MILAN, March 20 (Reuters) - China is ready to strengthen its "global strategic partnership" with Italy, Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in an Italian daily on the eve of his visit to the euro zone's third-largest economy.

(Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Tuesday found Bayer AG's glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused cancer, a blow to the company eight months after another jury issued a $289 million verdict over similar claims in a different case.

SEOUL, March 20 (Reuters) - The breakdown at last month's U.S.-North Korea summit has left South Korean President Moon Jae-in with little room to maneuver and exacerbated divisions within his government over how to break the impasse, three sources familiar with the issue said.

TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares slid on Wednesday as investors took profits ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve which is expected to shed more light on its interest rate plans for the rest of the year.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany plans to pass legislation by the end of 2019 to create a state-owned fund that can protect key companies from takeovers by Chinese and other foreign firms, government sources said, in a marked shift from its "hands-off" approach to business.

TOKYO/HONG KONG, March 20 (Reuters) - Asian shares slid on Wednesday as investors took profits ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve which is expected to shed more light on its interest rate plans for the rest of the year.

BERLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - Germany plans to pass legislation by the end of 2019 to create a state-owned fund that can protect key companies from takeovers by Chinese and other foreign firms, government sources said, in a marked shift from its "hands-off" approach to business.

MEXICO CITY, March 20 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met with U.S. White House adviser Jared Kushner on Tuesday, the Mexican government said, discussing trade and migration issues that have strained relations between the neighboring countries.

SINGAPORE/BAGHDAD/TRIPOLI (Reuters) - At least two tankers have ferried Iranian fuel oil to Asia in recent months despite U.S. sanctions against such shipments, according to a Reuters analysis of ship-tracking data and port information, as well as interviews with brokers and traders.