Credible investigation into Khashoggi killing not completed yet: EU

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Iran sticking to nuclear deal, IAEA says, amid new U.S. sanctions

Iran is implementing its side of its nuclear deal with major powers, the U.N. atomic watchdog policing the pact reaffirmed on Thursday, two weeks after the latest wave of reimposed U.S. sanctions against Tehran took effect. President Donald Trump said in May he was pulling the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal for reasons including Iran's influence on the wars in Syria and Yemen and its ballistic missile program, none of which are covered by the pact.

EU says transparent, credible investigation into Khashoggi killing not completed yet

A transparent and credible investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has not yet been completed, Federica Mogherini, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, said on Thursday, after talks with Turkey's foreign minister. Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Riyadh has said it was seeking the death penalty for five suspects in the case.

Merkel's would-be successor questions Germany's sacrosanct asylum pledge

A conservative running to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel as head of their party has raised an outcry by questioning Germany's constitutional guarantee of asylum that was enshrined to atone for World War Two Nazi crimes. Germany's "Grundgesetz" (Basic Law) assures asylum to all "politically persecuted" - a simpler pledge in the past when it covered a handful of Soviet dissidents during the Cold War than now when millions seek sanctuary in Europe from war and poverty.

U.S. ambassador: Iran failed to declare all chemical weapons to global agency

Iran has not declared all its chemical weapons capabilities to the global chemical weapons agency in The Hague, in violation of an international non-proliferation convention, the U.S. ambassador to the organization said on Thursday. Ambassador Kenneth Ward told a meeting of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that Iran had failed to report a production facility for the filling of aerial bombs and maintains a program to obtain banned toxic munitions.

UK security service missed chances to thwart Manchester attack: lawmakers

Britain's MI5 security service missed potential opportunities to prevent a 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people, senior lawmakers said in a report on Thursday. Britain suffered four attacks in 2017 that killed 36 people - the deadliest spate since the London July 2005 train bombings.

Denmark suspends Saudi weapon export approvals over Khashoggi, Yemen concerns

Denmark has suspended future approvals of weapons and military equipment exports to Saudi Arabia in response to the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist and the kingdom's role in the conflict in Yemen, the Danish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Germany has already suspended issuing future weapons export licenses and has moved to halt all arms sales, while France said on Monday said it will decide soon on sanctions over Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.

EU, Britain agree on draft deal for post-Brexit ties, await summit approval

Britain and the European Union have agreed a draft text setting out a close post-Brexit economic relationship, paving the way for a summit of EU leaders to endorse the deal, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019 and diplomats are trying to put the finishing touches to a divorce deal and the accompanying outline of their future relationship so that EU leaders can rubber-stamp them at a summit on Sunday.

UK police and MI5 doing all they can to tackle terrorism: interior minister

The British government, police and MI5 security service are doing everything they can to tackle the evolving threat of terrorism and have undergone reviews since a series of deadly attacks last year, interior minister Sajid Javid said. "Following the attacks, the government, police and MI5 undertook a series of rigorous reviews to ensure we are all doing everything we can to tackle the evolving threat of terrorism," Javid said.

Germany needs a strong France: Merkel

Germany needs a strong France and has an interest in the success of President Emmanuel Macron's economic reforms, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. "For us a strong France consequently helps push Europe forward and that's why I have a maximum interest in the success of President Emmanuel Macron," said Merkel.

Head of Russian spy agency accused of British poison attack dies

The head of Russia's military intelligence agency that the West has blamed for a string of brazen attacks died on Wednesday after "a serious and long illness", the Russian defense ministry said on Thursday, hailing him as a "true son of Russia." The Ministry of Defence heaped praise on Colonel-General Igor Korobov, 62, who had run the spy agency, best known as the GRU, since 2016, saying he had been made a Hero of Russia for his service in the post, the highest state award.