NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Philippines visit: President Trump will meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a trip to Asia next month, the White House announced Monday. “The President’s travel will underscore his commitment to longstanding United States alliances and partnerships,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. Duterte is host to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference in Manila. The Philippine leader has come under international criticism for his administration’s brutal crackdown on drug trafficking, which has resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings.
_2 Severe storm: The remnants of Hurricane Ophelia battered Ireland on Monday, killing at least three people and causing widespread power outages as the storm headed for Britain. Gusts of up to 80 mph were reported 30 years to the day after a weather event dubbed the “Great Storm of 1987” battered southern England and killed 18 people. Authorities in Ireland ordered schools, courts and government buildings to close before the storm’s arrival. Bridges were shut down as a precaution in both Ireland and Britain. The storm’s path is likely to bring it to Wales, northern England and Scotland on Tuesday.
_3 Visa dispute: Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Monday that a U.S. delegation was in Ankara for talks aimed at resolving a spat that resulted in the two countries suspending the issuance of travel visas to the other’s citizens. Anadolu Agency said the delegation was led by State Department senior official Jonathan Cohen. Strained ties between the NATO allies deepened recently after Turkish authorities detained a Turkish employee of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul on charges of espionage and alleged ties to a U.S.-based cleric whom Turkey blames for last year’s failed coup.
_4 Nuclear pact: European Union foreign ministers on Monday backed the Iran nuclear agreement, saying the accord is working and is a key part of non-proliferation efforts despite President Trump withdrawing his support for it. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, whose team has been a key player in drawing up the deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions, suggested that domestic U.S. politics was at play in Trump’s decision. Trump “decertified” the deal Friday, angrily accusing Iran of violating the 2015 accord, and directed the U.S. Congress to make it more stringent. Belgium’s foreign minister, Didier Reynders, said that walking away could compromise any chances of encouraging North Korea to negotiate on its nuclear program. _5 Papal plea: Pope Francis demanded Monday that world governments commit to end rising world hunger by working to end the conflicts and climate changerelated disasters that force people to leave their homes in search of food. Francis drew a standing ovation Monday in Rome at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, where he marked the U.N.’s World Food Day by calling for governments to work together to tackle the problems of hunger, global warming and migration. He cited the Paris climate accord, in which governments committed to capping heat-trapping emissions, as an example of taking action to fight global warming based on scientific evidence. But in what appeared to be a jab at the U.S., which has announced it is withdrawing from the accord, Francis lamented that “unfortunately some are distancing themselves from it.” Francis said negligence and greed over the world’s limited resources are harming the planet and its most vulnerable people.