Top scientists warn of consequences
of Brexit
AP, London
Top scientists from around Europe have warned that Britain leaving the European Union without an agreement on future relations would harm research across the continent.
The letter, signed by 29 Nobel laureates and six winners of the Fields Medal mathematics prize, urges Britain’s prime minister and the head of the European Commission to ensure the “closest possible cooperation between the U.K. and the EU.”
Lebanon PM backs Saudi Arabia in Khashoggi case
AFP, Beirut
Lebanon’s premier-designate Saad Hariri threw his support behind Saudi Arabia Tuesday as it faces outrage over the murder of Saudi journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate.
Hariri’s comments came less than a year after he resigned in mysterious circumstances in a televised address from the Saudi capital, sparking rumours he was being held there against his will.
Trump and Cruz mend fences at rally
AP, Houston
In a move that would have seemed unthinkable two years ago, President Trump offered a full embrace, literally and figuratively, of Ted Cruz in a massive rally here Monday night, imploring a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters to turn out for his former political rival in a closely watched Senate race in Texas.
In what is likely to be a highly scrutinized endorsement of the midterm elections, Trump and Cruz shared the stage at the top of an hour-long rally here, sharing a brief man-hug and a few arm squeezes before an estimated crowd of 18,000 in the heart of downtown Houston.
Trump’s adviser meets Russian Defense Minister
AP, Moscow
U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser struck a conciliatory note Tuesday in talks in Moscow, just days after Trump vowed to pull out of a key arms control treaty with Russia.
John Bolton landed in Moscow on Monday less than 48 hours after Trump said that Russia violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and warned that the U.S. would begin developing such weapons unless Russia and China agree not to possess or develop them.
Taiwan investigates train crash that killed 18
AFP, Yilan
Taiwan’s president pushed for a swift investigation Monday after an express train derailed on a coastal tourist route, killing 18 people in the island’s worst rail accident for 27 years. The crash on the popular east coast line Sunday, which left the Puyuma Express lying zig-zagged across the tracks, also injured 187 passengers. Among those who died, the youngest was nine years old. Two students aged 12 and 13 from a junior high school in Taitung – where the train was headed – were also killed, according to the transport ministry.
