London, United Kingdom | AFP | British and EU officials were meeting Saturday to try again to break the deadlock over their divorce deal, less than three weeks before Brexit. The two sides are trying to find a way to make the withdrawal agreement acceptable to British MPs, who have already rejected it once and …
Read More »EU says ‘no solution’ for now to break Brexit deadlock
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Wednesday “no solution” has been found so far to break the deadlock over Brexit, a spokesman reported after the latest negotiations in Brussels. Briefing the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, Barnier said the talks “have been difficult”, spokesman Margaritis Schinas said following the …
Read More »UK regional funding dubbed ‘desperate bribe’ for Brexit votes
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled £1.6 billion ($2.12 billion, 1.87 billion euros) in regional development funds Monday in what opposition MPs dismissed as a “desperate bribe” to persuade them to back her Brexit deal. The money for new jobs and training is mostly directed at northern English areas …
Read More »Prince William flies to N.Ireland amid Brexit tensions
Belfast, United Kingdom | AFP | Prince William arrived in Northern Ireland on Wednesday as the British government seeks to reassure the once-troubled province at the centre of the Brexit drama that its hard-won stability will endure. The hastily-arranged two-day visit by the second-in-line to the throne and his wife Kate comes as MPs argue …
Read More »Brexit to cause ‘significant’ harm to Britain’s health service
Paris, France | AFP | Brexit will inflict “significant harm” on Britain’s National Health Service, experts warned on Tuesday, with a no-deal departure from the EU likely to provoke acute shortages of staff and medicines. With little over a month remaining until Britain is due to leave the European Union, there …
Read More »EU’s Tusk says Brexit deadline extension a ‘rational solution’
Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt | AFP | European Council chief Donald Tusk said Monday that an extension to the March 29 deadline for Britain to leave the EU would be a “rational solution” given political developments. Tusk said he had discussed the legal and procedural context of a potential extension during talks Sunday with British …
Read More »‘Ballot box’ to decide if ailing Algeria president gets 5th term: PM
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s prime minister on Monday insisted voters would determine if ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika gets a fifth term at the ballot box, after major protests against his candidacy. Tens of thousands of people on Friday took to the streets, including in the capital Algiers where demonstrations are forbidden, to vent …
Read More »No Brexit ‘deal in the desert’ for May: EU source
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May will have a chance to speak to fellow EU leaders at their summit with the Arab League, but she should not expect a Brexit breakthrough, an EU source said Friday. Arab and European leaders will meet for two days from Sunday in the Egyptian resort …
Read More »EU hails Uganda’s decision to join extractive industries transparency initiative
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Head of European Union Mission in Uganda, Attilio Pacifici has commended Uganda’s decision to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Ambassador Pacifici says the move is a critical step in promoting transparency in the sector as Uganda paces towards oil production stage. …
Read More »Britain’s May seeks more time from MPs for Brexit talks
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government is seeking to win more time to secure EU concessions on Brexit that could pass parliament and avert a chaotic split from the bloc on March 29. Businesses and governments are on edge because Britain is just weeks away from its scheduled departure from the European …
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