World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Bombs target Iraq communist party headquarters

Two homemade bombs targeted the headquarters of the Iraqi Communist Party, which is part of an alliance with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr that won Iraq's parliamentary election, a party official and security sources said. The explosive devices were hurled into the garden of the building in Baghdad on Friday and did not cause any casualties, said Jassim Helfi, a senior member of the party.

On again? Trump says still chance of June 12 North Korea summit

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday dangled the possibility that a June 12 summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un could still take place, just a day after he canceled the meeting citing Pyongyang's "open hostility." Trump indicated the summit could be salvaged after welcoming a conciliatory statement from North Korea saying it remained open to talks.

Iran pressures Europe to speed up plans to save nuclear deal

Major powers and Iran agreed on Friday to move quickly to offset the U.S. pullout from its nuclear deal and Washington's renewed sanctions, with Tehran pressuring Europe to come up with a package of economic measures by May 31. The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so.

Ireland set to end abortion ban in landslide vote: exit polls

The people of Ireland are set to liberalize some of the world's most restrictive abortion laws by a landslide, two exit polls from a referendum showed on Friday, as voters demanded change in what two decades ago was one of Europe's most socially conservative countries. An Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI exit poll suggested that voters in the once deeply Catholic nation had backed change by 68 percent to 32 percent. An RTE/Behaviour & Attitudes survey put the margin at 69 percent to 31 percent.

U.S. 'maximum pressure' on North Korea faces test with summit in limbo

U.S. efforts to sustain and possibly intensify its "maximum pressure" campaign on North Korea are entering a perilous phase as a potential breakdown in diplomacy with Pyongyang raises fears that China may loosen its enforcement of international sanctions. With the fate of a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in limbo, U.S. officials have suggested Washington may pursue fresh sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear program even though key players such as China and South Korea may be reluctant to participate.

Putin, Macron bond over shared unease at Trump's actions

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday found a common cause in their shared unease at U.S. President Donald Trump's actions on Iran, climate change and international trade. France is at odds with the Kremlin over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine four years ago, and allegations that Moscow meddled in a French presidential election in support of one of Macron's opponents.

Turkey, U.S. outline road map for cooperation in Syria's Manbij: statement

Turkish and U.S. working groups, meeting in Ankara on Friday, outlined a draft for cooperation in ensuring security and stability in Manbij in northern Syria, they said in a statement. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo will meet on June 4 to consider the group's recommendations, the statement said.

Venezuela's Maduro meets U.S. senator after election, sanctions

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro met with U.S. Senator Bob Corker on Friday, the socialist-led government said, less than a week after Maduro was re-elected to a six-year term in a vote the United States did not recognize. The election prompted a further deterioration in relations between the two countries. The United States responded to the vote, which it called undemocratic, with additional sanctions, prompting Venezuela to expel the top two U.S. diplomats posted in Caracas. The United States responded with a similar move.

Dozens of Palestinians injured by Israeli gunfire, tear gas in Gaza border protests

Dozens of Palestinians demonstrating at the Gaza border were injured by Israeli gunfire and tear gas on Friday, as the latest round of protests drew several thousand participants to the frontier. Dubbed the March of Return, the protests were launched on March 30 to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to family lands or homes lost to Israel during its founding in a 1948 war.

Thousands protest Argentina's negotiations with IMF

Thousands of Argentines on Friday protested the government's bid to secure a credit line from the International Monetary Fund, which they blame for hardship during a past financial crisis. Opposition parties, unions, human rights organizations and artists took part in the march near the capital Buenos Aires' emblematic obelisk, under the banner "the country is in danger."