May faces hard sell of Brexit deal to MPs, EU

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May has persuaded her euroskeptic ministers to back a plan for closer trade ties with the EU after Brexit, but some of her MPs expressed alarm - and she must still sell it to Brussels.

Rescuers grab chance to extract team from Thai cave

MAE SAI, Thailand - The dangerous mission to rescue 12 Thai schoolboys and their soccer coach trapped inside a flooded cave for more than two weeks began on Sunday night.

President speaks out on Italian hard line

ROME - Italian President Sergio Mattarella said this week it was "irresponsible" for the new Italian government to let its strict anti-migrant policies put the European Union's open border laws at risk, adding his voice to a growing chorus of public figures opposed to the measures.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Pompeo heads to DPRK for third visit

The solution to tensions on the Korean Peninsula lie not only in denuclearization but also in a new peace mechanism, a Chinese expert said, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Friday aiming to push the implementation of details agreed during the DPRK-US summit last month in Singapore.

24 dead in Mexican town where fireworks disasters common

TULTEPEC, Mexico - First a horrific blast rocked the town of Tultepec, a place already notorious for deadly fireworks accidents, and emergency workers rushed in to rescue the injured.

Japan hangs 7 for cult sarin attack in 1995

TOKYO - Japan on Friday executed the former leader of a doomsday cult and six other members of the group that carried out a sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, killing 13 people and shattering the country's myth of public safety.

Thai diver dies in cave rescue

MAE SAI, Thailand - A former Thai military diver has drowned while helping in the operation to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped inside a flooded cave, officials said on Friday, highlighting fears over the painstaking operation to extract the youngsters.

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Trade tensions put businesses on edge

US businessman Peter Shiao had worked hard with his Chinese capital partners to create an investment fund, but as they prepared to announce it this year, China-US trade tensions escalated, forcing them to make an abrupt change of plans.

Voices across America

US President Donald Trump on Friday slapped tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese products, the first shot in a trade war between the two countries. The move prompted Beijing to immediately impose tariffs on US products worth $34 billion annually - from soybeans and seafood to sport-utility vehicles and whiskey. Here are comments from some US states affected by the tariffs.

Germany reaches deal on migration

BERLIN - The parties in Germany's ruling coalition have reached deal on a package of measures to deal with asylum-seekers who have already registered in other European Union states, and vowed to push ahead with an immigration law this year.