Irish Government unconvinced by ‘smart border’ idea. Dublin and Brussels raised concerns that a ‘smart border’ between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland might still fail to prevent the establishment of a hard border after Brexit. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney told the BBC that the UK’s proposal will be a “starting point” for talks, not the solution. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed that Prime Minister Theresa May is relying on “technological solutions that perhaps do not even exist”. Elsewhere, Stephen Martin, head of the Institute of Directors in the UK, said that the Good Friday Agreement must be protected at all costs no matter what occurs politically.

Former Russian spy poisoned in UK. A former Russian spy and his daughter remained in a critical but stable condition in hospital after being exposed to a nerve agent in Salisbury, England. Russia denied any involvement in an act described as brazen and cruel by UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the UK will respond “robustly” if Russia is found to have been behind the incident.

China’s Xi ‘president for life’. China’s ruling communist government approved the removal of term limits for its leader in a move that meritoriously allows Xi Jinping to remain as president for life. The constitutional changes were passed in a vote by China’s annual session of the National People’s Congress, widely reported as a rubber-stamping exercise. President Xi, who would have been due to step down in 2023, defied the tradition of presenting a potential successor during October’s Communist Party Congress. Instead Xi has consolidated his political power as the party voted to enshrine his name and political ideology in the party’s constitution, elevating his status to the level of its founding father Chairman Mao.

‘Greatest deal’ could be reached between the US and North Korea. US President Donald Trump said that his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could bring about the greatest deal for the world. At a political rally in Pennsylvania, Mr Trump told supporters he believed North Korea wanted to make peace, though he also indicated that he might leave the talks quickly if it didn’t look like progress for nuclear disarmament could be made. No sitting US president has ever met a North Korean leader. Mr Trump’s decision to accept an invitation from the North Korean leader reportedly took top US administration officials by surprise.

Saudi Arabia nears Typhoon jet deal with BAE. Saudi Arabia moved closer to a deal to buy 48 Typhoon fighter jets, UK aerospace giant BAE Systems said. A memorandum of intent on the deal was signed after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. The publication of this proposed deal is both a shot in the arm for Britain’s aerospace industry and a punch on the nose to human rights and anti-war protesters. They have strongly opposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia both on the grounds of its poor human rights record at home and abroad in relation to the Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen.