Netanyahu gives up role as Israel's foreign minister

Reuters
Feb 17 11:57 PM

JERUSALEM - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday handed over his role as foreign minister to intelligence minister Israel Katz, giving up the portfolio he has held since 2015.   Read more »

Saudi crown prince seeks contracts and allies on Asia tour

Amélie Herenstein, Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 04:13 PM

Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince arrives in Pakistan on Sunday, the start of an Asian tour during which he will seek lucrative contracts and demonstrate he still has allies five months after the Khashoggi affair. Read more »

Japan's PM nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize on US request - Asahi

Reuters
Feb 17 01:52 PM | Updated Feb 17 01:53 PM

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize last autumn after receiving a request from the US government to do so, the Asahi newspaper reported on Sunday. Read more »

World bishops head to Vatican for sex abuse summit

Catherine Marciano, Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 11:29 AM

Pope Francis gathers bishops from around the world at the Vatican this week for a hotly-awaited summit on tackling the wave of child sex abuse scandals assailing the Catholic Church. Read more »

No decision made on spending for Trump's wall: Pentagon chief

Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 09:35 AM

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Saturday that no decision has been taken on funding President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico, a project that may come partly from redirected military funds. Read more »

Disarmament efforts must include China as well as US, Russia: Merkel

Damon Wake, Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 08:59 AM

China must be involved in international disarmament efforts, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday, amid rising concern about Beijing's missile arsenal and the suspension of a key US-Russia arms treaty. Read more »

Macron, Putin weigh 'deteriorated' situation in Syria

Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 08:44 AM

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday discussed priorities for the "greatly deteriorated" situation in Syria, Macron's office said.  Read more »

Karl Marx memorial vandalized in London for second time

Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 08:41 AM

The memorial of German philosopher Karl Marx has been vandalized in London for the second time in 2 weeks, the cemetery that manages the site said on Saturday. Read more »

Saudi defends app allowing men to monitor women relatives

Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 08:37 AM

Saudi Arabia on Saturday defended a mobile app that allows men in the kingdom to track female relatives after rights groups and a US lawmaker criticized tech giants for offering it.  Read more »

Thousands mark 3 months of France's 'yellow vest' protests

Guillaume Decamme, Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 08:33 AM

Tens of thousands of "yellow vest" protesters marched across France on Saturday, three months since the movement began, and in a week that has seen growing international concern at police treatment of the protesters.  Read more »

UK's May to speak to every EU leader in bid to break Brexit deadlock

Agence France-Presse
Feb 17 08:32 AM

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday vowed to speak to every EU member state leader "over the coming days", as she wrote to Conservative MPs to appeal for unity over Brexit.  Read more »

Lion Air plane skids off runway at Indonesian airport

Reuters
Feb 17 01:52 AM | Updated Feb 17 01:53 AM

A Lion Air passenger plane skidded off a runway outside a city on the Indonesian island of Borneo on Saturday during heavy rain, the airline said, adding no one was injured.   Read more »

Kim Jong Un to arrive in Vietnam on Feb. 25 ahead of Trump summit

James Pearson, Reuters
Feb 17 01:14 AM

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will arrive in Vietnam on Feb. 25 ahead of a planned second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources with direct knowledge of Kim's schedule told Reuters on Saturday. Read more »

Islamic State's 'caliphate' on brink of defeat in Syria

Rodi Said, Reuters
Feb 16 10:36 PM

NEAR BAGHOUZ, Syria - US-backed fighters in Syria are poised to capture Islamic State's last, tiny enclave on the Euphrates, the battle commander said on Saturday, bringing its self-declared caliphate to the brink of total defeat. Read more »

Vatican defrocks former US cardinal for sex abuse of minor

Agence France-Presse
Feb 16 08:09 PM

VATICAN - Pope Francis has defrocked a former cardinal in a first for the Roman Catholic church over accusations American Theodore McCarrick sexually abused a teenager 50 years ago, a Vatican statement said Saturday. Read more »