WSJ.com What's News - Worldwide News Briefs for May 09

ADVOCATE OF CLOSER TIES FOR KOREAS WINS ELECTION IN SOUTH

South Korean voters were poised to elect Moon Jae-in as the country's next leader, exit polls show, ending nine years of conservative rule and bringing to power a forceful advocate for closer ties with North Korea.

CHINA TIGHTENS BELT ON ITS GRAND TRADE PLAN

The relatively modest Chinese investments in Xi Jinping's signature foreign-policy initiative contrast with soaring official rhetoric, suggesting that economic realities are catching up with Beijing's 'One Belt, One Road' plan.

TRUMP SET TO ARM KURDS IN ISIS FIGHT, ANGERING TURKEY

President Donald Trump approved plans to directly arm Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State in Syria, U.S. officials said Tuesday, paving the way for an offensive against the extremist group's de facto capital.

MACRON'S ECONOMIC PLANS DRAW PUSHBACK

French President-elect Emmanuel Macron wants to reconcile his country with globalization. The modest economic changes he is proposing to do so are already provoking resistance.

GERMAN SOLDIERS ALLEGEDLY PLANNED ATTACKS TO BE BLAMED ON MIGRANT

Germany's top prosecutor said two soldiers and an accomplice plotted high-profile assassinations that would be blamed on a migrant, escalating a controversy over right-wing extremism in the military.

IN RUSSIA, LEAKED DOCUMENTS RATTLE THE KREMLIN

Russian domestic politics are being influenced by hacking tactics similar to ones Russia is accused of using to try to weaken its foreign opponents.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AT RISK OF LONG-TERM SLOWDOWN, IMF WARNS

Sub-Saharan Africa risks becoming poorer in per capita terms after years of fast-paced growth, the IMF warned, as the region's economic expansion slows while population growth accelerates.

EU ENCOURAGES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO SUPPORT CLIMATE DEAL

European officials have unleashed a diplomatic offensive to dissuade President Donald Trump from nixing the Paris Agreement, as the risk of a U.S. pullout threatens to derail the 2015 global deal against climate change.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2017 17:14 ET (21:14 GMT)