Regulator fires head of Latvian public television2018-12-29
The Latvian mass media regulator on Friday fired Ivars Belte as head of the Baltic country's public television, accusing him of mismanaging taxpayers' money and providing advertising services to commercial clients, local media reported.

Spotlight: Turkish incursion into Syria amid U.S. pullout may damage ties with Astana partners: analysts2018-12-29
A Turkish military intervention into Syria to eliminate the Kurdish militia and the Islamic State (IS) amid U.S. pullout of troops risks creating a rift between Ankara and its Astana partners, namely Russia and Iran, analysts told Xinhua.

Netherlands publishes own blacklist in fight against tax avoidance2018-12-29
In addition to the blacklist of the European Union the Netherlands has drawn up its own list of low-tax jurisdictions to help implement new measures to combat tax avoidance, the Dutch government announced on Friday.

Germany's exports of military equipment declined significantly2018-12-29
German companies exported weapons and military equipment worth 4.62 billion euros (5.30 billion U.S. dollars) until De. 13 of the current year, significantly down from a total of 6.24 billion euros in 2017, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy revealed on Friday.

Russia says U.S. may shift responsibility to allies by leaving Syria2018-12-29
Russia does not fully understand why the United States decided to withdraw troops from Syria, but thinks Washington may shift its responsibility in the war-torn country to allies, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

Over 17,000 Turks seek asylum in Europe in 2018 after coup attempt2018-12-29
The number of Turkish citizens seeking asylum in European Union countries have significantly increased in the past two years, exceeding 17,000 pending applicants so far this year, a Turkish official told Xinhua.

Russia, Britain agree on gradual restoring of diplomatic staff: Russian ambassador2018-12-29
Russia and Britain have reached in principle an agreement to gradually restore diplomatic staff starting January, Russian Ambassador to London Alexander Yakovenko said Friday.

Turkish president says Syria runs "psychological operation" in Manbij2018-12-29
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Syria is trying to conduct a "psychological operation" in Manbij by sending its troops to the northern Syrian city.

Britain enjoys more sunshine in 2018, say weather experts2018-12-29
Britain is set to record its second sunniest year ever in 2018 since 1929, the Met Office said Friday.

Italy's PM expects robust growth in 2019, higher than 1-pct forecast in budget2018-12-29
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Friday said he counted on a robust economic growth next year, possibly exceeding the forecast included in the national budget upon which the government has lately agreed with European Union (EU) authorities.

Over 60 pct of Norwegians against private use of fireworks2018-12-29
A recent survey showed that more than 60 percent of Norwegians think that private use of fireworks should be banned in case there is publicly arranged fireworks on New Year's Eve, public broadcaster NRK reported Friday.

Belarus to further lower duties on oil exports outside EEU2018-12-29
Belarus will further lower export duties on crude oil and other oil products outside the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) starting Jan. 1, the press service of the government said Friday.

Catastrophic losses in 2018 reduced by half compared with last year: report2018-12-29
Total economic losses from natural and man-made disasters in 2018 are estimated to be 155 billion U.S. dollars, down from 350 billion dollars, according to a preliminary estimate by Swiss Reinsurance company's latest sigma.

Malta's health authorities alerts volcanic ash spreading2018-12-29
Malta's health authorities alerted the public about the possible health effects of volcanic ash reaching Malta following the eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy on Friday.