Parliament seizes reins of Brexit

British lawmakers have temporarily seized control of the Brexit process from Prime Minister Theresa May, in a rare move that puts lawmakers in the driving seat.

MPs defied the government on Monday evening to vote 329-302 in favor of an amendment giving them control of Parliament’s agenda on Wednesday and clearing the way for a series of alternative votes to Ms. May’s widely criticized withdrawal agreement with the European Union.

Come Wednesday, lawmakers could vote on as many as seven different options — which might include a second referendum, crashing out with no deal, and a Norway-style deal with the EU, giving the U.K. full access to the single market and the European Free Trade area.

Thirty Conservative lawmakers defied the government whip to vote in favor of the amendment, which was proposed by Conservative remainer Oliver Letwin, a fact that will be hard for Theresa May to ignore.

The rebels included three government ministers, one of whom — now ex-business minister Richard Harrington —tweeted his resignation letter as the amendment went to a vote.

Parliament rejected another amendment that called on the government to hold a vote on a no-deal Brexit if the U.K. is a week away from crashing out of the European Union.

Speaking after Monday’s votes, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn congratulated Parliament for “taking control” of the Brexit process.

Norway probes cruise

Norwegian officials have opened an investigation into why a cruise ship carrying more than 1,370 people set sail along the country’s often wild western coast despite storm warnings, forcing a major evacuation by helicopter.

One person is in critical but stable condition in an intensive care ward, hospital officials said, adding that eight others were still hospitalized after the weekend ordeal.

The Viking Sky had left the northern city of Tromsoe and was headed for Stavanger in southern Norway when it had engine problems and issued a mayday call on Saturday afternoon.

The ship anchored in heavy seas to avoid being dashed on the rocks in an area known for shipwrecks. Norwegian authorities then launched a daring rescue operation despite the high winds, eventually winching 479 passengers off the ship by helicopter in an operation that went on for hours Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

Ebola cases surge

The deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,000 cases, according to the country’s health ministry.

The number of confirmed cases stands at 1,009, of which 944 are confirmed and 65 probable, in an outbreak that started in August. The death toll is at 629 — 564 are confirmed from Ebola and 65 probable.

It is the second-deadliest and second-largest Ebola outbreak in history, topped only by one in West Africa in 2014, when the disease killed more than 11,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.

So far, Ebola cases haven’t spread outside of DRC’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces, nor have any cases crossed international borders, according to the WHO.