German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday urged Turkey not to abandon the Kurdish peace process despite an upsurge in tension and violence.

Ankara "should not tear down the bridges with the Kurds which have been painstakingly built -- by both sides -- over the past few years," Steinmeier told Bild daily.

Germany's chief prosecutor on Friday suspended a treason probe against Internet security bloggers that had sparked a storm of protest from journalist and politicians.

Harald Range said "in view of the great good of freedom of the press and expression" he would let the investigation rest, the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported online.

The U.S. spied on senior Japanese politicians, its top central banker and major companies including conglomerate Mitsubishi, according to documents released Friday by WikiLeaks, which published a list of at least 35 targets.

The latest claim of U.S. National Security Agency espionage follows other documents that showed snooping on allies including Germany and France.

Iran's Ambassador to Beirut Mohammed Fathali has stressed that it was up to Lebanon's rival leaders to resolve the country's presidential deadlock.

“This is an internal Lebanese issue,” the diplomat told al-Akhbar newspaper in an interview published on Friday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has reiterated that the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam is a red line, urging Lebanon's rival officials not to wait for the Iran nuclear deal to resolve the country's crises.

“Bringing down the cabinet means abolishing the country. This cannot take place,” Berri told his visitors, according to al-Joumhouria daily published on Friday.

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei was flying to Germany Thursday on his first overseas trip since he was arrested nearly four years ago, a week after receiving a new passport. 

Ai was expected to arrive on a Lufthansa flight to the southern city of Munich at 1450 GMT, Stephan Urbaschek of his Berlin gallery, Galerie Neugerriemschneider, told AFP.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has urged his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif to exert efforts to end Lebanon's presidential crisis, informed sources said.

The Iranian sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Thursday that Fabius told Zarif about the importance of contacting Lebanese parties that are allied with Iran to urge them to find a solution to the deadlock.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Iraqi Kurdish President Massud Barzani have agreed that Turkey must continue the Kurdish peace process despite escalating violence, Berlin said Wednesday.

Turkey has launched military strikes against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in Turkey and northern Iraq, as well as against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, following attacks it blames on the two groups.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday urged Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to stick with the Kurdish peace process despite escalating violence, her office said.

Merkel assured Davutoglu of the "solidarity and support of Germany in the fight against terrorism" but also recalled "the principle of proportionality in the implementation of necessary measures."

Three people were injured Friday when clashes erupted between far-right demonstrators and pro-refugee protesters in the eastern German city of Dresden, where hundreds of asylum seekers are due to be given shelter.

Some 200 members of the far-right NPD had gathered in protest against the arrival this weekend of 800 refugees, the majority from Syria, German news agency DPA reported.