 5-Star Movement voted on Monday to block a possible kidnapping trial against Matteo Salvini, its coalition ally and leader of the hard-right League party. The online ballot is meant to dictate how 5-Star senators should vote on Tuesday in a parliamentary committee reviewing whether magistrates can continue a probe into Salvini, who is also interior minister and deputy prime minister. Source Thomson Reuters
Five Star movement asks supporters whether Matteo Salvini should be prosecuted for allegedly kidnapping migrants. Members of Italy’s ruling Five Star Movement are voting online on Monday to decide whether to block a possible kidnapping trial against Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, a coalition ally and leader of the right-wing League party. Source Aljazeera
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested over the weekend that a mosque in Athens should open with minarets if Greece wants to reopen the Halki Orthodox seminary near Istanbul. Source Ekathimerini
French schools are to replace the words “mother” and “father” with “parent 1” and “parent 2” under a controversial same sex amendment to a law passed this week. Source: Telegraph
The natural gas market is emerging from winter relatively unscathed despite potentially disruptive Chinese tariffs on U.S. gas. But the ongoing trade dispute is still putting a chill on cooperation between the two energy powerhouses and threatens to sideline billions in investment. Source: CNBC
Earlier on Friday, the crown prince met Vice Premier Han Zheng where the two sides agreed to expand cooperation on both China’s grand one-trillion-dollar infrastructure programme, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and on Saudi Vision 2030, an effort by Riyadh to diversify the economy beyond oil and grow modern service and hi-tech industries. Source: Aljazeera
The European and global economic environment has become more threatening for France in recent months, with the recession in Italy a particularly serious concern, the French finance minister said. Source Bloomberg
Turkey is about to start offshore drilling with two vessels around the island of Cyprus, Turkish foreign minister said on Feb. 21. “Let those who come to the region from far away, and their companies, see that nothing can be done in that region without us. Nothing at all can be done in the Mediterranean without Turkey, we will not allow that,” Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told at an event gathering business people in Turkey’s western Aydın province. Source Daily News
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will never have a role in the future of the Turkish economy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, also criticizing the main opposition party on the issue. Source Daily News
Major Japanese and Chinese e-commerce companies Rakuten Inc. and JD.com Inc. said Thursday they will tie up and commercialize an unmanned delivery service in Japan to save time, cost and labor of parcel shipments in the wake of the explosive growth of online shopping. Source Japan Times
Manufacturing activity contracted in February for the first time in 2½ years as domestic and export orders fell and factories cut output, a private business survey showed on Thursday. Source JapanTimes
Germany’s trade surplus becomes the world’s largest for a third consecutive year, surpassing those of Japan and Russia yet again, but Berlin’s trade policies and economic performance have produced tensions between Germany and the US, as well as calls for reforms at home. Source SputnikNews
China is proposing that it could buy an additional $30 billion a year of U.S. agricultural products including soybeans, corn and wheat as part of a possible trade deal being negotiated by the two countries, according to people with knowledge of the plan. Source Bloomberg
China is proposing that it could buy an additional $30 billion a year of U.S. agricultural products including soybeans, corn and wheat as part of a possible trade deal being negotiated by the two countries, according to people with knowledge of the plan. Source: Bloomberg
The EU has announced an additional €30 million in humanitarian assistance. Another €20 million in development funding will contribute to the reconstruction of the country’s cultural heritage. Source: European Commission
