LONDON: Britain’s tumultuous divorce from the European Union was again in disarray on Friday as the opposition Labour Party declared last-ditch cross-party talks dead as Prime Minister Theresa May’s premiership crumbled.
Nearly three years after the United Kingdom voted 52 percent to 48 percent in a referendum to leave the EU, it is still unclear how, when or if it will ever leave the European club it joined in 1973. The current deadline to leave is October 31.
Brexit talks between May’s Conservative Party and Labour collapsed hours after May agreed on Thursday to set out a timetable for her departure in early June.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote to May on Friday informing her that the Brexit talks, which began on April 3, had “gone as far as they can” due to the instability of her government.
“We have been unable to bridge important policy gaps between us,” Corbyn, a socialist who voted against joining the predecessor of the EU in 1975, wrote to May.
“Even more crucially, the increasing weakness and instability of your government means there cannot be confidence in securing whatever might be agreed between us,” Corbyn said.
He said Labour would oppose May’s deal when it returns to parliament early next month.
The divorce deal, which May agreed last year with the EU, has already been rejected three times by a deeply divided parliament.
May’s hands have been tied, knowing that to make concessions to Labour would lead to fury in her divided party. Labour has feared any compromises on issues such as workers’ rights would be torn up by May’s successor.
Britain’s labyrinthine crisis over Brexit has stunned allies and foes alike, and with deadlock in London, the world’s fifth largest economy faces an array of options including an exit with a deal to smooth the transition, a no-deal exit, an election or a second referendum.
The Brexit impasse is unlikely to be broken swiftly.
May will put her ‘European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill’ to a vote in parliament in early June even though rebels in her party have pledged to defeat it. Then she must agree a timetable for the election of a successor.
Boris Johnson, the face of the campaign for Britain to leave the EU, said he would be standing as a candidate to replace May as Conservative leader.
“Tories must go with Boris Johnson if they want to survive or they’ll end up as dead as a dodo,” Sun newspaper columnist Trevor Kavanagh said. “Even sopping wet Remainers can see the writing on the wall and want Theresa May out as fast as possible.”
The winner of a leadership contest will automatically become prime minister and will take control of the Brexit process, which has plunged Britain into its worst political crisis since World War Two.
Johnson has been one of May’s most outspoken critics over Brexit and supports leaving the EU without a deal. Parliament has repeatedly said it does not want a no-deal Brexit.
The Brexit crisis has left the United Kingdom divided and smaller parties — such as Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats — are poaching support from both the Conservative and Labour parties at the fastest rate for decades.
“Britain is divided down the middle over Brexit: it was in 2016 and it is in 2019 — and that is one of the reasons why this issue is so difficult to resolve,” John Curtice, Britain’s top polling expert, said.
“We are also polarized: Most Leavers would prefer to leave without a deal and most Remainers want a second referendum in the hope we shall change our minds, and there isn’t an awful lot of support for any of the compromise options between those extremes.”
Labour declares Brexit talks dead as May’s premiership crumbles
Labour declares Brexit talks dead as May’s premiership crumbles
- It is still unclear how, when or if the United Kingdom will ever leave the European club it joined in 1973
- The current deadline to leave is October 31
Bangladesh urges EU states to expedite formal recognition of Palestine
- Only 11 of 27 EU member states recognize the State of Palestine
- Bangladesh responds to EU’s declared commitment to a two-state solution
DHAKA: Bangladesh has called on EU member states to expedite the formal recognition of the State of Palestine and use their influence to prevent permanent members of the UN Security Council from obstructing a ceasefire in Gaza.
Bangladesh’s delegation took part in a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in Brussels on Thursday, where the EU foreign policy chief emphasized the bloc’s commitment to a two-state solution — providing Palestinians with their own nation-state — as “the only viable path to peace in the region.”
But so far, only 11 out of 27 EU member states recognize the State of Palestine, with three — Spain, Ireland and Slovenia — doing so earlier this year in the wake of Israel’s deadly onslaught in Gaza and with a genocide case against Tel Aviv ongoing in the International Court of Justice.
“The Bangladeshi delegation urged the participating member states to expedite their formal recognition of the State of Palestine, affirming this as a crucial step toward legitimizing and empowering Palestinian sovereignty and self-determination,” the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement following the meeting.
For Bangladesh, which established diplomatic ties with Palestine soon after achieving independence in 1971, formal recognition of Palestinian statehood, was key to achieving peace.
“Already 149 countries have supported the UN recognition of the Palestinian state’s membership,” said Shafiqur Rahman, director general of the Bangladeshi Foriegn Affairs Ministry’s West Asia wing, who led the delegation to Brussels.
“It’s very important to galvanize and mobilize the global community. We must continue to apply pressure, and efforts should persist in this regard. There is no room for giving up,” he told Arab News on Friday.
The Bangladeshi delegation also called on EU member states to leverage their influence to discourage any vetoes by permanent members of the UN Security Council “that could obstruct adopting a permanent ceasefire in Gaza war and resultant peace initiatives.”
The most recent UNSC resolution demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was voted down by the US last week, as Israel’s deadly bombardment of the Palestinian territory continues.
It was the fourth time Joe Biden’s administration has vetoed a UNSC Gaza ceasefire resolution, blocking international action to halt Israel’s war, which over the past one year killed at least 44,000 Palestinians, injured over 100,000 more and destroyed most of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.
Philippines looks to boost ties with Bahrain’s tourism, hospitality sector
- Bahraini government is preparing to open its embassy in Manila
- Cebu and Palawan are top destinations for Bahraini tourists in Philippines
MANILA: The Philippines is expanding collaborations with Bahrain to mutually boost tourism and hospitality expertise, Christina Frasco, the Philippine tourism secretary, said on Friday.
While other GCC countries have for years been the main overseas destination for Filipinos, relations with Bahrain started to expand only recently, with the Bahraini government preparing to open its embassy in Manila this year.
Frasco, who visited Manama earlier this month, held talks with her Bahraini counterpart Fatima Al-Sairafi on increasing tourism between the two countries.
“They’re very interested in learning from our world-renowned Filipino hospitality, as well as our brand of service excellence, and in collaborating to increase opportunities for meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions,” Frasco told Arab News.
Some 57,000 Filipinos currently live in Bahrain, working mainly as accountants, engineers, construction contractors, sales associates, and business and government support staff. The tourism sector, however, remains untapped territory.
“We discussed the potential of wide-reaching collaborations between Bahrain and the Philippines, first and foremost on joint cooperation to increase tourist flows,” Frasco said.
“We also discussed how we may be able to further expand connectivity between Bahrain and the Philippines, not only with Manila, but with other places in the country, especially since, as I learned when I was in Bahrain, there are certain destinations (in the Philippines) that are very popular with the people of Bahrain, such as Cebu and Palawan.”
The number of tourists from Bahrain has been on the rise, with more than 5,500 visiting the Philippines from January to October this year — a 16-percent increase over the same period in 2023.
The Philippines has been trying to attract more visitors from Middle Eastern countries and has been encouraging the local hospitality industry to introduce standards that will make their properties and services attractive to Muslim tourists.
“We note that these countries have recovered very well (from the COVID pandemic travel shutdown) ... and we wish to be able to grow this momentum further by forging strategic collaborations with them,” Frasco said.
“Connectivity is one thing that we are continuing to focus on, as well as really ensuring that our tourist destinations are prepared to receive tourists from that region. This includes the growth of our halal and Muslim-friendly establishments.”
Former Kosovo rebel commander ordered to pay victims
- The judges “set the total reparation award for which Mr.Shala is liable at 208,000 euros” ($220,000),” Judge Mappie Veldt-Foglia told the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague
- Although the “responsibility to pay the compensation lies exclusively with Mr.Shala“” the judge said, “he does not appear to have the means to comply with the order“
THE HAGUE: A special international court on Friday ordered a former Kosovo rebel commander to pay $220,000 in damages to victims of abuses suffered in 1999 during the Serbian province’s struggle for independence.
Pjeter Shala, 61, also known as “Commander Wolf,” was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in July for war crimes committed during the tiny country’s 1998-99 independence conflict, when separatist KLA rebels fought forces loyal to then Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.
The judges “set the total reparation award for which Mr.Shala is liable at 208,000 euros” ($220,000),” Judge Mappie Veldt-Foglia told the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
“Mr Shala is ordered to pay (damages) as compensation for the harm inflicted” on eight victims, she said.
The total amount comprised individual payments to the eight victims ranging from 8,000 to 100,000 euros, as well as a collective sum of 50,000 euros, the judge said.
Although the “responsibility to pay the compensation lies exclusively with Mr.Shala“” the judge said, “he does not appear to have the means to comply with the order.”
Kosovo’s current Crime Victim Compensation Program “could be one way to execute the Reparation Order,” Veldt-Foglia suggested.
However, the maximum sums per victim awarded by the program would be lower than those awarded by the court, she said.
Shala faced charges of murder, torture, arbitrary detention and cruel treatment of at least 18 civilian detainees accused of working as spies or collaborating with opposing Serb forces in mid-1999.
The judges acquitted him of cruel treatment and he was sentenced on the other three counts.
The judges said Shala was part of a group of KLA soldiers who severely mistreated detainees at a metal factory serving as a KLA headquarters in Kukes, northeastern Albania, at the time.
Shala was tried before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a court located in The Hague to prosecute mainly former KLA fighters for war crimes.
They included former KLA political commander Hashim Thaci, who dominated Kosovo’s politics after it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and rose to become president of the tiny country.
Thaci resigned in 2020 to face war crimes and crimes against humanity charges, and has pleaded not guilty.
Germany indicts Turkish national for spying on alleged Gulen activists
- Gulen built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkiye and beyond
BERLIN: German federal prosecutors on Friday said they had indicted a Turkish national for alleged spying on individuals that he associated with cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The suspect, who is not in jail and was only identified as Mehmet K., in line with German privacy laws, contacted Turkiye’s police and intelligence service via anonymous letters, prosecutors added.
Gulen built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkiye and beyond, but spent his later years in the US mired in accusations of orchestrating an attempted coup against Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan.
Gulen died last month.
Death toll in Uganda landslides rises to 20 as search for more casualties presses on
- The Uganda Red Cross Society spokesperson Irene Kasiita told reporters that bodies of four more people were found on Friday while a fifth person, died at Mbale Hospital
- Soldiers have been deployed to help with the digging
KAMPALA: More bodies buried under the mud were retrieved in eastern Uganda on Friday and an injured person died in a hospital, bringing the death toll from this week’s landslides to 20, officials said as search efforts pressed on in the stricken area.
Heavy rains had triggered the landslides that engulfed six villages in the mountainous district of Bulambuli, 280 kilometers (175 miles) east of Kampala, Uganda’s capital, on Wednesday night. Some 125 houses were destroyed.
The Uganda Red Cross Society spokesperson Irene Kasiita told reporters that bodies of four more people were found on Friday while a fifth person, one of the injured in the landslides, died at Mbale Hospital.
The society in a statement said 750 people had been displaced, with 216 of those living temporarily at a neighboring school while others were being housed by relatives.
The Bulambuli Resident District Commissioner Faheera Mpalanyi said soldiers have been deployed to help with the digging.
“More bodies are still buried under the heaps of soils and stones and we are trying as much as we can to recover them,” she said.
Local officials told a journalist in the area on Thursday that an excavator would be brought to assist in the rescue efforts, but the roads were covered in mud and rain was still falling. The impacted area is about 50 acres with homesteads and farmlands spread downhill.
Lawmaker Irene Muloni from the Bulambuli district said Thursday the government would help relocate residents from the landslide-prone area.
“Waterfalls are everywhere, and the rainfall is excessive,” she said, urging everyone who had lost their home to seek refuge with relatives and “leave this dangerous place.”
