PTI, Berlin
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will leave for India tomorrow together with a high-ranking delegation of several senior ministers to take part in the third joint meeting of the cabinets of the two countries with trade and security among key issues to be discussed.
Merkel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will jointly chair the India-Germany inter-governmental consultations in New Delhi on Monday.
She will be accompanied by Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Food and Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt, Minister for Education and Research Johanna Wanka and Minister for Development Cooperation Gerd Mueller.
Syria will take part in non-binding
UN talks
AFP, United Nations
Syria will take part in UN talks aimed at launching formal negotiations on ending its four-year war but will not be bound by their outcome, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Friday.
Muallem told the UN General Assembly that he understood the talks, proposed by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, to be “mainly to exchange ideas” and non-binding. He addressed the 193-nation assembly as Russian warplanes carried out a third day of air strikes in Syria, this time targeting the IS bastion of Raqa.
Germany marks 25 years of unity
AP, Berlin
Germany marks a quarter-century as a reunited nation on Saturday, with two leaders from the formerly communist east heading a country that increasingly asserts itself as Europe’s political heavyweight – and now faces a new challenge in a refugee influx that will demand deep reserves of resourcefulness and patience.
West and East Germany united on Oct. 3, 1990, capping a process that started less than 11 months earlier when the east’s communist leadership opened the Berlin Wall under pressure from massive demonstrations.
Bomb blasts kill 15 in Nigeria
AP, Lagos
Multiple bombs detonated in two locations of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, killed at least 15 people, the National Emergency Management Agency said Saturday.
The explosions Friday night were in Nyanya and Kuje, both satellite towns of Abuja, agency spokesman Sani Datti said in a statement. He said 13 people died in the blast in Kuje and two in Nyanya. At least 41 people were wounded, Datti said.
Emirates holds election for advisory council
AP, Dubai
The United Arab Emirates is holding an election for an advisory council that considers federal laws and provides oversight for government ministries but rarely opposes the ruling sheikhs.
This year, 224,279 voters can cast ballots Saturday in races for 20 seats, while the emirate’s rulers will pick the other 20. The millions of expatriates that make up the majority of residents are not eligible to vote.
