monday, june 27, 2016
guyana-times.com
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Around the World
EU referendum: Jeremy Brexit: Asian powers Corbyn under pressure warnings over global stability S amid top team revolt
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string of Labour shadow Cabinet members have quit, with more walkouts expected, in protest at Jeremy Corbyn's leadership over the EU referendum. Shadow Commons leader Chris Bryant was the latest to resign, saying Labour needed "someone new to unite" it. It comes after shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn was sacked after telling Corbyn he had lost confidence in him. Corbyn, who faces a noconfidence vote over a "lacklustre" EU campaign, "won't be resigning", a spokesman said. The spokesman said Corbyn "is the democratically elected leader of the Labour Party". Shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow Cabinet members Andy Burnham, Diane Abbott and Emily Thornberry have given Corbyn their support despite the resignations. Deputy Labour leader
The Labour Party campaigned for Remain during the referendum, which saw the UK voting to leave the EU by 52 per cent to 48 per cent on Thursday
Tom Watson has said he is "deeply disappointed" that Benn had been sacked and "equally saddened" by the shadow cabinet resignations. He said his focus was to "hold the Labour Party together in very turbulent times" and he would meet Corbyn today to discuss the "way forward". The series of shadow Cabinet walkouts began on Sunday morning, hours after Benn was sacked by the
Labour leader. The Labour Party campaigned for Remain during the referendum, which saw the UK voting to leave the EU by 52 per cent to 48 per cent on Thursday. But Corbyn – who has been a long-standing critic of the EU and who is regarded as the most Eurosceptic Labour leader in years – has been accused by some in his party of not making the case for the EU forcefully enough.
(Excerpt from BBC News)
Iraq PM Haider al-Abadi hails recapture of Falluja
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raqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has urged all Iraqis to rejoice, after the recapture of the city of Falluja from Islamic State (IS) fighters. It came after the army said it had seized the last IS stronghold in the city, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad. Abadi appeared on television outside Falluja's main hospital, waving an
Iraqi flag. He said the security forces would soon raise the flag in Mosul in the north – the biggest Iraqi city held by IS. "Today our troops liberated Falluja while at the same time our troops are currently fighting in Mosul," he said. "There is no place for Isis [IS] in Iraq. We will chase them everywhere. As we promised to raise the
flag high in Falluja, we will raise it in Mosul soon with the will of our heroes. I call on Iraqis to celebrate this day." IS seized control of Falluja in January 2014. The Government launched an operation to retake it in May. At least 1800 militants were killed in the operation, the Iraqi Army said. (Excerpt from
ome of Asia's biggest economies have expressed concerns over the world's economic stability as a result of Britain's vote to leave the European Union. China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the consequences were unclear, but that they would be felt for years to come. A South Korean official echoed those concerns, while a senior figure in Japan's ruling party said Tokyo should be prepared to respond to volatility. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry is due in London to-
day. He is expected to meet UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on the first high-level face-to-face talks between the two countries since Thursday's referendum. There is fear that the uncertainty created by Britain's decision will continue to affect financial markets around the world. Lou, from China, said Brexit would "cast a shadow over the global economy" and the "repercussions and fallout" would emerge over the next five to 10 years. However, he added that reaction from stock mar-
kets, which fell sharply on Friday, may have been overdone. "The knee-jerk reaction from the market is probably a bit excessive and needs to calm down and take an objective view," he said. Huang Yiping, a member of China's Central Bank monetary policy committee, said Brexit could mark a "reversal of globalisation", which would be "very bad" for the world. Last year, China was responsible for US$3.3 billion (£2.4bn) worth of foreign direct investment in Britain, according to law firm Baker & McKenzie. (Excerpt from BBC News)
ment. The fighting led to the killing of one civilian and six Boko Haram fighters, it added. The 5000 rescued, mostly women and children, had been living under Boko Haram for more than six years, since the armed group launched its violent campaign in 2009. The army also reported that two other Boko Haram fighters were killed in a separate mission to 11 villages in Borno. Boko Haram pledged support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS)
last year. The Nigeria-based group's armed campaign, which has spread into neighbouring countries, has killed more than 20,000 people and driven some 2.5 million from their homes. Under President Muhammadu Buhari's command and aided by Nigeria's neighbours, the army has recaptured most of the territory seized by Boko Haram – but the armed group still regularly stages attacks. Last month, Nigeria hosted regional and western powers to discuss ways to defeat the group. (Excerpt from
Nigeria: 5000 rescued from Boko Haram in Borno
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he Nigerian army says it has rescued more than 5000 people who were being held hostage by Boko Haram following a clearing operation in four remote villages in the north-eastern Borno state. "Our troops have decisively dealt with the Boko Haram terrorists, particularly hibernating in Sambisa forest, which used to be their stronghold," Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, army spokesman, told Al Jazeera on Sunday. The soldiers evacuated the villages of Zangebe, Maiwa, Algaiti and Mainari, the army said in a state-
Al Jazeera)
Spain votes in general election
BBC News)
Scottish Parliament could veto Brexit – Scotland's leader
However, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, insisted the Edinburgh Parliament did not have the required authority to block Brexit
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cotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has told the BBC that Holyrood could try to block the UK's exit from the EU. She was speaking following a referendum on Thursday which saw Britain vote by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave Europe.
However, in Scotland the picture was different with 62 per cent backing Remain and 38 per cent wanting to go. SNP leader Sturgeon said that "of course" she would ask MSPs to refuse to give their "legislative consent". The leader of the Scottish Conservatives,
Ruth Davidson, insisted the Edinburgh Parliament did not have the required authority to block Brexit. In an interview with the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme, Sturgeon was asked what the Scottish Parliament would do now. Sturgeon, whose party has 63 of the 129 Holyrood seats, said: "The issue you are talking about is would there have to be a legislative consent motion or motions for the legislation that extricate the UK from the European Union? "Looking at it from a logical perspective, I find it hard to believe that there wouldn't be that requirement – I suspect that the UK Government will take a very different view on that and we'll have to see where that discussion ends up."
(Excerpt from BBC News)
Sunday's repeat vote came after the four main political parties failed to agree on a coalition after December's general election
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eople across Spain have cast their ballots for the second time in six months, in a closely watched election just days after Britain's decision to exit the European Union. Polls closed at 20:00h local time for Spain's roughly 36.5 million voters on Sunday, with results expected shortly. Sunday's repeat vote came after the four main political parties failed to agree on a coalition after December's general election resulted in a hung parliament. Yet, opinion polls sug-
gested the new ballot might also not break the political deadlock. The conservative Popular Party (PP) was expected to come again first without a majority, while the on-the-rise left-wing Unidos Podemos alliance was tipped to overtake the centre-left Socialists in second place. The centrist, businessfriendly Ciudadanos was expected to come fourth. The Socialists and Unidos Podemos could potentially create a broad leftof-centre coalition. Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from
Spain's capital, Madrid, said there was a lot at stake in this general election. "Spanish people are going back to the polls for the second time in six months. They are fed up and they want to put an end to this political impasse." Britain's surprise vote on Thursday to leave the EU has further added to the uncertainty, with the PP insisting on the need for "stability" in the face of "radicalism" and "populism". It was a jab at the Unidos Podemos coalition, which rejects EU-backed austerity and pledges to fight for the least well-off. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)