Downing Street has ruled out involvement in a customs union with the European Union amid confusion over government policy as Theresa May prepares for a crucial week of talks.
After the exposure of divisions between ministers over the UK’s future relationship with the EU, an official source said: “It is not our policy to be in the customs union. It is not our policy to be in a customs union.” The statement went further than May who, on Friday, refused to rule out involvement in a customs union when questioned during her visit to China.
The development will anger remainers who have clung to hope that Britain will strike a deal with the EU that allows a close relationship with the EU after Brexit. But it will soothe the fears of Conservative Brexiters who have been threatening a leadership challenge if May moves towards an agreement with the EU that restricts the trade deals the UK can seek with third parties.
The clarification came on the eve of a visit to Downing Street by the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and as officials in Brussels prepared to begin talks on the transitional arrangements. Key cabinet colleagues will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to decide the details of the government’s policy regarding a customs union.
Ruling out a customs union is 'profound mistake', says Benn
Ruling out any continued customs union with the EU is “a profound mistake”, the Labour chair of the Brexit committee, Hilary Benn, has said, warning that it could both harm the economy and risk conflict in Northern Ireland.
Speaking after Downing Street said the UK would not be involved in either the current customs union or a new union to replace it, at the start of a crucial week of Brexit discussions, Benn said time was running out for ministers to decide on their final goals.
He said: “I think it’s a profound mistake to leave a customs union with the European Union.” Doing so would necessarily involve a return to some sort of checks on the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which could jeopardise the peace process, he warned.
More widely, Benn said there was “disfunction at the heart of government”, which meant big decisions were not being taken, causing massive uncertainty for businesses.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A petition calling for the resignation of Thailand’s deputy prime minister attracted thousands of signatures on Monday, heaping pressure on the junta’s second-in-command to step aside amid a scandal over a luxury watch and undeclared assets.
The scandal has revealed growing signs of disgruntlement among the Thai public, and added to uncertainty over whether the junta will call an election later this year that is supposed to move the Southeast Asian nation back toward democracy.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) placed Prawit Wongsuwan, 72, a former army chief who is also defense minister, under investigation after his appearance in a photograph of the cabinet wearing a diamond ring and a luxury watch in December sparked an avalanche of criticism on social media.
Thai netizens have since identified 25 expensive luxury watches that the former general has worn but not declared to the anti-graft body.
Filibuster_HK
2018-2-5 19:21:02
Tillerson raises specter of U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United States is considering restricting imports of Venezuelan crude oil and exports of U.S. refined products to Venezuela, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday, to put pressure on socialist President Nicolas Maduro to “return to the constitution.”
Restrictions on Venezuela’s all-important oil industry would represent an escalation of financial pressure on the OPEC member, which is gripped by severe shortages of food and medicine. Sanctions have so far focused on individual members of Maduro’s government and a ban on buying new Venezuelan debt.
Filibuster_HK
2018-2-5 19:22:15
South Korea says North stole cryptocurrency worth billions of won last year
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Monday that North Korea last year stole cryptocurrency from the South worth billions of won and that it was still trying to hack into its exchanges.
“North Korea sent emails that could hack into cryptocurrency exchanges and their customers’ private information and stole (cryptocurrency) worth billions of won,” said Kim Byung-kee, a member of South Korea’s parliamentary intelligence committee.
Russian media have lauded a pilot killed in Syria as a hero, saying he detonated his grenade to avoid being captured by jihadists who had shot his plane out of the sky.
Roman Filipov's reported last words were: "Here's for the guys."
His Sukhoi-25 ground-attack aircraft was shot down over rebel-held Idlib province. He survived the attack and ejected, but died in a ground fight.
Former al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said it had attacked the plane.
The Supreme Court on Monday denied Republican requests to delay a Pennsylvania state court ruling requiring the state’s congressional map be redrawn, increasing the likelihood that the map will be redrawn ahead of November's midterm elections.
Justice Samuel Alito, the member of the court who hears emergency requests from states, denied the efforts — one from state GOP lawmakers and another from Republican voters in the state — for a stay of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s January ruling that the state’s congressional map had been drawn in a way that unfairly favored Republicans.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s original ruling gave state lawmakers until Feb. 9 to submit a new map to Gov. Tom Wolf (D), who would then need to submit a plan to the court by Feb. 15. If they failed to meet that deadline, the court would redraw the map.
While it’s unclear how the districts will be redrawn, Democrats are expected to benefit from new congressional lines. Democrats need to flip 24 seats in order to take back the House majority.
Filibuster_HK
2018-2-6 12:58:52
Maldives crisis deepens as government declares state of emergency
The Maldives president, Abdulla Yameen, has declared a state of emergency as heavily armed troops stormed the country’s top court and a former president was arrested in a deepening political crisis.
The archipelago was plunged into chaos on Thursday when the supreme court called for the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, ruling that their trials were politically motivated and flawed. The government refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in the capital, Malé, with angry clashes between police and demonstrators.
Late on Monday night, soldiers forced their way into the supreme court building and police officers arrested former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom at his home.
The former White House senior strategist Steve Bannon will not testify before the intelligence committee of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, according to sources – defying a subpoena requiring him to appear.
The panel wants Bannon to testify as part of its investigation of allegations that Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election in the United States, following up on his 16 January appearance that failed to satisfy some members of the committee.
Representative Mike Conaway, a senior Republican committee member, told reporters on Monday that he expected Bannon to comply with a subpoena and answer questions on Tuesday.
But a source close to Bannon confirmed to the Guardian that he would not appear. The source cited a lack of agreement on the scope of questioning between the intelligence committee and the White House, while noting Bannon’s intention to eventually meet with House investigators.
Filibuster_HK
2018-2-6 19:47:55
Half of Iran wants to drop headscarf laws: government report
The government of Iran published a three-year old study on Sunday night illustrating growing public distaste for the obligatory hijab just days after police confirmed that dozens of women had been arrested as protests against mandatory Islamic head covering gained momentum.
The study compares data from 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2014 — and illustrates the staggering decline in support for the legal restrictions on women's clothing, one of the major changes pushed during the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
According to the Center for Strategic Studies, which operates as part of the Iranian president's office, in 2006, 34 percent of Iranians believed that the government should not be allowed to dictate what women wear. But by 2014 that number had jumped to 49 percent.
While it may seem strange to some that the office of President Hassan Rouhani would publish these numbers as Iran's religious police step up their crackdown on anti-hijab protests, it is actually the second time recently that Rouhani has used such a tactic as a slick political gambit.
Filibuster_HK
2018-2-6 19:50:21
US House committee votes to release Russia memo from Democrats
The Intelligence Committee of the US House of Representatives voted unanimously on Monday to release a Democratic rebuttal to a memo written by the panel's Republicans that accused FBI and Justice Department officials of bias against President Donald Trump in the Russia investigation.
Trump now has five days to decide whether to block the release of the classified document.
The committee's ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff, told reporters the document would reach the White House by Monday night, and that it would be "very hard" for the Trump administration to block its release.
The Democratic memo aims to counter the Republican document, which accuses the FBI and Justice Department of abuses of their authority in monitoring a one-time Trump campaign associate.
Filibuster_HK
2018-2-6 19:58:51
Germany
Germany's grand coalition talks enter second period of extra-time
German officials remained positive on Tuesday morning that Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) would strike a deal to forge a new coalition government by the evening.
As she headed into the final round of talks, Merkel called on all sides to make the necessary concessions and strike a deal that would end months of political limbo. However, the sides still remain divided on several issues, most notably labor and healthcare policy.
German prosecutors raid facilities of carmaker Audi
Munich prosecutors and police officers from the southern German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg on Tuesday searched a number of Audi offices in Ingolstadt, as well as the carmaker's production facility in Neckarsulm, the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily reported.
It said a total of 18 prosecutors and an unspecified number of police participated in the raids. Audi, one of Volkswagen's 12 brands, confirmed the searches, saying it was fully cooperating with the prosecutors.
The report said the raids were carried out because Audi was believed to have manipulated the emissions levels in more than 200,000 cars for both the European and US markets. Audi stands accused of switching off software that controls waste gas purification systems while the cars were on the road.