Ireland, U.K. make Brexit headway

European Council President Donald Tusk said Friday that he saw “promising signals” for a Brexit deal. A meeting on Thursday between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar rekindled hope for an orderly separation between Britain and the European Union by the Oct. 31 deadline.

What changed? The main stumbling block to a deal remains how to handle the border between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. After the private meeting with Johnson, Varadkar refused to disclose details but said, “I do see a pathway towards an agreement in the coming weeks.” On Friday morning, the value of the British pound increased 0.8 percent to $1.2537.

Dig deeper: Read past coverage from WORLD of the many obstacles that have stymied Brexit.