Belgium

12 Dec 2018; AFP: The European Parliament on Wednesday approved an accord with Japan that has been dubbed the world's biggest trade deal, covering economies that represent a third of the world's GDP.

The agreement will go into effect in February and was celebrated as a victory for Europe as a free trade champion in the face of US President Donald Trump's protectionism and Britain's decision to leave the EU.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union official Donald Tusk says the bloc won’t renegotiate the Brexit deal with the U.K. government as he called a summit Thursday to examine ways to help Britain ratify the deal.

Tusk, the president of the European Council, tweeted that “we will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate U.K. ratification.”

He said that “as time is running out, we will also discuss our preparedness for a no-deal scenario.”

9 Dec 2018; DW: A Belgian museum housing items looted from the African continent during the colonial era is reopening near Brussels. Curators hope that it can now overcome its image as a colonialist holdover.

Belgium's Africa Museum, which has faced criticism in the past for an uncritical depiction of the country's sometimes brutal colonial past, reopened on Saturday after a five-year restoration.

27 Nov 2018; DW: Consumer groups from across the bloc have signaled their plans to file formal complaints against the tech giant. Google has been accused of secretly tracking users' movements even after they try to disable such features.

European consumer agencies on Tuesday said they will file complaints against Google for allegedly breaching the EU's data protection law GDPR by tracking the movements of users without their consent through features such as "location history" and "web and app activity."

BRUSSELS, November 26. /TASS/. Russia must release Ukrainian sailors and ships detained for illegally entering the Sea of Azov on Sunday, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Twitter.

"I condemn Russian use of force in the Azov Sea. Russian authorities must return Ukrainian sailors, vessels and refrain from further provocations. I discussed the situation with President Poroshenko and will meet with his representatives later today. Europe will stay united in support of Ukraine," the tweet reads.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Sunday sealed a divorce deal with Britain, and issued a warning to U.K. politicians who within weeks will approve or reject it — this offer is as good as it gets.

Amid criticism of the deal from lawmakers on all sides of Britain’s EU debate, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the U.K. couldn’t hope to negotiate better terms before its departure in March.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party has used her keynote speech at the annual conference to reject the British government’s planned Brexit deal.

Arlene Foster said in Belfast on Saturday that the deal agreed by Prime Minister Theresa May is unacceptable and must be improved upon in the weeks ahead.

Foster’s view is important because the DUP provides crucial votes that help keep May’s Conservative Party in power despite its minority position in Parliament.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The global chemical weapons watchdog’s initiative to apportion blame for poison gas and nerve agent attacks survived two institutional challenges from Russia on Tuesday and is set to become operational next year.

The U.S. and other Western powers at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons staved off a challenge by Russia and China to a June decision to set up an investigative team with the power to name perpetrators of chemical attacks.

10 Nov 2018; AFP: European Union chief Donald Tusk on Saturday accused US President Donald Trump of being averse to a "strong and united" Europe and also warned against the emergence of a "brownshirt" nationalist front in EU elections next year.

His comments came as Trump, in France for World War I centenary commemorations, blasted French President Emmanuel Macron over his proposals for a European army.

BRUSSELS; 9 Nov 2018; AA: The European Commission said Friday they are discussing a joint stance for Saudi Arabia following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“In any case, the member states are in contact with one another,” commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said, in a daily press briefing in Brussels.

She added that the joint stance would be taken once the results of the investigation into Khashoggi's murder are revealed.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.