The United Nations‘ human rights chief issued a scathing critique of Israel’s policy toward Gaza on Friday. “They are, in essence, caged in a toxic slum from birth to death,” Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, said of the Palestinians living in Gaza during a special session of the UN’s Human […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he had discussed the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal at talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Sochi. The deal between Iran and six world powers lifted most international sanctions in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme, under strict surveillance by the U.N. nuclear watchdog. […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed a new government line-up on Friday at the start of his new term in office, sticking in most cases with the incumbents but elevating two newcomers with ties to the intelligence services. Dmitry Medvedev, whom Putin had already reappointed as prime minister, proposed the new cabinet at a meeting with […]

The power-sharing agreement between Italy’s two populist parties is likely to raise concerns for officials at the European Union. The left-wing Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right Lega are on the brink of clinching power in the southern European nation, forming a coalition after neither party gained enough seats to govern alone at March […]

Prince Charles will walk Meghan Markle down the aisle at the royal wedding — stepping in after the father of the bride fell ill just days before the ceremony. Kensington Palace said Friday that Markle’s future father-in-law, the heir to the British throne, would walk the American actress down the aisle at St. George’s Chapel […]

Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy poisoned by a nerve agent in Britain in March, has been discharged from hospital, England’s health service said on Friday. Skripal was found collapsed on a bench on March 4 in the southern English city of Salisbury along with his daughter, who was discharged from hospital last month. “It […]

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered on Thursday that the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip be opened for the whole of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, he said on his official Twitter account. The border with the Palestinian territory is mostly shut but opens at regular intervals. This would be the longest […]

The United States must reckon with Europe responding in kind if it declares “America First” and places its own economic interests before those of others, Germany’s Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said. In an interview with ARD television, Altmaier attributed the United States’s desire to block the building of a new pipeline linking Russia and Germany […]

Generic competition to cholesterol fighter Crestor and higher costs hit AstraZeneca in the first quarter, despite good sales of new drugs, but the group said on Friday it remained on track for a promised return to sales growth in 2018. Its latest arrivals – Imfinzi for cancer and Fasenra for severe asthma – both sold […]

European shares are set for a mixed open Friday morning as concerns over geopolitics and trade intensify. The FTSE 100 is seen off by 3.3 points at 7,773; the DAX is set to open higher by 28 points at 13,125; and the CAC 40 is expected up by 6.6 points at 5,615; according to IG. […]