‘Will block Brexit talks if no 2nd vote’

Turkey should address ‘open question’ on accession

LONDON, Aug 24, (RTRS): A leadership candidate for Britain’s opposition Labour party, Owen Smith, said on Wednesday he would try to get parliament to block talks on leaving the European Union unless the government promises a second referendum or election.

On June 23, 52 percent of Britons voted to leave the EU, but Smith has said some electors were duped into backing the Brexit campaign and may think twice due to signs that Britain’s economy could slow since the vote.

Prime Minister Theresa May will wait until next year to trigger Article 50, the formal clause by which a country leaves the European Union, but it is unclear if the process can be started without a parliamentary vote.

“We will vote in Parliament to block any attempt to invoke Article 50 until Theresa May commits to a second referendum or a general election on whatever EU exit deal emerges at the end of the process,” Smith said in a statement.

He said there was too much uncertainty over what Brexit will involve.

Protections

“Nobody knows what Brexit looks like. It could involve trashing workers’ rights and environmental protections, opening our NHS (health service) up to foreign competition, making it harder for us to trade with our neighbours and damaging our economy.”

May’s Conservative government

acts of terrorism, police said in a statement.

“Today’s arrest was pre-planned and intelligence-led as part of an investigation into Northern Ireland related terrorism,” the statement said, adding that no armed police were involved in the arrest.

Police said there was no intelligence to has a slender working majority of 17 in the 650-seat chamber but the majority of British lawmakers supported remaining in the EU.

Labour was thrust into one of the biggest crises in its 116-year history after the referendum, when most of the party’s lawmakers responded by voting to withdraw support for incumbent leftwing leader Jeremy Corbyn, prompting the second leadership contest in a year. Smith is his only challenger.

Pro-European critics blame Corbyn for contributing to the victory for the ‘Leave’ campaign by only offering lacklustre support to those campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU.

The new leader will be declared at the party’s conference on Sep. 24.

In Austria’s presidential run-off, the independent running against a farright candidate is aiming to use public concerns over Brexit against his rival, who has said the country should in some cases consider leaving the European Union.

Former Austrian Greens leader Alexander Van der Bellen focused his campaign squarely on his EU-friendly credentials on Tuesday to fight against his eurosceptic rival Norbert Hofer, who could become the EU’s first far-right head of state.

The anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) has pledged to support a referendum on Austria leaving the European Union if Turkey joins the bloc or if significantly more political

suggest an immediate threat, and that an address and a wooded area in south Devon were being searched in connection with the inquiry.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “We are aware of a police investigation involving the arrest of a member of the Armed Forces under the power is transferred from member states to Brussels.

Van der Bellen narrowly won a previous runoff vote in May, but Hofer’s antiIslam FPO successfully challenged the result, and the country’s Constitutional Court has ordered a re-run.

Encouraged

“The reaction after the count (in May) encouraged me... I received several spontaneous calls from Brussels and other (EU) capitals. In English one would say that a sigh of relief went through Europe,” Van der Bellen said at a campaign event.

The FPO and its European allies, such as France’s National Front, congratulated Britain on its vote in June to leave the EU, but a poll shortly after that referendum found that a majority of Austrians did not want their country to follow suit.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn has called on Turkey to address the “open question” of whether it was willing to meet the criteria to join the European Union since the uncertainty was straining its relations with the bloc.

In an interview with the Austrian daily Die Presse published on Wednesday, Hahn said the arrests in Turkey of thousands of people after a coup attempt in early July had irked some EU members.

“The situation as it is today in Turkey, is not such as it would contribute

2000 Terrorism Act and will assist this investigation fully.” (RTRS)

Ecuador slams UK:

The Ecuadorian government on Tuesday criticised British authorities after security intercepted an intruder trying to enter its London embassy, LONDON, Aug 24, (AP): The developer of the world’s largest aircraft says the blimp-shaped airship “sustained damage” after it made a bumpy landing on its second test flight in eastern England.

Hybrid Air Vehicles says it is trying to figure out what caused the rough landing of the 302-foot (92-meter) Airlander 10 during its flight Wednesday in Bedfordshire, north of London.

In a statement on Facebook it said all “crew are safe and well and there are no injuries.”

A hybrid of blimp, helicopter and airplane, the Airlander is able to stay aloft for days at a time. It is designed to use less fuel than a plane, but carry heavier loads than conventional airships. to our need for stability, “he told the paper.

Developments after the coup “caused considerable irritation in large parts of Europe regarding the extent and speed of the wave of arrests,” he said.

Hahn said he was nevertheless against halting accession talks with Turkey, a measure some politicians, including Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, have called for.

Faced with Europe’s criticism, Turkey has accused the EU of being fuelled by anti-Turkish sentiment and hostility to President Tayyip Erdogan, saying the bloc was making grave mistakes in its response to the coup.

“If you want to join (the EU) you have to fulfil the criteria. The rules are not negotiable,” Hahn told the paper.

“Turkey should soon make clear, whether it can and wants to accept those conditions. This open question puts a strain on the relations (with the EU),” Hahn said. He added that he was in favour of continuing the accession talks.

Asked about Turkey’s threats to open its borders and let migrants transit to Europe - which would end a migration deal that has helped stem a major influx of people to Greece by sea — Hahn said that disarming of words and emotions was needed.

“I do not think that Turkey can or wants to do without the EU’s financial support in the migrant crisis.”

where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been sheltering since 2012.

“In the early morning hours of 22 August 2016, an unidentified person sought to gain unauthorised access to (the Ecuadorian) embassy in London,” the Ecuador government said in a statement.

The government accused British authorities of not responding to the intrusion quickly enough, saying they had a duty to protect foreign missions.

“The Ecuadorian government therefore expresses its concern about the inadequate response by the British authorities, who only arrived at the embassy more than two hours after the incident took place,” said the statement. (AFP)

Soldier killed in training:

Britain’s Ministry of Defence says a soldier has been killed during a nighttime training exercise involving live rounds on a firing range.

Police say the Royal Regiment of Scotland soldier died from a serious head wound Monday at the Otterburn Training Area in Northumberland, northern England.

Police and Ministry of Defence accident investigators are trying to determine how the soldier died and whether any other soldier was involved. Investigators have declined to specify whether the soldier was suspected of being shot by his own firearm or another weapon. (AP)

The government says more than 135 British military personnel have died during training exercises since 2000. (AP)