WSJ.com What's News - Worldwide News Briefs for May 18

BRAZIL GRAFT PROBE TARGETS PRESIDENT, MARKETS DROP AMID IMPEACHMENT TALK

Brazil's President Michel Temer is under investigation in connection with a sprawling corruption scandal, the country's Supreme Court said, as opponents called for his impeachment and financial markets plunged.

FORMER FBI DIRECTOR ROBERT MUELLER NAMED SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR RUSSIA PROBE

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller III was appointed as special counsel to oversee the FBI investigation of the Russian government's efforts to influence the 2016 election, the Justice Department said.

EGYPT AND SAUDI ARABIA COME TOGETHER AHEAD OF TRUMP TRIP

Egyptian and Saudi officials complain about one another in private, but the two Arab powerhouses can't afford not to get along-and they are setting aside their squabbles in advance of President Donald Trump's upcoming trip to a summit in Riyadh.

U.S. PLANS TO START NAFTA TALKS

The Trump administration informed U.S. lawmakers that it intends to launch formal negotiations on overhauling the North American Free Trade Agreement, as President Donald Trump will try to win concessions from Canada and Mexico.

JAPAN HAS WHAT TRUMP WANTS: MANUFACTURERS DRIVING GROWTH

Japan's longest growth streak in more than a decade owes partly to a strength U.S. President Donald Trump would like to emulate: a robust manufacturing base that is shipping to overseas markets such as China.

NATO MULLS ARCTIC AND ATLANTIC COMMAND TO COUNTER RUSSIA

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization may revive a Cold War naval command to counter Moscow's increased submarine activity in the Arctic and protect Atlantic sea lanes in the event of a conflict, according to allied diplomats and officials briefed on the planning work.

SLOVAKIA'S ANTI-HATE SPEECH POLICE TARGET LAWMAKERS

A police unit created as part of a government campaign to curb right-wing extremism has put under investigation or charged politicians, as well as social-media users and public figures.

IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL IN PLAY AS HARD-LINE CANDIDATE GAINS ON PRESIDENT

Voters choose Friday between candidates with conflicting visions-President Hassan Rouhani, who has made an opening to the West, and a political newcomer wary of where such a path leads.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 18, 2017 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)