IRELAND: Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Saturday that the UK and the European Union are “inching” closer to agreeing on a deal to resolve the post-Brexit dispute in Northern Ireland.

Mr Varadkar told reporters that he believed an agreement may be possible within days.

His comments came amid intense speculation that a breakthrough on the wrangling over the Northern Ireland Protocol is imminent.

FRANCE: President Emmanuel Macron sought to defend his unpopular pension plan Saturday in an effort to show he hears concerns of farmers and other ordinary citizens at France’s biggest farm fair.

The pension changes meant to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, amid other measures, were among recurrent topics during the visit at the Paris Agricultural Fair, where Mr Macron was scheduled to spend all day.

The plans have faced fierce opposition across the country.

TURKEY: Investigations have been launched against more than 600 people in relation to buildings that collapsed during Turkey’s catastrophic earthquake earlier this month, a government official said Saturday.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 184 of the 612 suspects had been jailed pending trial.

Those in custody include construction contractors and building owners or managers, he said in televised comments from a co-ordination centre in Diyarbakir in south-east Turkey.

ITALY: More than 30 people have died after a migrant boat broke apart in rough seas off the southern coast of Italy’s mainland, RAI state radio reported today.

Port authorities near the coastal town of Crotone, in Calabria, told RAI the ship was carrying more than 100 migrants when it ran into trouble at dawn Sunday.