LONDON: British MPs on Friday rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU divorce deal for a third time, opening the way for a long delay to Brexit — or a chaotic “no deal” withdrawal in two weeks.
The pound sank as MPs defied May’s plea to end the deadlock that has plunged Britain into a deep political crisis, defeating her withdrawal agreement by 344 votes to 286.
It is yet another blow to a prime minister who has all but lost control of her government and the Brexit process — particularly after she offered to quit if MPs backed the deal.
Britain had been due to leave the EU on Friday, the long-heralded March 29 “Independence Day,” but faced with deadlock in parliament, May asked European leaders last week for a little more time.
She now faces having to return in the coming days to explain what happens next, after EU Council President Donald Tusk immediately called a Brussels summit for April 10.
The EU has set a deadline for April 12 for a decision, with two likely options: Britain leaves with no deal at all, or agrees a lengthy extension to allow time for a new approach.
May has said it would be “unacceptable” to ask voters to take part in forthcoming European Parliament elections, three years after they voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the EU, a decision that has sharply divided the country.
“No deal” remains the default legal option, and the European Commission said after the vote that this remained the “likely scenario.”
However, MPs have repeatedly voted against this, fearing catastrophe if Britain severs ties with its closest trading partner with no plan in place.
“I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House,” May said after the vote, which she described as a “matter of profound regret.”
“The implications of the House’s decision are grave,” she said, adding: “This government will continue to press the case for the orderly Brexit that the result of the referendum demands.”
The failure by parliament to agree the terms of its exit from European Union has left Britain in limbo, with business leaders and trade unions warning of a “national emergency.”
Voters are divided, many of them anxious and angry, and May blames MPs — but they in turn accuse her of refusing to countenance any alternative to her unpopular deal.
“It is clear that this House does not support the deal. This deal now has to change. There has to be an alternative found,” opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said.
“And if the prime minister can’t accept that then she must go, not at an indeterminate date in the future but now.”
Tired of waiting, MPs this week gave themselves unprecedented powers to vote on a range of options for Britain’s future relationship with the EU.
A proposal for a new customs union got close to passing in a first round, as did a plan for a referendum on May’s deal, with more voting planned next Monday and Wednesday.
The risk that MPs decide to agree closer ties to the EU, or even stop the departure process altogether, focused the minds of some Brexit supporters, who reluctantly agreed to back May’s deal.
Her offer on Wednesday to quit if it passed also helped persuade some of her staunchest critics, including former foreign minister Boris Johnson.
But 34 of the 314 Conservative MPs voted against the deal, as did the 10 MPs in May’s Northern Irish allies, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
The party says planned arrangements to keep open the Irish border after Brexit — the hated “backstop” plan — is unacceptable.
“We are not prepared to see our constitutional position altered by Brussels in a fit of pique for daring to leave the EU,” said MP Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit spokesman.
May’s offer to quit fired the starting gun on an informal race for the leadership of her Conservative party.
Her resignation was dependent on getting the divorce deal passed — and she might try one last time to get her deal through.
Even so, her days are numbered, as increasing numbers of Conservative MPs are openly talking about when, not if, she will step down.
Getting another vote on a deal would be tricky, as parliament speaker John Bercow has already warned he will not let her bring the same deal back again and again.
Under an agreement struck with EU leaders last week, Britain would have left on May 22 if MPs approved the deal this week.
Officials believe there is still a chance that, if she can get it through before April 12, this date is still possible.
However, speculation is also growing that the only way out of the impasse is a snap election.
UK MPs reject Theresa May’s Brexit deal for third time
UK MPs reject Theresa May’s Brexit deal for third time
- Pound plunges as MPs defied May’s plea to end the deadlock that has plunged Britain into a deep political crisis
- Prime minister has all but lost control of her government and the Brexit process
Saudi previously sought extradition for Germany attack suspect: source close to government
- Saudi Arabia had warned Germany “many times” about Taleb Jawad Al-Abdulmohsen
- He made online death threats and previously had trouble with the law,
“There was (an extradition) request,” said the source, without giving the reason for the request, adding that Riyadh had warned he “could be dangerous.” The attack on Friday evening killed five people.
Saudi Arabia had warned Germany “many times” about Taleb Jawad Al-Abdulmohsen, the source said. He did not explain in what way he was considered potentially dangerous.
The 50-year-old psychiatrist, who had made online death threats and previously had trouble with the law, also helped Saudi women flee their country.
On social media, Abdulmohsen portrayed himself as a victim of persecution who had renounced Islam and decried what he said was the Islamization of Germany.
He arrived in Germany in 2006 and was granted refugee status 10 years later, according to German media and a Saudi activist.
Retiring US Senator Cardin ‘very concerned’ about Trump and human rights
WASHINGTON: Days before he retires as chairman of the influential US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Ben Cardin acknowledged worries about human rights being less of a US priority during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.
“I don’t want to prejudge, but I am very concerned that protecting human rights may not be as important as other objectives he’s trying to get done,” Cardin told Reuters in an interview, when asked about Trump, a Republican, who returns to the White House on Jan. 20.
Cardin, 81, is leaving Congress at the end of this month after nearly 60 years in public office, the last 18 as a US senator from Maryland. Cardin became chairman of the foreign relations panel unexpectedly in September 2023, after he had announced his retirement, replacing fellow Democrat Bob Menendez, who faced felony bribery charges and was later convicted.
“I didn’t expect that, and I was looking forward to my last two years for many different reasons,” Cardin said.
Cardin is best known as a human rights advocate, notably for co-authoring the Global Magnitsky Act, named for a lawyer who exposed corruption in Russia before dying in prison after being beaten and denied medical care.
Cardin said the Senate, which is about to shift from a thin Democratic majority to Republican control, will have to push back against Trump, as it has in the past, and noted Trump’s willingness to impose Magnitsky sanctions during his first term.
Enacted in 2012, the Magnitsky Act mandated that the US government restrict travel and freeze assets of individuals who committed gross violations of human rights in Russia. In 2016 it became the Global act, extended to rights violators worldwide.
“It’s hard to predict. But Donald Trump, in his first presidency, he used the Magnitsky sanctions quite frequently and that was helpful,” Cardin said.
DEALS OR VALUES?
Cardin said Trump could be too eager to establish relations with autocratic leaders or cede too much in ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. During his successful campaign for re-election this year, Trump vowed to swiftly end the conflict, without giving details on how he might do so.
“So I recognize that Donald Trump likes to think of himself as a deal maker,” Cardin said. “And to me, I want to make sure that we don’t try to get an immediate deal that doesn’t represent our values. So I am concerned that he will look for a shortcut to foreign policy that could compromise some of our values.”
Cardin said he hoped the Senate, where Republicans will have a narrow 53-47 seat majority starting next month, could act as a balance to the incoming president. Trump, in his first term, had sought to slash foreign aid by 50 percent, but dropped the idea after both Republicans and Democrats pushed back.
A staunch supporter of Israel who has faced protests himself during the 14-month-long war in Gaza, Cardin acknowledged that Trump’s second presidency could complicate efforts toward Middle East peace and the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.
But he said the desire of the US and its partners for an alliance to isolate Iran and recent changes in Syria were causes for optimism. “There’s a lot of things happening in the region to give us optimism that we can move past Gaza,” he said.
Trump in his first term, from 2017-2021, pulled the United States out of the UN Human Rights Council, praised autocrats such as Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and spoke out against funding humanitarian aid in major conflicts.
Cardin said he was confident Global Magnitsky would continue long after his retirement, noting that 30 countries are using it and it is the only major sanctions regime targeting individuals.
“It really puts the fear in the hearts of oligarchs. They don’t want to get on these lists,” Cardin said.
“It’s here to stay, and it’s solid,” he said.
Kabul hails Saudi Arabia’s decision to resume activities at Afghanistan embassy
- In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan
- The Kingdom also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSrelief charity
Kabul: The Afghan foreign ministry on Monday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to resume its diplomatic operations in Kabul, more than three years after Riyadh withdrew its staff during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
“We are optimistic about the possibility of strengthening relations and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan through the resumption of these activities,” said Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad in a statement.
“We will also be able to respond to the problems of Afghans residing in Saudi Arabia.”
Riyadh had posted its decision to resume diplomatic operations in Kabul on social media platform X.
“Based on the desire of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, it has been decided to resume the activities of the mission of the Kingdom in Kabul starting on December 22,” it said.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the level of Saudi representation in Kabul.
Riyadh on August 15, 2021 said it had withdrawn its diplomats from the Afghan capital because of the “unstable situation” created by the Taliban’s return to power following the United States’ withdrawal from the country.
In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organization.
The Taliban government remains unrecognized by any country.
Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries, the others being Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, that recognized the first Taliban government which came to power in 1996 and was overthrown by the US invasion of 2001.
Kremlin rejects media reports about Asma, Assad’s wife, seeking divorce and wanting to leave Russia
- Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma Assad had filed for divorce in Russia
MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Monday rejected Turkish media reports which suggested that Asma Assad, the British-born wife of former Syrian president Bashar Assad, wanted a divorce and to leave Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also rejected Turkish media reports which suggested that Assad had been confined to Moscow and had his property assets frozen.
Asked on a conference call if the reports corresponded to reality, Peskov said: “No they do not correspond to reality.”
Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma Assad had filed for divorce in Russia, where the Assad family were granted asylum this month after militants took control of Damascus following a lightning advance.
Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Sheikh Hasina’s family
- Sheikh Hasina fled to India after being toppled by a revolution in August
- Key allegations are connected to the funding of the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant
DHAKA: Bangladesh has launched a probe into the alleged $5 billion embezzlement connected to a Russian-backed nuclear power plant by ousted leader Sheikh Hasina and her family, the anti-corruption commission said Monday.
Along with Hasina, the now-former prime minister who fled to India after being toppled by a revolution in August, those subject to the inquiry include her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and niece, Tulip Siddiq, a British lawmaker and government minister.
The allegations were raised by a writ seeking an investigation filed in the high court by Hasina’s political opponent, Bobby Hajjaj, chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement party.
“We seek justice through our court,” Hajjaj said on Monday.
Key allegations are connected to the funding of the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant, the South Asian country’s first, which is bankrolled by Moscow with a 90 percent loan.
A statement Monday from the commission said it had launched an inquiry into allegations that Hasina and family members had “embezzled $5 billion” from the Rooppur plant via “various offshore bank accounts in Malaysia.”
It said its investigations were examining “questionable procurement practices related to the overpriced construction” of the plant.
“The claims of kickbacks, mismanagement, money laundering, and potential abuse of power raise significant concerns about the integrity of the project and the use of public funds,” the commission said.
Graft allegations also include theft from a government building scheme for the homeless.
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter on August 5 into exile in India, infuriating many Bangladeshis determined that she face trial for alleged “mass murder.”
It was not possible to contact Hasina for comment.
Siddiq has “denied any involvement in the claims” accusing her of involvement in embezzlement, according to a statement from the British prime minister’s office.
Joy, who is understood to be based in the United States, was also unavailable for comment.
