268/2018 • 24 NOVEMBER, 2018 WEEKEND ISSUE
DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Brexit trade deal: Itʼs cake, but will Brits eat it? Britain and the EU have declared their intention to create a new joint free trade area
DW gives you the highlights of the 26-page text that describes how the two sidesʼ economic relationship will play out post-Brexit.
Populists attack UN Global Compact on Refugees
Deadly gun attack at Chinese consulate in Karachi
There are currently around 68 million displaced people worldwide, according to the United Nations. Most of those are internally displaced, still in their own country but driven from their homes. But some 25 million have fled across borders and entered neighboring countries, or to countries further afield. Nearly 70 years after the passing of the Geneva convention on refugees in 1951, these figures are at a record high. To combat this suffering, the UN Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) intends to bundle international efforts.
Unidentified gunmen tried to storm the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, killing at least two policemen, officials have said. One other security guard was reported to have been critically injured. Gunmen attacked the Chinese consulate in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi early on Friday, killing two policemen and wounding a security guard, officials said. Security forces killed three attackers to end an hourlong shootout, Karachi police chief Ameer Sheikh told reporters outside the consulate.
Britain and the European Union released a draft agreement on the countryʼs future relationshipwith the bloc once it leaves the EU on March 29. The 26-page political declaration is a supplement to last weekʼs much-criticized withdrawal agreement that covers the rules of the divorce and the transition period — currently slated to last until December 2020. The text on the postBrexit relationship is not legallybinding but does promise "an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership" that includes trade and economic cooperation, law enforcement and criminal justice, foreign policy, security, and defense. It requires the endorsement of the 27 remaining EU members at a Brexit summit in Brussels this weekend. The details will only be worked out in further EU-UK negotiations, that can only begin after next March. The two sides have agreed to develop a free trade area that respects the integrity of the European Unionʼs Single Market and Customs Union as well as Britainʼs internal market. The partnership will combine "deep regulatory and customs cooperation," and will ensure "a level playing field for open and fair competition." The UK "will consider aligning with Union rules" where relevant to ensure a friction-free trade. The agreement also recognizes Britainʼs right to pursue an independent trade policy with the rest of the world. The two sides expect "no tariffs, fees, charges or quantitative restrictions
across all sectors." New customs arrangements, including the use of new technologies, should "obviate the need for checks on rules of origin." The mutual recognition of trusted traders and assistance in the recovery of taxes and duties is also covered. The text contains a specific reference to the end of the EUʼs free movement of people, money, goods, and services, in the UK. Visafree travel for short-term visits by both EU and UK nationals is mentioned, and both sides plan to consider "entry and stay" conditions for research, study, training and youth exchanges.” Controversially for many supporters of Brexit, the European Court of Justice will maintain the role of interpreting EU law even after the transition period. The Irish border issue, a major sticking point in negotiations over the divorce agreement, will be resolved by a permanent solution "that establishes alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland." The transition period, allowing an orderly withdrawal from the UK, could be extended once "for up to one or two years," so long as Britain continues to contribute to the EUʼs budget during that period. The two sides plan “ambitious, comprehensive and balanced arrangements on trade in services and investment in services and non-services sectors," and aim to go beyond World Trade Organization commitments, and build on recent EU free trade agreements with Canada, Japan and others.
Samsung signs deal to compensate factory cancer victims
French art dealers angry after report urges African treasures be returned
Samsung on Friday signed a settlement to compensate workers who developed cancer, admitting responsibility for security lapses at several factories. The deal covers 16 types of cancer, other diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and miscarriages, as well as congenital conditions affecting workersʼ children. Samsung will be required to pay compensation of up to 150 million won ($130,000, €115,000) per case.
A new report has recommended that Franceʼs laws be changed, to allow African cultural treasures removed during Franceʼs colonial period to be returned to their countries of origin. When French president Emmanuel Macron commissioned the report last year, it signaled a radical policy shift. Currently, the countryʼs law strictly forbids the government from ceding state property, even in well-documented cases of pillaging.