Reuters News Now

Highlights

President Trump said he was prepared to meet Kim Jong Un in what would be the first meeting between a sitting American and North Korean leader. However analysts fear the summit may prove to be more 'spectacle than substance', as Trump moves forward with his biggest foreign policy gamble since taking office in January 2017.

U.S. job growth surged in February, recording its biggest increase in more than 1-1/2 years, but a slowdown in wage gains pointed to a gradual increase in inflation this year. Nonfarm payrolls jumped by 313,000 jobs last month, boosted by the largest gain in construction jobs since 2007, the Labor Department said.

From Japan and South Korea to Australia and Europe, officials lined up to seek exemptions from Trump’s tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports, while Chinese producers called on Beijing to retaliate.

Commentary: Though the Russian government has denied involvement in the poisoning of a former British double agent, British authorities believe Moscow was behind the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter. The attack, which used a sophisticated nerve agent, may have been timed to send a pointed political message ahead of Russia’s March 18 presidential election. “The difficulty of manufacturing the chemicals makes them practically the calling card of a government-sponsored assassin,” writes Peter Apps. “That may be part of the point – to remind foes no one is safe no matter how far or long they run.”

World

An emergency aid convoy crossed front lines into the besieged rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta, Red Cross officials said, but air strikes resumed in the area after an overnight pause. For eastern Ghouta’s civilians, trapped in underground shelters but deprived of food and water, there is a constant dilemma - whether to seek supplies or stay inside.

A move to end presidential term limits, enabling Chinese President Xi Jinping to remain in office indefinitely, may well have slammed the door shut on any hopes for a resurgence of grassroots activism and pressure for democratic political reform.

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said he had no intention now of stepping down to take responsibility for the resignation of the National Tax Agency chief, who came under fire for remarks about a suspected cronyism scandal.

'TPP-11' signees to send powerful signal against trade wars http://reut.rs/2FnhfZI

9:11 AM - mar 8, 2018