News Headlines - 21 August 2019

▽Merkel gives Johnson 30 days to find solution to avoid no-deal Brexit | The Guardian

Angela Merkel has challenged Boris Johnson to come up with a solution to avert a no-deal Brexit “in the next 30 days”, putting responsibility for stopping the UK crashing out of the EU firmly at the British prime minister’s door.
After weeks of diplomatic tension, the German chancellor used her first face-to-face meeting with her UK counterpart on Wednesday to emphasise that Britain still has the power to resolve the crisis, suggesting that the backstop was “a placeholder that will no longer be necessary” if a solution to the impasse over the Irish border can be found.

▽Taliban chief's brother killed in Pakistan blast: militant sources

The Afghan Taliban leader's brother was among four people killed in a blast at a mosque in southwestern Pakistan Friday, insurgent sources and a Pakistani official told AFP.
The Taliban have not officially commented, but an unofficial statement circulating among Taliban fighters on WhatsApp and seen by AFP confirmed the claim.

▽Man accused of upskirting over 550 women in Madrid - BBC News

The 53-year-old Colombian man allegedly filmed the videos on a mobile phone hidden in a backpack.
Police say he then uploaded at least 283 videos to pornographic websites, racking up millions of views.
Many of the 555 victims - some of which were underage - were targeted on the capital's Metro system.

▽Satellite data shows Amazon rainforest burning at record rates - UPI.com

Brazil's Amazon rainforest is burning at a record rate, data from international space agencies indicate.
The Brazilian National Institute for Space Research on Tuesday said its satellite data showed there have been 72,843 fires in Brazil this year -- with more than half in the Amazon region -- an 84 percent increase from the same period in 2018.

▽Disney-Sony Standoff Spins Doubt On Kevin Feige’s Spider-Man Future - Deadline

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige won’t produce any further Spider-Man films because of an inability by Disney and Sony Pictures to reach new terms that would have given the former a co-financing stake going forward... Disney asked that future Spider-Man films be a 50/50 co-financing arrangement between the studios, and there were discussions that this might extend to other films in the Spider-Man universe. Sony turned that offer down flat.