Europe

    EU referendum voters warned no certainty PM's renegotiation would be binding Voters in the EU referendum should be made aware there is "no certainty" of any agreed reforms actually being implemented, a committee of MPs said. The European Scrutiny Committee said David Cameron's proposals "will not deliver the legally binding and irreversible agreement leading to reform of the EU nor a fundamental change in the UK's relationship's" he said he wanted. And some elements would require treaty change that could not be put in place or guaranteed for the future by the December 2017 deadline set by the Prime Minister for the UK's in/out vote. In a critical report, the committee criticised the "reactive and opaque" handling of the renegotiation and warned "presenting Parliament with ...

    Turkey's foreign minister said Ankara's patience with Russia "has a limit" after Moscow's "exaggerated" reaction to a weekend naval incident between the two countries, an Italian newspaper reported on Monday. A Russian warship fired warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean Sea on Sunday to avoid a collision and summoned the Turkish military attache in Moscow over the incident. "Ours was only a fishing boat. It seems to me that the reaction of the Russian naval ship was exaggerated," Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview. The incident is likely to heighten tensions between the two nations, which are at odds over Syria and Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet last month. "Russia and Turkey certainly have to re-establish the r...

    French police and firefighters are seen in front of the nursery school where a hooded man claiming to be acting for Islamic State attacked a teacher with a knife in Aubervilliers, near Paris, France, December 14, 2015. A kindergarten teacher has been injured in a stabbing at a French school, with prosecutors investigating claims the attacker said he was acting on behalf of Islamic State. The attack took place at about 7.15am on Monday in Aubervilliers, a north-eastern suburb of Paris. French media reported that the teacher was assaulted by a hooded man, wearing a mask and gloves, who then fled the scene on foot. The attacker, who was armed with scissors and a knife, claimed to be from Isis and said “this is a warning”, the local prosecutor in Bobigny told reporters, citing...

    Ilyushin Il-80 (Maxdome) airborne command and control aircraft escorted by Mikoyan MiG-29 (Fulcrum) jet fighter flies against blue sky background on display during parade festivities devoted to 65th…As President Vladimir Putin refuses to rule out the use of nuclear weapons against ISIS terrorists, a Russian “doomsday” plane will take to the skies next week. Experts fear the world could be only one stray missile strike away from a nuclear conflict as US, British and Russian war jets carrying out bombing raids in Syria. Not since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall has the threat of nuclear conflict been so high, with all sides readying their defences and attack capabilities for a possible “doomsday” event. Last Friday the aptly-named HMS Vengeance submar...

    The third attacker has been identified French police have identified a third attacker involved in the Bataclan massacre last month as Foued Aggad Mohamed. Gunmen wearing suicide belts burst into the Paris venue during an Eagles of Death Metal concert last month. Authorities said that 90 people died at the concert hall, with 130 dying overall during the Paris terror attacks. Responsibility for the atrocity was later claimed by Islamic State. Tributes from around the world are pouring in to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13. Click through to see how people are showing their support throughout the world. (Pictured) The De La Salle University facade is lit up in the colors of the French national flag in Manila, Philippines, on Nov. 16. Candles s...

    Bank of England has approved Solvency II internal risk models for 19 insurance companies. Nineteen insurance companies have won approval for their plans to protect themselves against financial shocks, in what the Bank of England has described as a "major milestone" for the stability of the industry. Aviva, Prudential, Standard Life and Legal & General are among the FTSE 100 firms to secure approval from the watchdog for their customised "internal models", allowing them to use their own methods of calculating risks within the business to set up capital buffers. The Bank of England has not revealed which insurers have won full approval for their plans to meet the new Europe-wide Solvency II requirements, and which firms have only received a green light for parts of their...

    Parts of a story written by an investigator from The Sun who claimed to have travelled from Turkey to Paris without having to show his passport were made up, the Croatian Interior Ministry has said. In an article billed as "a damning exposure of Europe's lax borders", Emile Ghessen says he smuggled himself 2,000 miles in six days without showing his passport once. The story says the path he took was similar to the route used by some of those responsible for the terror attacks in Paris, and by many refugees. However, the Croatian Interior Ministry said it had proof parts of the story were made up - and published a scan of his passport that it said it made during border checks. The article said Mr Ghessen evaded border police by hiding in a toilet when his train was stopped ...

    At least 16 people have been killed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after firebomb was thrown into a res-taurant, reports BBC. The attack happened in the Agouza area, in the city centre. The Cairo Post newspaper said three masked men threw the device into the venue before fleeing. Re-ports say the target also contained a nightclub. Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed security official as saying one of the suspects is a disgruntled ex-employee. The agency said the restaurant was in the basement of the building, making it harder for people to es-cape. The victims died from burns or the effects of inhaling smoke, it said. At least five other people were injured. Cairo has previously been rocked by a series of attacks on security forces and civilians carried out by suspected...

    More then 150 world leaders will today kickstart talks that could lead to a historic climate deal. Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama will be among those attending the opening day of the United Nations summit in Paris. Expectations are high - more than 600,000 people in 175 countries marched at the weekend to demand a strong deal to curb greenhouse gases. The talks take place amid unprecedented security in Paris, whereprotesters clashed with riot police after a climate march was banned following the terror attacks in the city. The gathering of so many heads of state is intended as a clear signal to negotiators that they must reach a significant agreement. Mr Cameron will call for "global action to deal with a global problem". The last major climate ...

    European Council President Donald Tusk, right, puts his arm on the shoulder of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu after a media conference at an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels. The European Union and Turkey agreed on a deal to stem the migrant crisis, including a three-billion-euro ($3.2-billion) aid package for Syrian refugees in Turkey, EU president Donald Tusk said after a summit in Brussels on Sunday. "Our agreement sets out a clear plan for the timely re-establishment of order at our shared frontier. We will also step up our assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey through a new refugee facility of three billion euros," Tusk told a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The EU also agreed to open a new chapter in Turkey's stalled bid for member...