Berlin / AFP Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi urged Kurdistan on Thursday to drop any plans for independence, criticising a proposed statehood referendum and warning the autonomous region would not prosper on its own. Abadi also highlighted the economic crisis Iraq faces, saying that oil revenues had fallen by 85 percent compared to two years before—a major challenge made …

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel is embarking on an election campaign that will test whether Germans back her management of the country’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Merkel will hold her first rally of the month-long push on Thursday ahead of three state elections on March 13. With the votes looming, her approval rating is at the lowest in …

NEW DELHI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was welcomed to India on Thursday morning with a state visit arrival ceremony at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi. His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed is in India on a three-day official visit, …