1 Mar 2019

Today's world news in brief

7:07 pm on 1 March 2019

The international stories making headlines around the world in the past 24 hours.

US-North Korea summit ends without any agreement

A second summit between the United States and North Korea has ended without any agreement being reached regarding denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

The two sides gave conflicting accounts of what led to the failure, with the US President, Donald Trump saying he had walked away because of unacceptable North Korean demands to lift all sanctions.

However, North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said his country had sought only a partial lifting of sanctions and had offered a realistic proposal, including the dismantling of its main nuclear site at Yongbyon.

Washington insists that dialogue with Pyongyang will continue and the collapse of the Hanoi summit is not a major disappointment.

For more on this story see:

  • Trump Kim talks: What to make of the Hanoi summit collapse?
  • No deal reached with North Korea - White House
  • - BBC

    US President Donald Trump (R) and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un hold a meeting during the second US-North Korea summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on February 28, 2019.

    Donald Trump said he walked away from a nuclear deal at a summit with Kim Jong-un because of unacceptable demands to lift sanctions. Photo: AFP

    Eleven-year-old's C-section sparks debate

    News that doctors performed a caesarean section on an 11-year-old rape victim has reignited a debate on Argentina's abortion rules.

    The girl became pregnant after being raped by her grandmother's 65-year-old partner and had requested an abortion.

    However, her request was delayed by almost five weeks, and some doctors refused to carry out the procedure.

    Eventually doctors carried out a C-section instead, arguing it would have been too risky to perform the abortion.

    The baby is alive but doctors say it has little chance of surviving.

    Activists assemble before the National Congress building to call once more for the legalization of the legal, safe, and free abortion in Argentina

    Activists assemble before the National Congress building to call once more for the legalization of the legal, safe, and free abortion in Argentina Photo: AFP

    Full story:

  • Eleven-year-old's C-section sparks debate
  • Trump ordered aide to give Kushner security clearance - reports

    US President Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff in May to grant his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance, the New York Times reports.

    It said senior administration officials were troubled by the decision, which prompted then White House chief of staff John Kelly to write an internal memo about how he had been ordered to give Kushner the top-secret clearance.

    The White House counsel at the time, Donald McGahn, also wrote an internal memo outlining concerns raised about Kushner and how McGahn had recommended against the decision, it said.

    The Times said the memos contradicted a statement made by Trump in an interview with the newspaper in January that he had no role in Kushner's receiving his clearance.

    Full story:

  • Trump ordered aide to give Kushner security clearance - reports
  • Pakistan agrees to free captured Indian fighter pilot

    Indian military officials have welcomed Pakistan's planned return of a captured pilot, but refused to confirm they would de-escalate a conflict between the two nuclear powers.

    The pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan, became the human face of the flare-up over the contested region of Kashmir, following the release of videos showing him being captured and later held in custody.

    The Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the pilot would be released tomorrow, to the relief of many Indians, even as his military reported that four Pakistani civilians had been killed by India firing across the disputed border in Kashmir.

    Indian people hold placards and photographs of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, as they celebrate the announcement of his soon release, in Amritsar.

    Indian people hold placards and photographs of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, as they celebrate the announcement of his soon release, in Amritsar. Photo: NARINDER NANU / AFP

    Full story:

  • Pakistan says it plans to free captured Indian pilot
  • - BBC

    Israel accused of war crimes during Gaza protests

    War crimes accusations are being levelled at Israel after its snipers targetted people identifiable as children, health workers and journalists during protests in Gaza last year.

    A United Nations commission of inquiry investigated the killing of 189 Palestinians between 30 March and 31 December 2018.

    It found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at children, medics and journalists, even though they were clearly recognisable as such.

    Israel's acting foreign minister said it rejected the findings outright.

    Clashes erupted on the Gaza-Israel border a week after similar demonstrations led to violence in which Israeli force killed 19 Palestinians, the bloodiest day since a 2014 war.

    Clashes erupted on the Gaza-Israel border in April, a week after similar demonstrations led to violence in which Israeli force killed 19 Palestinians, the bloodiest day since a 2014 war. Photo: AFP

    Full story:

  • Gaza protest deaths may be war crimes - UN
  • - BBC

    Israel's prime minister facing bribery and fraud charges

    Israel's attorney general intends to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges.

    The prime minister is alleged to have accepted gifts from wealthy businessmen and dispensed favours to try to get more positive press coverage.

    Mr Netanyahu denied the charges and in a defiant broadcast, he repeated his assertion that he is the victim of a left-wing "witch-hunt" intended to topple him ahead of the closely contested election on 9 April.

    A final hearing, probably after the election, will determine whether the charges go forward.

    Full story:

  • Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu faces corruptions charges
  • - BBC