Madrid / AFP Spain’s foreign minister on Wednesday described the EU’s deal with Turkey to stem the influx of migrants as a “botched job”, blasting Europe’s “inadequate” response to its worst migration crisis since World War II. Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said he was unhappy with leaving the solution to the crisis in the hands of a country outside the European …

  Berlin / AFP Germany’s foreign minister said he hoped the warring sides in Ukraine’s conflict could agree to extend a shaky truce, ahead of peace talks in Berlin later Wednesday. Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he also wanted negotiators to move forward on organising local elections in eastern Ukraine, warning that each round of fruitless talks risks undermining a fragile peace …

  London / AFP Queen Elizabeth II was caught on camera describing some Chinese officials as “very rude” in a rare diplomatic gaffe by the long-serving British monarch over a state visit that drummed up billions in Chinese investment. Her comments, aired on Wednesday, came just hours after Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday also made inadvertently public remarks, referring …