N. Korea on agenda of Trump-Abe meeting

WASHINGTON • Mr Donald Trump will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on April 17-18 to discuss the US President's planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other matters, the White House said yesterday.

The meeting will take place at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and the two leaders "will discuss the international campaign to maintain maximum pressure on North Korea", the statement said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Russia links Brexit to spy poisoning case

MOSCOW • Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday suggested that the poisoning of a former double agent could benefit the British government by distracting attention from problems around Brexit.

The March 4 attack on Mr Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England has triggered a wave of tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats between the West and Russia and sent relations plunging to new post-Cold War lows.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said US President Donald Trump had proposed a White House summit when he called Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, prior to the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from the US over the poisoning incident.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Egypt President wins 97% of votes in election

CAIRO • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been re-elected with 97 per cent of the votes, the same proportion the former military commander got four years ago for his first term, official results showed yesterday.

However, turnout was lower at 41 per cent.

REUTERS