Irish Leaders Try to Avoid Election

LONDON (AP) -- Ireland's governing party and main opposition are holding last-minute talks to avoid the government collapsing just as it faces a crunch time in Brexit negotiations.

Irish lawmakers are due to vote on a no-confidence motion targeting the deputy prime minister filed by opposition party Fianna Fail.

Fianna Fail wants Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's deputy, Frances Fitzgerald, ousted over her involvement in a long-running police scandal.

Varadkar's Fine Gael party is backing Fitzgerald, but if his minority government loses the vote, Ireland faces a snap election.

Varadkar and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin are due to hold talks Tuesday.

A key EU summit looms Dec. 14-15, and Ireland is pressing Britain to spell out how it can keep the Ireland-Northern Ireland border free of customs posts and other barriers after Brexit.

(KA)