Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 14 February 2018
Dutch foreign minister quits after lying about Putin meeting

By MIKE CORDER bate Tuesday at which he Zijlstra, a member of Prime meeting with Putin. politically important that he
THE HAGUE, Netherlands was expected to be grilled Minister Mark Rutte's cen- Zijlstra has in the past said spoke about them publicly
(AP) — The Dutch foreign by opposition lawmakers ter-right VVD party, is the he attended a 2006 meet- and took credit for hearing
affairs minister resigned about the lie. He called it first minister to quit since ing when Putin said he con- the comments as a way of
Tuesday, a day after admit- "by far the biggest mistake Rutte's four-party coali- sidered Belarus, Ukraine protecting his source.
ting that he lied about at- I have committed in my en- tion took office in October. and the Baltic states as part "It was clearly a wrong
tending a meeting hosted tire career." Rutte, who was also in Par- of a "Greater Russia." choice," Zijlstra said as he
by Russian President Vladi- "This is about the credibility liament for Zijlstra's resigna- On Monday, Zijlstra con- announced his resignation.
mir Putin more than a de- of the minister of foreign af- tion, hugged him as he left. ceded he wasn't present at Zijlstra’s resignation came a
cade ago. fairs of the Kingdom of the Zijlstra's position as the the meeting but heard the day before he was due to
An emotional Halbe Zijlstra Netherlands," Zijlstra said. country's top diplomat be- story from somebody who meet his Russian counter-
announced his resigna- "That credibility must be be- came untenable after he was. He said he considered part, Sergey Lavrov, in Mos-
tion at the start of a de- yond doubt." admitted lying about a Putin's statements so geo- cow. q

UK judge upholds arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder

made "a determined at- gone on to argue that ar-
tempt to avoid the order of resting him is no longer pro-
the court." portionate or in the public
She said Assange ap- interest. Lawyer Mark Sum-
peared to be "a man who mers argued the Austra-
wants to impose his terms lian was justified in seek-
on the course of justice." ing refuge in the embassy
"He appears to consider because he has a legiti-
himself above the normal mate fear that U.S. authori-
rules of law and wants jus- ties want to arrest him for
tice only if it goes in his fa- WikiLeaks' publication of
vor," the judge said, draw- secret documents.
ing exclamations of dismay “I do not find that Mr. As-
from Assange supporters in sange’s fears were reason-
the public gallery. able,” the judge said.
Assange can seek to ap- “If the United States initiates
peal, though his lawyers extradition proceedings,
did not immediately say Mr. Assange would have
whether he would. the ability to raise any bars
Swedish prosecutors to the extradition and chal-
dropped their investigation lenge the proceedings” in
last year, saying there was a British court, she said.
no prospect of bringing Arbuthnot dismissed an-
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures to supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in Lon- Assange to Sweden in the other plank of Assange’s
don, where he has been in self imposed exile since 2012. foreseeable future. But the case — a report from a U.N.
(AP Photo/Frank Augstein) British warrant for violating working group which said
bail conditions still stands, the 46-year-old was being
By JILL LAWLESS Ecuador's London embas- den. Prosecutors there and Assange faces arrest if arbitrarily detained.
Associated Press sy. were investigating allega- he leaves the embassy. “I give little weight to
LONDON (AP) — A judge Judge Emma Arbuthnot tions of sexual assault and Assange's lawyers had the views of the working
upheld a British arrest war- rejected arguments by As- rape made by two women, asked for the U.K warrant group,” the judge said, not-
rant for Julian Assange on sange's lawyers that it is no which Assange has denied. to be withdrawn since Swe- ing that Assange had “re-
Tuesday, saying the WikiLe- longer in the public inter- Arbuthnot did not mince den no longer wants him stricted his own freedom for
aks founder should have est to arrest him for jump- words in her ruling at Lon- extradited, but the judge a number of years.”
the courage to come to ing bail in 2012 and seeking don's Westminster Magis- rejected their request last “Each aspect of it becomes
court and face justice after shelter in the embassy to trates' Court, saying that by week. puzzling and troubling as it
more than five years inside avoid extradition to Swe- jumping bail Assange had Assange's attorney had is scrutinized.” q
German Social Democrats shake up leadership, focus on govt

By DAVID RISING week reached a coali- bers and faces some stiff re- ment Friday that he was liamentary leader, would
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's tion government deal with sistance. The party's youth abandoning plans to be- take over as the Social
center-left Social Demo- Merkel's bloc that is widely wing is pushing the Social come foreign minister in the Democrats' chairwoman
cratic Party shuffled its viewed as favorable to the Democrats to go into op- new government. His plans — also gave rise to a cho-
top leadership Tuesday, party. The agreement puts position, and leadership to take the ministry had be- rus of concerns. Protocol
seeking to end internal the Social Democrats in questions mired its top of- come a major distraction would have dictated that
squabbles and re-focus its charge of the powerful Fi- ficials. because after September's a deputy leader step in as
members on passing an nance Ministry and the For- Seeking to end the infight- election he had explicitly interim chairman. Scholz
agreement to form a new eign and Labor Ministries, ing, chairman Martin Schulz ruled out entering Merkel's is widely expected to be-
government with Chancel- as well as three other min- said Tuesday that he was next Cabinet. come finance minister and
lor Angela Merkel's conser- istries it already held. resigning effective immedi- Schulz's other announce- vice chancellor in the new
vatives. But it needs approval from ately. The development fol- ment Friday — that Andrea government if the coalition
The Social Democrats last the party's 460,000 mem- lowed Schulz's announce- Nahles, the party's par- agreement is approved.q