Europe

VALLETTA (Reuters) - The family of murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has protested over the composition of a board set up by the prime minister to conduct an independent public inquiry into whether the government could have prevented the killing.

Caruana Galizia, an anti-corruption journalist, was killed by a car bomb outside her home on Oct. 16, 2017.

Three men have been charged with the murder and are due to stand trial, but the police are continuing their investigations to establish who the real mastermind was, and the motive.

21 Sep 2019; MEMO: Russia declared on Friday that US actions in the Persian Gulf region “will not bring stability to the region,” referring to the coalition that Washington is seeking to form, so as to secure maritime navigation.

LONDON/ BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) - The deputy leader of the Labour Party survived an attempt to oust him over Brexit on Saturday after party chief Jeremy Corbyn moved to defuse a row that threatened to overshadow the party’s bid to show it was ready for power.

Holding its annual party conference just weeks before Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised “do or die” to lead Britain out of the European Union, Labour was keen to set out its agenda for government rather than put its Brexit divisions on display.

BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) - A government run by Britain’s main opposition Labour Party would secure a “sensible” deal to leave the European Union within three months and would hold a second referendum on the deal or staying in the bloc within six months, a draft statement said.

The draft statement, seen by Reuters, says: “After three years of shambolic Tory (Conservative) negotiations and parliamentary deadlock, a Labour government will get Brexit sorted one way or another within six months of coming to power.”

HELSINKI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne and Chairman of the European Council Donald Tusk conferred on Friday over the phone, Finnish media reported.

They agreed on the view that the UK must be fast in submitting alternatives to the the existing Brexit agreement, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported quoting unnamed Finnish government officials.

It is considered by many EU officials as necessary for the current British government led by Boris Johnson to submit written proposals since it does not accept an earlier agreement with the EU.

BERLIN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The German federal government on Friday agreed on a bundle of measures to reach national climate targets -- 55 percent fewer greenhouse gases by 2030 as compared to 1990, including CO2 pricing and various incentives.

"We do not live sustainably today," stressed German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press conference. "We are called upon, especially in view of the many young people around the world who rightly demand that we do something that offers them good opportunities in life."

PARIS, Sept 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 7,000 police officers are to be deployed for rallies in Paris on Saturday over fears that yellow vest protesters and their radical, anarchist “black blocs” could try to infiltrate a march against climate change in the French capital.

The yellow vest movement erupted 10 months ago and blindsided President Emmanuel Macron, who protesters accused of being out of touch with the needs of ordinary French people.

MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/: The air defenses of Russia’s Kaliningrad Region are capable of repelling air attacks from the United States, including those involving fifth generation fighter jets, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Russia’s Kaliningrad Region is well protected from any aggressive plans that American generals who visit Europe may have," the statement reads.

VELIKY NOVGOROD, September 20. /TASS/: The United States should refrain from plotting to attack Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad because the technological prowess and morale of the troops deployed there empower it to fight off any adversary, Regional Governor Anton Alikhanov told TASS, commenting on a National Interest article, which claims that a US B-52 bomber "flew a mock cruise-missile attack" against Kaliningrad in March.

KIEV, September 20. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has appointed Valery Yevdokimov Director of the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service, the executive order was published on the president’s official website on Friday.

"To appoint Valery Yevdokimov Chairperson of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine," the document says.

Yevdokimov previously served as deputy chairperson of the service.