Top Stories Today – May 27, 2019
Top Stories Today – May 27, 2019
Trump not bothered by N Korea missile tests
US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed differing views Monday on whether recent North Korean missile tests violated a U.N. Security Council resolution, but remained united on the ultimate goal of achieving a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
Speaking during a joint news conference after talks in Tokyo, Trump said he viewed the tests as a bid for attention by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and that he was not personally bothered by them. Abe said the tests did violate the Security Council resolution. He also repeatedly stressed that in negotiations with North Korea his government is most interested in resolving the issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. The Voice of America
Europe’s biggest blocs lose grip on power
The big center-right and center-left blocs in the European Parliament have lost their combined majority amid an increase in support for liberals, the Greens and nationalists. Pro-EU parties are still expected to be in a majority but the traditional blocs will need to seek new alliances. The liberals and Greens had a good night, while nationalists were victorious in Italy, France and the UK.
Turnout was the highest for 20 years, bucking decades of decline. Although populist and far-right parties gained ground in some countries, they fell short of the very significant gains some had predicted. The center-right European People’s Party (EPP) remains the largest bloc and analysts say it is likely to form a grand coalition with the Socialists and Democrats bloc, with support from liberals and the Greens. In the UK, the newly-formed Brexit Party claimed a big victory, and a strong performance by the Liberal Democrats came amid massive losses for the Conservatives and Labour. BBC
Graham: Democrats face peril if pursue Trump impeachment
A top US Republican lawmaker predicted Sunday that if opposition Democrats in the House of Representatives try to impeach President Donald Trump, the president will be re-elected next year and Republicans will retake control of the House. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, an ally of Trump’s, told “Fox News Sunday” that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic-controlled lower chamber, permits an impeachment inquiry to start, “it would be suicide for the Democratic Party.” Graham said Pelosi’s “job is very much on the line,” depending on whether she eventually relents on allowing an impeachment hearing to open.
About three dozen Democrats and a lone Republican in the 435-member House have called for impeachment hearings to start against Trump, to consider whether he obstructed justice by trying to thwart special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian intrusion in the 2016 US presidential election that Trump won. The Voice of America
Venezuela’s opposition to meet with Maduro’s in Norway
Representatives of Venezuela’s government and opposition are returning to Norway’s capital, Oslo, for talks on how to address the political crisis. The meeting, scheduled for next week, was confirmed by Norway’s government, which reiterated its commitment to helping to find a solution. Discussions were held there earlier this month, but the opposition says there were no face-to-face meetings.
Venezuela has been in political crisis for months amid a power struggle. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president in January, arguing that the presidency was vacant because Nicolás Maduro’s re-election last year was “illegitimate”. But Maduro has refused to cede power. BBC
2 die at Tornado struck Oklahoma
Severe damage, including fatalities, occurred after a likely tornado struck in El Reno, Okla., on Saturday night, according to local police and media reports. The powerful gust leveled the second story of a motel and killed at least two people at a mobile-home park in the area, reports said.
The tornado is believed to have touched down in the area of Highway 81 and Interstate 40, FOX 25 of Oklahoma City reported. Earlier Saturday, President Trump approved an emergency declaration to assist Oklahoma after flooding damaged more than 1,000 homes, the Hill reported. Fox News
30 dead, 200 missing after boat sinks in Congo
Authorities in western Congo say at least 30 people are dead and another 200 are missing after a boat sank on a lake. Simon Mboo Wemba, the mayor of Inongo, told The Associated Press on Sunday night that many of those aboard the boat that sank on Lake Mai-Ndombe were teachers. The mayor says they had traveled to collect their salaries by boat because roads in the region are so poor.
It was not immediately known how many people were aboard the boat when it hit bad weather late Saturday. But officials estimate several hundred were on board. More than 80 people survived. Boats in the vast nation of Congo are usually overloaded with passengers and cargo, and official manifests don’t include all those aboard. The Voice of America