Ankara/ AFP Germany’s foreign minister on Tuesday said it was up to Turkey to decide whether to advance its bid on joining the European Union, reaffirming Berlin’s “serious concern” at the crackdown after the failed July 15 coup. The purge that has seen over 35,000 people arrested and journalists as well as some MPs put in jail had raised questions …

  Brussels / AFP NATO head Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday said he was sure Donald Trump would live up to all US commitments to the alliance, just days after urging the president-elect not to go it alone. “President-elect Donald Trump stated during the election campaign that he is a big fan of NATO,” Stoltenberg said in Brussels as he arrived …

  Moscow / AFP Russian authorities said on on Tuesday they have charged Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev with bribe-taking after he was detained on suspicion of taking a two-million-dollar payoff over a deal involving state oil giant Rosneft. The Investigative Committee, the country’s main federal investigative body, said in a statement it had charged the minister with “receiving bribes” after he …