British, Irish leaders to meet amid Brexit tensions

In this file photo taken on January 21, 2019 A pro-Brexit activist (R) holds a placard reading "We Voted For Independence" as an anti-brexit campaigner waves an European Union and a Union flag. (AFP)

• UK Prime Minister Theresa May will dine with Irish premier Leo Varadkar in Dublin
• Britain is due to leave the bloc on March 29

LONDON: The British and Irish leaders are meeting to discuss the Irish border — and mend fences — amid a tense UK-EU standoff over Brexit.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May will dine with Irish premier Leo Varadkar in Dublin to press her case for changes to Britain’s divorce deal with the EU. Britain’s Parliament rejected the agreement last month, largely over concerns about a provision designed to ensure an open border between the UK’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.
Britain is due to leave the bloc on March 29. The bid for last-minute changes has exasperated EU leaders.
But the parties have at least agreed to keep talking. The British and Irish attorneys general are holding talks Friday to see if there is any common ground on the border.