PM faces cabinet revolt

‘Special sitting Oct 19’

LONDON, Oct 9, (RTRS): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a fresh rebellion in his cabinet, with a group of ministers poised to resign due to concerns that he is leading the country towards a no-deal Brexit, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan, British Minister for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, Health Minister Matt Hancock and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox are all on a “resignation watch list”, according to The Times report.

An unnamed cabinet minister cited by the newspaper said that a “very large number” of Conservative members of parliament will quit if it comes to a no-deal Brexit.

The Times said that ministers had warned Johnson in a cabinet meeting about the “grave” risk of the return of direct rule in Northern Ireland and raised concerns about Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s top adviser.

“Cabinet will set the strategy, not unelected officials. If this is an attempt to do that then it will fail”, the report quoted another cabinet minister as saying.

While the Times newspaper did not specify how many Conservative lawmakers oppose a no-deal scenario, the Financial Times reported early on Wednesday that at least 50 members of parliament from the party will revolt against a general election manifesto pledging to pursue a nodeal Brexit.

Certain lawmakers from the party

from 2011 to 2018 from former deputy mayor of Takahama, home to four Kansai Electric reactors.

The case surfaced in September during a tax inspection. Their admission underscored collusion between officials and Japan’s nuclear industry after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. (AP)

Call for justice min’s ouster:

Thousands of protesters rallied Wednesday in South Korea’s capital for the second

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are considering running on a softer individual Brexit platform or even standing aside altogether as a Tory candidate, the FT report added.

The media reports come as the European Union accused Britain of playing a “stupid blame game” over Brexit after a Downing Street source told Reuters a deal was essentially impossible because German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made unacceptable demands.

With just over three weeks before the United Kingdom is due to leave the European bloc, the future of Brexit remains deeply uncertain as both London and Brussels position themselves to avoid blame for a delay or a disorderly no-deal Brexit.

Meanwhile, Britain’s government plans to hold a special sitting of parliament on Oct. 19, whether or not Prime Minister Boris Johnson secures a Brexit deal with the European Union, a government source said on Wednesday.

Parliament has passed a law to force Johnson to seek a Brexit delay if he fails to negotiate a new deal with the EU at a summit on Oct. 1718. Johnson has said he will abide by the law but has also stood firm in his pledge to lead Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 no matter what.

The source said it was likely that parliament would sit on Saturday, Oct. 19, either way, depending on the usual procedures to approve an extra day of sitting. If no deal has been reached, the day could be used to hold a series of votes on possible ways forward.

consecutive week to call for the ouster of President Moon Jae-in’s hand-picked justice minister, whose family is at the center of an investigation into allegations of financial crimes and academic favors.

The protest near the presidential palace in Seoul followed a weekend demonstration in which a huge crowd of pro-government supporters occupied streets in front of the state prosecutors’ offices to show their support for Cho Kuk, whose appointment last month has deepened the nation’s political divide.

The city’s streets are now divided between pro-Cho and anti-Cho protesters, who for weeks have alternated with protests and counter-protests in areas separated by the Han River that flows through the capital.

Wednesday’s rally came amid a highlypublicized investigation of Cho’s university professor wife and other relatives over allegations of shady financial investments and fraudulent activities related to his daughter’s admission to a top university in Seoul and a medical school in Busan. (AP)