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Reuters / Andrew ParsonsBoris Johnson will ask the Queen to suspend parliament in a deeply controversial move which could prevent British lawmakers from having time to pass legislation to stop Britain crashing out of the EU with no deal.The plan will force parliament to disband just days after lawmakers return from their summer break in September, and weeks before the U.K. is due to leave the EU with or without a deal on October 31.Johnson has gambled his leadership on a “do or die” pledge to leave the EU by that deadline. Lawmakers from every party have reacted furiously to his latest plan, with members of parliament from across the political spectrum describing it as anti-democratic ploy to deny lawmakers the chance to form a majority against the government to stop a no-deal exit.A group of opposition members of parliament had already vowed to come together to try to block the possibility of no deal, and on Tuesday they announced that they’d try to achieve that through passing legislation. Johnson’s move significantly shortens the period of time available to those lawmakers to carry out their plan before the Halloween deadline.John Bercow, the traditionally non-partisan speaker of the House of Commons, launched an astonishing attack on Johnson’s plan. Bercow described it as a “democratic outrage” and was quoted by the BBC as saying: “It is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop Parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty.”One of Johnson’s own Conservative party MPs, Dominic Grieve, called the plan “outrageous” and warned: “This government will come down.”Johnson has insisted he wants to leave the EU on October 31 with a deal, but says he’s willing to leave without one rather than extend the deadline any further. If Parliament is suspended on 10 September, as has been reported, it will only give lawmakers a few days next week to push for changes.It’s not unusual for a prime minister to suspend parliament. The move, known as prorogation, is traditionally done annually before a new parliamentary session. However, it’s not a coincidence Johnson has proposed it as lawmakers discussed blocking his plans.Asked if he was denying lawmakers the time to stop a no-deal Brexit, the prime minister said Tuesday: “No, that is completely untrue. We are bringing forward a new legislative program on crime, hospitals, making sure we have the education funding we need.”In a letter sent to all British lawmakers, Johnson said they would be able to vote on any new deal he negotiates before October 31.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
August 28, 2019Read More
The experience of the war emphatically vindicated the Navy’s approach. U.S. naval aviation devastated Japanese shipping, destroying numerous capital ships through torpedo and dive-bombing attacks, while Army Air Force heavy bombers inflicted very littl…
August 28, 2019Read More
The European Commission said on Wednesday it wanted to see a concrete proposal from Britain to resolve the deadlock over Brexit as soon as possible, without giving a specific deadline. The Commission, which is negotiating with London on behalf of the …
August 28, 2019Read More
The Lebanese army shot at Israeli surveillance drones on Wednesday over southern Lebanon, dramatically raising tensions between the long-time foes. The army fired shots at two low-flying Israeli drones over the village of al-Adaisseh in south Lebanon, sources said. Israeli unmanned surveillance planes regularly fly into Lebanese airspace, but this was a rare attempt by the military to take them down, making good on a promise to protect its sovereignty after an Israel drone strike on Hizbollah territory in Beirut over the weekend. Tensions in the region are high after Israel carried out a series of attacks on Lebanese Shia group Hizbollah’s interests in both Lebanon and neighbouring Syria. Hizbollah had warned it was preparing a “calculated strike” against Israel in response. An Israeli raid on a Hizbollah position near Damascus on Saturday left two fighters dead; it was followed hours later by a drone attack in southern Beirut which damaged missile-making equipment. Two crates reportedly belonging to Hizbollah containing critical technical machinery that were destroyed in a drone strike attributed to Israel in Beirut on August 25 Credit: Twitter “We want the strike to be a surprise…and so there is no interest in diving into the details,” said Sheikh Naim Qassem, the Lebanese Shia group’s deputy leader. “The coming days will reveal this.” It was reported in Israeli media on Tuesday night that Israel had targeted and successfully destroyed machinery used for the production of precision-guided missiles. The specific targets were an “industrial planetary mixer,” eight tons in size, used for the production of solid fuel propellant for precision guided missiles, as well as an electronic control system for the machine held in a separate crate. The crate, which had reportedly been delivered by Hizbollah’s sponsor Iran, was temporarily being stored in the group’s stronghold of Dahieh in southern Beirut before it was to be transported to a factory. Pictures from the scene showed two crates on fire and badly damaged. Israel has been trying to disrupt the flow of weapons and technology from arch-rival Iran to the Islamic republic’s proxies in Syria and Lebanon. It has carried out hundreds of strikes against Hizbollah and Iranian forces’ positions in Syria, which have so far been met with little response. Such an attack on Hizbollah on home turf, however, will be more difficult for them to ignore. Sheikh Qassem said Hizbollah deemed it an attack that necessitated a response, but said they were not seeking a new war with its long-time foe. Members of Hizbollah movement carry the coffin of the fellow comrade, who was killed in Israeli strikes in Syria Credit: AFP “I rule out that the atmosphere is one of war, it is one of a response to an attack,” he told Russia’s RT Arabic channel on Tuesday night. “Everything will be decided at its time.” Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a speech on Sunday threatened Israel with reprisal, saying: “From tonight, I tell the Israeli army on the border, be prepared and wait for us,” he said, taunting that a retaliation could come in “one day, two days, three days…” The attack was the first inside Lebanon since the deadly Summer War of 2006, which saw more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians and 43 Israeli killed. The group has since seen several flare-ups with its neighbour, however it has always stopped short of an all-out conflict.
August 28, 2019Read More
The U.S. Navy says China denied its request for a port call at the northeastern city of Qingdao, the second such rejection this month as the trade war escalates.
August 28, 2019Read More
Lebanese army gunners opened fired at two of three Israeli reconnaissance drones Wednesday after they entered Lebanese airspace, a security official and the state news agency said, amid heightened tensions between the two countries. The security offic…
August 28, 2019Read More
Forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government pushed Wednesday into the key port city of Aden after wresting control of another southern provincial capital from separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates, officials and local residen…
August 28, 2019Read More
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday that the suspension of parliament would be extended until October 14 — just two weeks before the UK is set to leave the EU — enraging anti-Brexit MPs. MPs will return to London later than in r…
August 28, 2019Read More
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to limit lawmakers’ opportunity to derail his Brexit plans represents a coup against parliament, Labour home affairs spokeswoman Diane Abbott said on Wednesday. Johnson will announce his new legislative agen…
August 28, 2019Read More
Sterling dived on Wednesday as concerns rose that the United Kingdom may be headed for a disruptive no-deal Brexit after Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to restrict parliamentary time before Oct. 31. On Tuesday, it hit a one-month high against the …
August 28, 2019Read More
Drew Angerer/GettyEarly this week, two Senators—Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Chris Murphy (D-CT)—announced that the government of Russia had blocked them from entering the country for a planned official visit. The snub represented an abrupt turn of events, e…
August 28, 2019Read More
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