News Headlines - 08 March 2018

▽North Korea Asks for Direct Nuclear Talks, and Trump Agrees - The New York Times

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has invited President Trump to meet for negotiations over its nuclear program, an audacious diplomatic overture that would bring together two strong-willed, idiosyncratic leaders who have traded threats of war.
The White House said that Mr. Trump had accepted the invitation, and Chung Eui-yong, a South Korean official who conveyed it, told reporters that the president would meet with Mr. Kim within two months.

▽Trump hints at steel tariff flexibility for 'real friends' | Fox News

President Trump hinted that he would sign controversial tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel Thursday, but also suggested flexibility for “real friends” abroad who treat the U.S. fairly.

▽French publisher determined to reprint Celine's anti-Semitic tracts - RFI

The head of France's most prestigious publishing house said Sunday he still wanted to reprint a collection of violently anti-Semitic pamphlets by Louis-Ferdinand Celine.
Antoine Gallimard declared that he had "not renounced" plans to publish a 1,000-page compendium of the controversial novelist's essays from the late 1930s after an outcry forced him to put the project on ice in January.

▽March4Women: Thousands rally for gender equality in London

Thousands of people have taken part in a march in London to highlight the fight for gender equality.
The rally coincided with the 100th anniversary of some women being given the right to vote.

▽Norway boosts whaling quota despite international opposition | The Guardian

Norway has announced a 28% increase of its annual whaling quota to 1,278 whales in a bid to revive the declining hunt amid international controversy.
Whalers have for several years failed to meet the quotas set by Oslo and the number of whaling boats has plunged.