Europe

LONDON; 12 Feb 2019; AA: Turkey is a center for multiculturalism and it is the precursor of the European Union, a representative for the Catholic congregation in Turkey said.

"I suggest [European countries] to follow the example of Ottomans and Turkey" in multiculturalism, said Rinaldo Marmara, spokesman for Istanbul's Catholic Episcopal Church.

A Chinese billionaire barred from Australia on suspicions he is part of a Communist Party influence campaign has lashed out at Canberra, calling it a "giant baby" that hasn't found its place in international politics.

Huang Xiangmo, a long-term Sydney resident, had been a prominent donor to Australia's two major parties before he was blocked from re-entering the country last week -- with his permanent residency visa revoked and a citizenship bid rejected.

12 Feb 2019; DW: Christian Democrat (CDU) leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the party had to prevent any repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, which saw hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees arrive in Germany.

"We must do everything we can to prevent this from happening again," the CDU leader said. "We have learned our lesson."

Kramp-Karrenbauer took over the conservative CDU leadership from Chancellor Angela Merkel in December.

12 Feb 2019; DW: Germany needs at least 260,000 new migrant workers per year until 2060 in order to meet labor shortages caused by demographic decline, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Of that number, 146,000 people each year would need to immigrate from non-EU member states, the research published by the Bertelsmann Foundation said.

12 Feb 2019; DW: The trial of 12 Catalan secessionist leaders involved in an attempt to secede from Spain got underway in the country's Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The long-awaited trial has re-ignited tensions over the future of Catalonia. Hundreds of police, including from anti-terrorism units, have been deployed around the Court building in Madrid.

MOSCOW, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The fourth meeting of the heads of Russia, Turkey and Iran dedicated to the settlement in Syria is set for Feb. 14 in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Kremlin said Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of Iran Hassan Rouhani will discuss a long-term settlement to the conflict in Syria, it said in a statement.

The three presidents also plan bilateral meetings, it added.

MOSCOW, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday criticized the European Union for its "dual approaches" to Iran.

"The EU must rise above its dual approaches when they try not to annoy the Americans, and to do something so that Iran sees real efforts, and to make the right choice by deciding in favor of real cooperation," RIA Novosti news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.

LONDON (AP) — Mounting uncertainty over Brexit is weighing heavily on the British economy, which slowed last year to its weakest growth rate since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, official figures showed Monday.

The Office for National Statistics said that the British economy grew by a quarterly rate of only 0.2 percent during the fourth quarter, down from the 0.6 percent tick recorded in the previous three-month period. Output actually fell in the month of December, by 0.4 percent from November, though monthly data are known to be volatile.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian Intelligence Service says GPS signal disruption as seen during major NATO drills in Norway last year “is of particular concern” for the military and “is also a threat to civil aviation in peacetime.”

The intelligence agency said Monday in its annual report that the signal jamming “represents not only a new challenge” for NATO members, but saying Russia’s ability to project its power “in peace, crisis and war will increase.”

BUDAPEST, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced here on Sunday in his annual speech a bold seven-point action plan on helping families with children in order to tackle population decline.