All About: PM May appeals, North Korea talks,Merkel coalition slides, Japan's Abe to face Trump

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was expected to win a ruling party leadership vote on Thursday, setting him on track to become Japan's longest-serving premier and try to cement his legacy, including by revising the pacifist constitution.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 20-09-2018 06:32 IST | Created: 20-09-2018 05:22 IST
All About: PM May appeals, North Korea talks,Merkel coalition slides, Japan's Abe to face Trump
First, however, he must confront the immediate challenge of a likely summit with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, when he will face pressure to cut Japan's $69 billion surpluses with its key ally, nearly two-thirds from auto exports. (Image Credit: Twitter)

Don't rip Britain apart, May appeals to fellow EU leaders on Brexit

Prime Minister Theresa May appealed directly to fellow European leaders on Wednesday to drop "unacceptable" Brexit demands that she said could rip Britain apart, and urged the bloc to respond in kind to her "serious and workable" plan. Over Wiener schnitzel in Salzburg, May tried to win over the leaders of the European Union by effectively asking them what they would do if they were asked to agree a "legal separation" of their countries -- something she says the EU is asking for by insisting Northern Ireland might stay under EU economic rules.

U.S. ready to resume North Korea talks seeks denuclearization by 2021

The United States said it was ready to resume talks with North Korea after Pyongyang pledged on Wednesday to dismantle its key missile facilities and suggested it would close its main Yongbyon nuclear complex if Washington took unspecified actions. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had invited North Korea's foreign minister to meet in New York next week, with the aim of completing its denuclearization by January 2021, after a Pyongyang summit between the leaders of the two Koreas.

Islamist militants adapted after losses: U.S. State Dept.

The State Department warned on Wednesday that Islamic State, al Qaeda, and its affiliates have adapted by dispersing and becoming less vulnerable to military action after the United States and its partners made "major strides" against the armed Islamist groups last year. In an annual report on the U.S. anti-terrorism fight worldwide, the State Department said militant attacks decreased globally in 2017 by 23 percent from 2016, with a 27 percent reduction in fatalities.

Merkel coalition slides into 'permanent crisis mode' with spy row

A clumsy compromise to end a row over the fate of Germany's spy chief has exposed a cruel fact: the parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's right-left coalition are loveless partners in a dysfunctional relationship that none of them can afford to quit. The coalition leaders sought on Tuesday to end a scandal that had rumbled on for 11 days by agreeing to replace the head of the BfV domestic intelligence agency, who has faced accusations of harboring far-right sympathies.

Palestinians say the Israeli troops fire on Gaza protesters, one killed

Israeli forces opened fire during a demonstration in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing a Palestinian youth, the Palestinian health ministry said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she had no knowledge of the incident, initially.

Japan's Abe to face Trump trade challenge after likely win in party vote

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was expected to win a ruling party leadership vote on Thursday, setting him on track to become Japan's longest-serving premier and try to cement his legacy, including by revising the pacifist constitution. First, however, he must confront the immediate challenge of a likely summit with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, when he will face pressure to cut Japan's $69 billion surpluses with its key ally, nearly two-thirds from auto exports.

Colombia vacates ELN peace negotiator posts until talks resume

Colombia has relieved the negotiating team at peace talks with ELN rebels of their posts in a planned move, the government said on Wednesday, adding the posts will remain empty until the group meets Bogota's preconditions to restart talks. Colombian President Ivan Duque said in his inaugural address last month he would take 30 days to evaluate the talks and had urged the National Liberation Army (ELN) to release 19 hostages before dialogue could resume.

U.S. seeking to negotiate a treaty with Iran

The United States is seeking to negotiate a treaty with Iran to include Tehran's ballistic missile program and its regional behavior, the U.S. special envoy for Iran said on Wednesday ahead of U.N. meetings in New York next week. Iran has rejected U.S. attempts to hold high-level talks since President Donald Trump tore up a nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers earlier this year.

EU must end migration 'blame game': Tusk

The European Union must end the "blame game" on migration and instead focus on working more with foreign countries and further strengthening its border to bring down arrivals, the chairman of the bloc's leaders said. The 28 EU leaders are meeting in the Austrian city of Salzburg to tackle migration, an issue that has badly damaged their unity in recent years.

Divisive Brazil election careens into 'dangerous' polarization

Brazil's presidential campaign, already the most divisive since the end of military rule three decades ago, is growing increasingly polarized each day and raising concerns about the future of the country's democracy. Less than three weeks before the vote, surveys from the Ibope and Datafolha polling firms show the middle has collapsed, with the electorate rejecting any centrist and gravitating to opposite ends of the political spectrum.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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