IN BRIEF (Page 7)

United Kingdom

Govt softens Brexit stance in latest talks

The British government said on Thursday that Brexit talks with the European Union will focus on winning new guarantees to reassure euroskeptic MPs, rather than on demanding the divorce deal be reopened. One day after Prime Minister Theresa May met EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, her Brexit minister and attorney-general were back in Brussels for talks with EU negotiators. Afterward, London said the "simplest way" to get a legally binding guarantee that "Irish backstop" clause in the deal is temporary would be to renegotiate the accord.

Syria

200 US troops to remain after pullout

The US military will keep around 200 troops in Syria after President Donald Trump's pullout from the war-torn country, the White House said on Thursday. The announcement came amid fierce criticism of Trump's decision to withdraw 2,000 or so troops from Syria by April 30, with members of his own Republican Party blasting the move. In December, Trump declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria, even though thousands of extremists remain and fighting continues around their last holdout. Critics have decried a number of possible outcomes from a precipitous withdrawal, including a Turkish attack on US-backed Kurdish forces and a resurgence of the IS.

Iran

Teheran starts Gulf naval drill

Iran on Friday began a large-scale naval drill at the mouth of the Gulf, which will feature its first submarine cruise missile launches, state media reported, at a time of rising tensions with the United States. More than 100 vessels were taking part in the three-day exercise in a vast area stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Indian Ocean, the state news agency IRNA reported. State media said Iran would be testing its new domestically built submarine which is armed with cruise missiles and was launched last week. Iranian officials in the past have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route, in retaliation for any hostile action of the US, including attempts to halt Iranian oil exports through sanctions. The navy will also fly patrol, reconnaissance and bomber drones during the exercise for the first time.

Pakistan

Extreme weather claims 28 lives

At least 28 people were killed and more than two dozen others injured in the latest wave of extreme weather across Pakistan, local media and officials have said. According to reports, the deaths took place due to torrential rain, thunderstorms and heavy snowfall that started earlier this week in different areas of the country. Jam Kamal Khan, chief minister of the country's southwest Balochistan province, told media on Thursday that more than 450 families have been affected by weather-related incidents across Balochistan, adding that an emergency has been declared in Lasbela district where nearly 200 families were affected by the flash floods which submerged nearby villages.

Ap - Afp - Xinhua

(China Daily 02/23/2019 page7)