France

PARIS, Dec 10 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's new Chancellor Olaf Scholz played down differences on Friday over reform of EU budget rules and the place of nuclear in green investment financing, pledging to keep the Franco-German axis strong.

The trip to meet Macron in Paris was Scholz's first foreign visit since he became German leader on Wednesday, ending 16 years of rule by Angela Merkel. Diplomats say the change presents Macron with an opportunity to seize a more senior role in the Franco-German relationship.

PARIS, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron presented on Thursday France's presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), under the motto "Recovery, Power, Belonging".

The first axis of France's presidency is Europe's sovereignty, Macron said at a press conference.

France plans to move towards" a Europe that is powerful in the world, fully sovereign, free in its choices and in charge of its own destiny," Macron said.

PARIS, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- French Minister of the Sea Annick Girardin warned on Thursday that France would demand a European-level meeting and a litigation procedure if the United Kingdom does not grand fishing licenses to 94 French fishing boats by Friday evening.

"If all the licenses were not granted by tomorrow evening, France will request the meeting of the partnership council," she told BFMTV.

The purpose of the meeting would be to guarantee the application of the post-Brexit agreement, to note the non-respect of its signature by the UK," the minister said.

09 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Saudi man arrested at a Paris airport yesterday over suspected links to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was released today after officials concluded it was a case of mistaken identity, Paris prosecutors said, Reuters reports.

French law enforcement sources named the man Khaled Aedh Al-Otaibi, the same name as a former member of the Saudi Royal Guard listed in US and British sanctions documents and a UN-commissioned report as having been involved in Khashoggi's killing in Turkey.

PARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - France on Wednesday released a Saudi national arrested at a Paris airport over suspected links to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after officials concluded it was a case of mistaken identity.

French law enforcement sources had identified the man in detention as Khaled Aedh Al-Otaibi, the same name as a former member of the Saudi Royal Guard listed in U.S. and British sanctions documents and a U.N.-commissioned report as having been involved in Khashoggi's killing in Turkey.

PARIS (AP) — French authorities announced Wednesday that a man arrested at Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport for allegedly being linked to the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was misidentified.

The Paris General Prosecutor’s office issued a short statement Wednesday after over 24 hours of checks, saying that the man arrested Tuesday was not the Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi, who is wanted under a 2019 Turkish arrest warrant.

“The (arrest) warrant does not apply to him,” the statement said, without elaborating.

07 Dec 2021; MEMO: A Saudi man has been arrested in France on suspicion of his involvement in the murder of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, three years ago.

According to reports by French media, the former Saudi Royal Guard, Khalid Aedh Al-Otaibi, was arrested at Charles-de-Gaulle airport today, after being found travelling under his own name.

PARIS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - One of the suspected killers of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was arrested at the Roissy airport near Paris on Tuesday as he was about to board a flight to Riyadh, French RTL radio reported.

RTL said the person arrested was a former Royal Guard of Saudi Arabia who is believed to have been involved in the killing of Kashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

05 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Council of Europe has announced that it will launch disciplinary action against Turkey over its continued detention of businessman Osman Kavala.

In a statement released yesterday, the Council said that "Turkey is refusing to abide by the court's final judgment in this case" and that the country will now be subject to "infringement proceedings" and disciplinary action.

PARIS, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Europe crossed 75 million coronavirus cases on Friday as the region braces for the new Omicron variant at a time when hospitals in some countries are already strained by the current surge.

More than 15 countries in Europe have reported confirmed cases of the new variant that has rattled financial markets. The European Union’s public health agency said on Thursday that the Omicron variant could be responsible for more than half of all COVID-19 infections in Europe within a few months.