The LuLac Edition #3966, December 29th, 2018

TOP INTERNATIONAL STORIES

1. Trump-Putin, a most revealing summit: In July, Trump appeared to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he stood by Putin's side at a Helsinki summit news conference and gave weight to Putin's denial that Russia meddled in the 2016 election, despite the firm conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that it had. "I don't see any reason why it would be" Russia, Trump said. By that statement alone people of all stripes in this country should no Diaper Don is in bed with Putin and the Russians. 2018 draws to a close with warnings of a nuclear Armageddon by Putin's prompt. It was clear that Trump's intention is to appease and please the Russian dictator. .
2. Trump meets Dictator in North Korea: President Donald Trump in June became the first U.S. president to meet a North Korean leader when he sat down with Kim Jong Un at a hotel in Singapore. The summit followed years of missile tests, military exercises, threats, and name-calling. The U.S. and the North -- both nuclear powers -- at times verged on the edge of threatening war. While there are no signs that the talks have made much progress, the Trump administration has been pushing ahead with plans for a second summit in 2019.
3. Cave rescue: When a dozen young soccer players and their coach ventured into a cave in Thailand in June, they thought they’d explore for a bit and come back out that day. But pouring rain flooded the cave -- pushing them deeper inside and stranding them without supplies or any way to call for help. Authorities mounted a desperate search-and-rescue mission as family members and the world’s media gathered outside. Days ticked by with no word of their fate. After nearly 10 tortuous days, expert divers finally found them -- cold and hungry but in relatively good condition. Thai authorities, working with divers from around the world, devised a complicated and daring plan to bring the team out, one by one. One diver died setting up the operation. Over several days and one by one, the divers pulled the boys, who were sedated, through narrow passageways to the cave’s entrance.
4. When Harry married an American: Actress Meghan Markle, from Los Angeles, wed Britain’s Prince Harry on May 19, captivating royal fans around the world.
Tens of millions of people around the globe watched the couple tie the knot in at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, the site of many royal weddings in years past.
5. An hasty retreat in Venezuela: The economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela worsened precipitously in 2018, with the number of refugees and migrants fleeing the country exploding.
The United Nations said in November that 3 million Venezuelans had left the country, with a third in neighboring Colombia and the vast majority in Latin America and the Caribbean.