Sydney

German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Nov. 17 that Britain remain in the European Union, saying it was a vital gateway to the world for continental nations.
      
Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will hold an in-or-out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU in 2017 if he wins a general election in May, amid tensions over immigration reform.
      

G20 leaders representing the bulk of the world's economy on Nov. 16 committed to reform measures to lift their collective growth by an extra 2.1 percent by 2018, despite evidence of a slowdown in some major nations.
      

Vast areas of land and sea have become environmental sanctuaries in recent years but the world is not funding them adequately, the United Nations warned Nov. 13.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said that countries were on track to meet targets to protect 17 percent of land and 10 percent of marine areas by 2020.

BELGRADE - "No One's Child", a debut movie by Serbian screenwriter and director Vuk Rsumovic, got the HT Audience Award for the best feature film at the 12th Zagreb Film Festival (ZFF), the Belgrade-based production company Art & Popcorn stated in a release on Saturday.

Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris is among 26 mayors shortlisted for the World Mayor Prize 2014 bestowed by the independent City Mayors Foundation.

By Kristine Aquino

The euro touched a 14-month low before European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks to European Union lawmakers. New Zealand’s dollar rose after Prime Minister John Key won a third term in a record election victory.

GRANADA - Serbian shooter Jasna Sekaric finished seventh in the 10m Air Pistol event at the World Championships in Granada and achieved the qualification standard for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Sekaric qualified for the 2016 Olympics as Hungarian Renata Tobai Sike, who finished among the top six, had already qualified for the 2016 Olympics in pistol shooting.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday warned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki not to cause trouble as he threw his weight behind newly-elected President Fuad Masum to help fight Islamic militants.
      

A new installation by the influential Turkish-Armenian artist Sarkis will be presented at the Pavilion of Turkey at the 56th International Art Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia, to be held between May 9 and Nov. 22, 2015.

Ankara has put forward a plan to form a free trade zone with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the Russian economy minister reportedly said after holding talks with his Turkish counterpart, amid Turkey’s mounting frustration with the European Union over a similar scheme.