World briefs

HUAWEI The U.S. gov’t fight to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from next-generation internet networks appears to be flagging. The two sides faced off yesterday at the world’s biggest mobile technology trade fair, in Barcelona.

HANOI SUMMIT For his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which starts today, opted to go retro — riding the rails like his grandfather decades before. 

AFGHANISTAN The Taliban and Washington’s peace envoy are close to reaching an agreement on U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, a spokesman for the Islamic insurgents said amid a new round of talks. Suhail Shaheen (pictured) said the deal will also include guarantees that Afghanistan will not be used again as a staging arena for anti-American attacks.

KASHMIR A pre-dawn airstrike inside Pakistan that India said targeted a terrorist training camp and killed a “very large number” of militants ratcheted up tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals at odds over the disputed territory of Kashmir. 

IRAN Facing growing political and economic pressure after President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw America from the atomic accord, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned suddenly Monday night and Rouhani now faces renewed calls from hard-liners to do the same.

USA Democrats are moving quickly to try to roll back President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to siphon billions of dollars from the military to fund construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Today’s vote in the Democratic-controlled House comes on legislation to revoke Trump’s executive order from earlier this month.

BREXIT British Prime Minister Theresa May bowed to intense political pressure yesterday and handed control of Brexit to Parliament, telling lawmakers they will get to choose between leaving the European Union on schedule — with or without a divorce deal — and asking the EU to postpone departure day.

STEPHEN KING The master of the American horror novel has donated USD1.25 million to the masters of American genealogical research. Stephen King and his wife, Tabitha, made the gift through their foundation to the New England Historic Genealogical Society.