Turkish police have used tear gas against thousands of anti-government protesters in Istanbul as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to break the hands of “plotters”.

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel European started her first speech as head of the new coalition government stressed that security and defense policy “needs to become more efficient, more visible and more effective.” 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday welcomed the release from a Russian prison of Kremlin critic and ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.