Europe

13 Jan 2019; DW: Thousands of people marched against the rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for the sixth week in a row, rallying in Belgrade and other major cities. Protesters accuse him of corruption and stifling the media.

Some 40,000 people took part in the protests in Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad, and several smaller cities, organizers said on Saturday. The authorities did not immediately provide their count.

13 Jan 2019; AFP: Europe is giving US-led calls for a boycott of Huawei 5G telecoms equipment a mixed reception, with some governments untroubled by spy suspicions against the Chinese giant, but others backing a ban.

In the latest setback for Huawei, Poland said Friday it had arrested a Chinese telecoms executive suspected of spying for China, with local media identifying him as a Huawei director.

PARIS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- After showing signs of fatigue during the holidays, "yellow vest" social movement drew more people on Saturday in the ninth consecutive weekend protests, as the government is seeking public consultations in a bid to end the unrest.

Citing police sources, BFMTV news channel said 32,000 protesters took to the streets by 1300 GMT across France. The turnout was up from a week ago when 26,000 people demonstrated.

12 Jan 2019; DW: Across France, 80,000 police officers are being mobilized for the ninth weekend of nationwide street protests. President Emmanuel Macron's plans for a three-month public debate have done little to assuage anger.

More than 5,000 police officers are expected to be on the streets of the French capital on Saturday to monitor the ninth weekend of street protests by the "gilets jaunes" (yellow vests) movement.

12 Jan 2019; DW: An explosion that caused a fire at a bakery in central Paris on Saturday seriously injured at least nine people, police said.

Police said the massive explosion, likely caused by a gas leak, gutted the ground floor of the building. The blast went off at around 9 a.m.local time (0800 UTC).

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said more than 200 firefighters were attending the scene at a bakery on Rue Trevise in the 9th arrondissement of north-central Paris.

12 Jan 2019; AFP: A powerful explosion badly damaged a bakery in central Paris on Saturday, injuring several people and smashing nearby windows after a suspected gas leak, police and AFP journalists said.

A fire broke out after the blast at around 9am (0800 GMT) in the city's 9th district, a residential and shopping area.

Images posted on Twitter showed debris covering the street and the lower part of the building blown out and in flames. Parked cars were also damaged in the blast.

MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. The Russian Navy plans to place more than 30 Poseidon strategic nuclear-capable underwater drones on combat duty, a source in the domestic defense industry told TASS on Saturday.

"Two Poseidon-carrying submarines are expected to enter service with the Northern Fleet and the other two will join the Pacific Fleet. Each of the submarines will carry a maximum of eight drones and, therefore, the total number of Poseidons on combat duty may reach 32 vehicles," the source said.

LONDON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told his counterpart, Britain's Theresa May, in London Thursday that he supported the Brexit deal she has agreed with the European Union (EU).

After a high-level meeting with May at 10 Downing Street, Abe said: "It is the strong will of Japan to further develop this strong partnership with the UK, to invest more into your country and to enjoy further economic growth with the UK.

"That is why we truly hope that a no-deal Brexit will be avoided, and in fact that is the whole wish of the whole world."

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s media is reporting that Jaguar Land Rover will announce up to 5,000 job cuts as the carmaker addresses slowing demand in China and growing uncertainty about the U.K.’s departure from the European Union.

The BBC says the luxury carmaker will cut around 5,000 jobs in marketing, management and administrative roles. The company employs about 44,000 people in the U.K.

10 Jan 2019; AFP: Almost 640 flights were cancelled in Germany Thursday as security staff went on strike at three airports, meaning disruption for around 100,000 passengers.

The number of flights blocked was more than half the 1,050 planned for Duesseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart.

Duesseldorf -- the country's third-largest airport -- said in a statement that 370 of Thursday's 580 planned departures had to be cancelled.