Europe

06 Feb 2019; DW: Two freight cars carrying spray cans and other hygiene products caught fire late Wednesday as a train was traveling through Rhineland-Palatinate, state police said in a statement.

The blaze caused spray cans aboard the train to explode and fly through the air, a police spokesman said. The flames caused damaged to the two freight cars, an overhead line and a barrier designed to limit noise from the railway, though no residential buildings were affected.

07 Feb 2019; DW: British Prime Minister Theresa May will attempt to negotiate the Irish backstop with EU representatives in Brussels. It comes after Donald Tusk said there was a 'special place in hell' for those that promoted Brexit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was to return to Brussels on Thursday in an attempt to reopen talks on the Brexit divorce agreement with the European Union.

07 Feb 2019; DW: Jens Stoltenberg has said countries such as China and India could be brought on board to save the key nuclear pact. The INF treaty is headed for a collapse after the US and Russia said they would walk out of the deal.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he was open to an expanded Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with more members in order to save the key armaments pact.

06 Feb 2019; DW: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and French Defense Minister Florence Parly announced plans to produce a new joint fighter jet on Wednesday.

The two spoke at Gennevilliers near Paris at a facility operated by Safran Aircraft Engines, which will produce the jet's new engine in collaboration with Germany's MTU Aero Engines.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italy on Monday blocked a joint European Union position to recognize Venezuela’s National Assembly head Juan Guaido as interim president, diplomatic sources said.

EU states have been debating for days how to address the Venezuela crisis, with ten countries recognizing the opposition leader after the expiry of a deadline for President Nicolas Maduro to call a new election.

Some EU members are nervous about setting a precedent of recognizing a self-proclaimed leader.

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. Participants in the intra-Afghan conference in Moscow have called for complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, Tolo News TV channel reported citing the statement issued at the end of the conference.

LONDON; 06 Feb 2019; AA: A demonstration was held outside the Chinese embassy in London on Tuesday against China’s human rights violations against the Turkic Uighur minority in the country’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region, also referred to as East Turkestan. 

DUSHANBE, February 5. /TASS/. Russia will assist Tajikistan in modernizing its armed forces and fortifying its state border in light of threats emanating from Afghanistan’s territory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday following talks with his Tajik counterpart Sirodjiddin Muhriddin.

"We have already began work to provide assistance to our Tajik friends in re-equipping their armed forces, fortifying the state border, including in light of the persisting threats, which continue to emanate from Afghanistan’s territory," he said.

MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. Moscow and Tehran have given up the dollar in settlement payments and plan to shift completely to national currencies, with euro to be used if there are no other options, Russia’s Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan said in an interview with TASS.

BRUSSELS, February 5. /TASS/. Defense ministers from NATO member states will start their upcoming meeting in Brussels by discussing the consequences of the US move to suspend its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), a NATO official told TASS on Tuesday.