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The 27 remaining members of the European Union will hold a special summit April 29 to create a plan for negotiating with Britain about the country’s exit, European Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday. The announcement by Tusk comes a day after Britain said it would trigger proceedings for its departure from the union on March 29. “Our main priority for the negotiations must be to create as much certainty and clarity as possible for all citizens, companies and member states that will be negatively affected by Brexit,” he said. Once Britain triggers its departure from the EU next week, …

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Turkish security forces carried out mass arrests of pro-Kurdish activists in the run-up to Tuesday’s Nowruz celebrations, which mark the start of the Kurdish new year. Nearly 1,000 activists have been arrested in a week-long nationwide sweep by Turkish security forces. Authorities say the detentions are aimed at preventing possible attacks by the PKK Kurdish insurgent group, which has been fighting the Turkish state for greater minority rights. Turkey considers the PKK a terrorist organization. Critics argue the crackdown has little to do with fighting terrorism. “All of those who have been arrested are local HDP activists,” said Ertugrul Kurkcu, …

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The top candidates in France’s volatile presidential election go head-to-head in a televised debate Monday as polls show centrist Emmanuel Macron and far right leader Marine Le Pen pulling away from the pack five weeks before the first round. Macron, Le Pen and the three other leading candidates will take part in a nearly three-hour debate on the main private channel starting at 9 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Monday expected to be watched by millions. The televised debate, the first held before the first round of a French presidential election, may be crucial in helping viewers make up their minds. …

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Syrian government representatives will attend upcoming peace talks in Geneva, Russia’s state RIA news agency reported on Monday, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Bogdanov said Moscow hoped that Syrian armed opposition would be able to attend the peace talks. Bogdanov also said the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, would visit Moscow ahead of the Geneva talks. De Mistura is trying to mediate a political agreement between Syria’s warring sides, and after a procedural round of talks in Geneva ended on March 3, he plans to bring the negotiators back for in-depth discussions on March 23. …

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World donors pledged more than $75 million Monday to protect cultural heritage sites threatened by war and the wave of ideological-driven destruction carried out by Islamic State militants. French President Francois Hollande, speaking at a donors’ conference in the Louvre Museum in Paris, said the goal for the heritage fund is $100 million and urged other countries around the world to contribute.   France is pledging $30 million for the fund and Saudi Arabia is committing $20 million, according to the French Culture Ministry. The United Arab Emirates has promised $15 million, Kuwait $5 million, Luxembourg $3 million, Morocco $1.5 …

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Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been doused in bright green liquid by an unknown assailant in the Siberian city of Barnaul. Navalny tweeted Monday: “I will be opening a headquarters in Barnaul as if I am from the film The Mask! Cool. Even my teeth are green!” He was referring to the Hollywood film that features a superhero who wears a green mask.   The green liquid, a common Russian antiseptic that remains on skin for days, was reportedly sprayed in Navalny’s face as he went to shake a man’s hand.   Navalny is currently traveling around Russia opening headquarters …

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke up for free trade at a major technology fair on Sunday with jabs clearly pointed at an increasingly protectionist United States. Both called for a free trade deal to be reached quickly between Japan and the European Union, in comments made after G-20 finance ministers and central bankers dropped a long-standing mention of open trade in their final communique after a two-day meeting in Germany. Neither leader named the U.S. government as they opened the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover, but both used the opportunity to distance themselves from …

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The foreign and defense ministers from Japan and Russia met in Tokyo on Monday, with both sides expressing hope that discussions on joint development of islands claimed by both countries might help them move closer to resolving the territorial dispute preventing them from forging a peace treaty. The talks are the first “two-plus-two” meeting since Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The one-day meeting is largely focusing on regional security, especially how best to deal with North Korea’s launches of missiles and its nuclear program. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said before the talks that its envoys would raise the issue of …

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Blood tests determined Sunday that a suspected Islamic extremist consumed drugs and alcohol before a frenzied spree of violence that ended when he took a soldier hostage at Paris’ Orly Airport and was shot dead by her fellow patrolmen. The Paris prosecutors’ office said toxicology tests conducted as part of an autopsy found traces of cocaine and cannabis in the blood of the suspect, Ziyed Ben Belgacem. He also had 0.93 grams of alcohol per liter of blood when he died Saturday, the prosecutors’ office said. That is nearly twice the legal limit for driving in France. The 39-year-old Frenchman …

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President Donald Trump risks driving wedges between the United States and its closest allies, something America can ill-afford. So say lawmakers of both political parties as public disputes have arisen between the White House and Britain as well as Germany. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports from Washington. …

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Tensions between Germany and Turkery are on the rise again, with the Turkish president accusing the German chancellor of using “Nazi” measures. The accusation follows a pro Kurdish rally in Germany Saturday that turned into a rally against the Turkish President. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, campaigning in a referendum to extend his presidential powers again, turned his fire on the German chancellor Angela Merkel. In a televised speech Sunday, Erdogan used Germany’s Nazi past against Merkel “When we call them fascists, Nazis they in Europe get uncomfortable. They rally together in solidarity. Especially Merkel,” Erdogan said adding, “But you are …

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