Europe

GENEVA, 10 July 2020; MEMO: UN human rights investigator Agnes Callamard said Thursday that Turkey’s trial in absentia of 20 Saudi nationals over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul is "very important."  

LONDON, July 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK is to resume arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite concerns they could be used against civilians in Yemen, in violation of international humanitarian law.

Sales were suspended last year after a legal challenge by campaigners.

A subsequent review found “isolated incidents” of possible violations but no pattern of non-compliance and “no clear risk” of future serious breaches.

LONDON, 10 July 2020; AA: Turkey and the UK are “very close” to signing a free trade agreement for the post-Brexit era, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

An article by the Financial Times quoted Cavusoglu as saying negotiations between the two countries on a trade deal covering manufactured goods, agriculture, and services are “going very well and we are close to finalizing it.”

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre is continuing its work looking into Huawei, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday, responding to reports that culture minister Oliver Dowden would make a statement on Tuesday.

“It’s an ongoing process, the NCSC continue their work and when we can update further we will,” the spokesman told reporters.

PARIS (Reuters) - Paris’ centuries-old Notre-Dame Cathedral will be rebuilt as it was before being engulfed in a fire last year, the public body in charge of its restoration said on Thursday.

The April 15, 2019 blaze gutted the Gothic landmark and major tourist attraction, destroying the spire and roof in a disaster that stunned the nation.

A national heritage and architectural commission approved plans to restore the cathedral to its last “complete, coherent and known” state, including the spire, the restoration body said in a statement.

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday the EU’s coronavirus recovery plan would be unacceptable if funding were linked to rule-of-law conditions, and Budapest could veto any deal as a last resort.

Orban, a right-wing nationalist who has accumulated unprecedented powers since winning election a decade ago, has clashed with the European Union executive for years over his perceived backsliding from democratic governance.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google may be able to stave off a full-scale EU antitrust investigation into its planned $2.1 billion bid for Fitbit (FIT.N) by pledging not to use Fitbit’s health data to help it target ads, people familiar with the matter said.

The deal announced in November last year allows Google, a unit of Alphabet (GOOGL.O), to take on Apple (AAPL.O) and Samsung (005930.KS) in the fitness tracking and smart watch market, alongside others including Huawei and Xiaomi (1810.HK).

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped on Friday and were headed for weekly declines as inventories rose and record-breaking new coronavirus cases in the United States stoked concern about the pace of economic recovery and fuel demand.

Brent crude was down by 46 cents, or 1.1%, at $41.89 a barrel by 1130 GMT, and U.S. oil fell 51 cents, or 1.3%, to $39.11 a barrel.

Brent was set for a weekly decline of almost 2% and U.S. crude for a fall of almost 4%.

(Reuters) - European Council President Charles Michel on Friday sought to offer concessions to countries across the EU in plans for the EU’s long-term budget and economic recovery, hoping to bridge differences between national leaders when they meet next week.

Michel, who will chair the first face-to-face meeting of European Union leaders since coronavirus lockdowns were lifted, proposed a smaller 2021-27 budget in a bid to make a mass economic stimulus more palatable to thrifty northern countries.

DUBLIN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Irish Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has been elected as President of Eurogroup, according to a government statement issued here on Thursday.

Donohoe was elected by his fellow euro area finance ministers at a video conference of the Eurogroup held earlier in the day, said the statement, adding that the other two candidates for the office were Nadia Calvino, Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation of Spain, and Pierre Gramegna, Minister for Finances of Luxembourg, according to the statement.