Ankara / AFP Turkish police on Thursday detained the pro-Kurdish co-mayor of the southeastern city of Van in the latest raids targeting municipal chiefs, expanding a widespread crackdown that has sparked international concern. Bekir Kaya was taken into custody as part of a “terror investigation”, the official news agency Anadolu reported, saying he was accused of membership of the outlawed …

  Brussels / AFP European Union member states on Thursday approved visa-free travel for Ukraine citizens, long sought by Kiev to help cement ties as it combats pro-Russian rebels in the east. Visa-free travel was part of an EU-Ukraine partnership accord signed in 2014 as the country, a Soviet-era satellite, angered Moscow by casting its lot with the West. In return …

  Paris / AFP Despite voting to leave the EU, Britain is deepening defence ties with France, agreeing to pool missile development research centres in a step presented on Thursday as “historic”. European countries have been slow to pool arms know-how, fearing an erosion of their sovereignty. The deal announced at a Franco-British defence council in Paris goes much further than …