CIA chief met with North Korean leader +++ Syria chemical weapons visit postponed +++ Former First Lady Barbara Bush dies

19. Mai 2018, 02:00

CIA chief met with North Korean leader

It's emerged that the director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, recently visited North Korea to hold a secret meeting with the country's leader Kim Jong-un. It's thought Pompeo flew to Pyongyang three weeks ago, from a US military base in South Korea. President Donald Trump plans to meet Kim in June.

Syria chemical weapons visit postponed

A visit by international chemical weapons inspectors to a site in Syria that was the scene of a suspected gas attack has reportedly been delayed. The Syrian authorities said the inspection mission would start work today in the town of Douma, if the team felt it was safe to do so. But there are reports that gunfire was heard at the site yesterday. French officials have said that evidence of the gas attack may have disappeared by the time the inspectors reach Douma.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush dies

The former US First Lady, Barbara Bush, has died at the age of 92. As the wife of President George Bush Senior and the mother of George W Bush, she was the only woman to have seen both her husband and son sworn in as the country's president. During her years in the White House she was an advocate for improving education and liberalising abortion rights. Speaking in front of a cheering crowd in 1990, she expressed this view on gender equality: “Who knows, somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who may one day follow in my footsteps – and preside over the White House as the President’s spouse. And I wish him well!”

Woman dies in jet engine ‘explosion’

A woman has died after almost being sucked out of the side of a passenger jet, when part of an engine broke off in mid-air and tore a hole in the fuselage. Seven other people had to be given medical treatment. The South-West Airlines flight, which had just taken off from New York, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia. The chief executive of South West Airlines, Gary Kelly, expressed his sadness at what happened: “Our hearts go out to the family and the loved ones of the deceased customer. Out of all the hours of usage of the engines, over many, many years… this engine dates back to 1997… there are only a handful of incidents like this that have happened.”

Facebook seeks to face scan Europeans

Facebook will begin asking its European Union and Canadian users if it can use facial recognition technology to identify them in photos and videos. A class action lawsuit has been brought against the social media network in the United States, for deploying facial recognition technology there without users' permission.

The weather

Mostly sunny with highs ranging from 17 to 25 degrees, with the warmest temperatures in the west.

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