US to enter trade talks with Japan, European Union, Britain
The Trump administration is formally notifying Congress that it plans to pursue trade agreements with the European Union, Japan and Britain.
EU
Koreas to reconnect roads, rail, U.S. concerned over easing sanctions
The two Koreas agreed on Monday to begin reconnecting rail and road links, another step in an improving relationship in spite of U.S. concerns that the rapid North-South thaw could undermine efforts to press North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
EU paves way for Russia sanctions over chemical weapons
The European Union on Monday unveiled a legal framework to allow sanctions against the use of chemical weapons.
More dead expected in destroyed Florida Panhandle towns after Michael
Dozens of people remained missing on Sunday in Florida Panhandle communities reduced to ruins by Hurricane Michael as rescuers said they expected the death toll to rise and survivors grappled with power outages and shortages of food and water.
EU-UK Brexit deal talks put on ice
Diplomats from both sides on Sunday scrambled to reach a deal on Brexit, ahead of an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.
Journalist’s disappearance hardens U.S. Congress stance on Saudi arms deals
The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has hardened resistance in the U.S. Congress to selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, already a sore point for many lawmakers concerned about the humanitarian crisis created by Yemen’s civil war.
Netanyahu: Israel ‘systematically dismantling’ Hamas’s tunneling capability
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas on Thursday not ‘to try us’ after the IDF revealed it had uncovered and neutralized another tunnel that reached from Gaza some 200 meters into Israel.
Pompeo says release of American pastor by Turkish court would be right thing to do
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the release of U.S. evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson by a Turkish court at his next hearing on Friday would be an important step and the right thing for Turkey to do.
Trump says next summit with North Korea’s Kim to come after November U.S. elections
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be held after U.S. congressional elections on Nov. 6.
Britain sees Brexit progress, again calls on EU to ‘meet us halfway’
Brexit minister Dominic Raab voiced confidence on Tuesday that Britain and the European Union would make progress on their divorce at a summit next week, but again asked the bloc to meet London ‘halfway’ on the most difficult areas.
IMF downgrades global growth outlook, places responsibility on US-China trade tensions
The IMF has cut its global economic forecast for 2018 and 2019, citing above all rising import tariffs between the US and China. A fall in trade volumes and manufacturing orders could hit Germany particularly hard.
Netanyahu, Putin to meet for first time since crisis
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet shortly for the first time since relations were badly strained following last month’s Syrian downing of a Russian intelligence plane.
Israel can beat Russian-supplied S-300 air shield in Syria: minister
An Israeli official played down on Wednesday the Russian upgrading of Syria’s air defenses, saying the newly supplied S-300 missile system could be defeated by Israel’s stealth fighters and possibly destroyed on the ground.
U.S. withdraws from international accords, says U.N. world court ‘politicized’
The Trump administration on Wednesday pulled out of two international agreements after Iran and the Palestinians complained to the International Court of Justice about U.S. policies, the latest withdrawal by Washington from multilateral accords.
US ambassador to NATO threatens to ‘take out’ Russian cruise missile
The U.S. ambassador to NATO put Russia “on notice” Tuesday, threatening to destroy an intermediate-range missile that sits well within range of NATO allies.
Italy scares markets and Europe, again, with new calls to leave the euro
The Italian government is creating further turmoil in financial markets on Tuesday morning, after new comments that Rome would be better outside of the euro zone.
Trump says close to finalizing effective ban on gun bump stocks
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration is just a few weeks away from finalizing a regulation that would ban so-called bump stocks, devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns.
Feds sue to block California’s new strict net neutrality law
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the nation’s strongest net neutrality rules into law Sunday, but the federal Justice Department quickly sued to block him, arguing he was interfering in federal powers to set national communications standards.
As Brexit divisions widen, PM May challenges Brexit critics
Prime Minister Theresa May called on her party on Sunday to unite behind her plan to leave the European Union, making a direct appeal to critics by saying their desire for a free trade deal was at the heart of her Brexit proposals.
Britain slated to outlaw the entire terrorist entity Hezbollah
The United Kingdom’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid will designate the entire Lebanese organization Hezbollah as a terrorist movement at next week’s Conservative Party conference.