Headline News

Trump says some illegal immigrants are ‘animals

17, May 2018

Trump says some illegal immigrants are ‘animals 0

US President Donald Trump says some of the undocumented immigrants who have crossed the border into America are “animals” and need to be deported.

“We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — we’re stopping a lot of them,” Trump told a round-table discussion about California’s sanctuary laws on Wednesday.

“You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people, these are animals, and we’re taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that’s never happened before,” he said.

Trump made the remarks when asked about his administration’s plans to keep out undesirable immigrants, including members of international criminal gangs like MS-13.

The Republican president, who has shown little tolerance for illegal immigration since taking office in January last year, used the meeting with state and local officials to criticize America’s immigration laws, calling them “the dumbest laws on immigration in the world.”

The Trump administration is taking legal action to invalidate sanctuary laws, which limit communication between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers.

Officials partaking in the meeting complained to the president that state laws were making it more difficult for their communities to find and deport criminals.

Trump blamed Republicans for passing “bad laws.” He also took a jab at Mexico, which is bordered to the north by the United States, for “doing nothing” to stop illegal immigration.

Trump’s remarks and his criticism of California prompted a fiery response from the state’s Democratic governor, Jerry Brown.

“Trump is lying on immigration, lying about crime and lying about the laws of California,” Brown said in a statement. “Flying in a dozen Republican politicians to flatter him and praise his reckless policies changes nothing. We, the citizens of the fifth-largest economy in the world, are not impressed.”

Trump has promised to build a wall on the border with Mexico to stop migrant flow into the US. He has also warned so-called “sanctuary cities” to either do away with lax immigration laws or have their federal funding cut.

 

Source: Presstv


Southern Cameroons War:  The Focolare Movement is leaving Lebialem County

16, May 2018

Southern Cameroons War:  The Focolare Movement is leaving Lebialem County 0

The foundation on which Lebialem is built has collapsed, and the possibility of rebuilding maybe smaller than a mere discussions.  A decision to shut-down Mary Health African of Hospital Fontem – Lebialem was reached yesterday.

The selfless people – the Focolare Movement, whose only mission is “Love and Unity” and who indisputably own the recognition, and from whom no one can take away that “Honor” for building the Lebialem from scratch to its current image, are leaving.

After a lengthy meeting lasting many hours of evaluating the current circumstances of a war on citizens; they searched through pages, and their-52-year history in the area; “life and death,’ then, a tearfully decision – leave.

One of their many challenges laminated at the meeting, many of the medications come in from outside the country, especially Europe, but now they are limited to, not merely the inability to bring in medication from Europe, but also dealing with ruthless uneducated warring soldiers, who do not understand the work of the gentle people.

In really war times, Hospitals – a place where the dying, the wounded and the sick come, are guarded and protected from any attack, but just over two weeks ago, an employee a member of their 80-persons strong-staff was seized,  tortured to death. The hospital called for a day of mourning from all other hospitals across Cameroon. No report here on the response; but the torture and killing of this employee, criss-cross the floor of discussion.

Today, the hospital lies flat, eight patients in total, in a 120 beds inpatient hospital, doctors and nurses take cover on a minute by minute base; and they are words of uncontrollable weeping, and wailing yesterday when this news of the Focolare’s departure broke.

Neither the War-President-in-Chief, nor anyone in that country knows what it takes to bring-in one of the members of the Focolare, or one of the doctors, or one of the nurses, from around the world to settle in that area.  And no one has the slightest ideas of the extensive medical service these people provide to the entire area, off course, this is why no one cares about whoever dies.

Source: LECDA Yahoo Group


War in Southern Cameroons: Joseph Beti Assomo’s investigation will go nowhere

16, May 2018

War in Southern Cameroons: Joseph Beti Assomo’s investigation will go nowhere 0

The Francophone Minister for Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo was forced to inform local and international public opinion of the creation of a commission of inquiry into the brutal killing of a Southern Cameroonian which French Cameroun army soldiers claimed was a leader of an armed group in the Northern Zone.  The Francophone dominated Cameroon army admitted its troops had meted out inhumane treatment to a suspected separatist arrested in the North West region of the country.

According to Mr. Joseph Beti Assomo, gendarmes deployed to the Northern Zone to fight the so called separatists had “mistreated and tied up” an alleged separatist leader during his arrest on Saturday. A viral social media video showed French Cameroun forces having tied the suspects’ hands behind him. The suspect who was lying on his belly in muddy conditions is kicked and his head is stamped upon by some of the gendarmes and a Francophone police officer.

Out of shame and embarrassment, the operations manager of the French Cameroun war machinery, Joseph Beti Assomo opined that the gendarmes were “clearly out of the norms and legal techniques in such circumstances.” The Biya Francophone regime announced to the world that an investigation has been opened to identify (and) where appropriate sanction the perpetrators of these acts contrary to respect for human rights.

Joseph Beti Assomo told a lie that the Southern Cameroonian was nicknamed “general” and was a separatist leader who was arrested on Saturday.  Assomo further pointed out that the innocent Southern Cameroonian was actively sought for several weeks for his involvement in acts of violence against the population and (in) the killing of the personnel of defense and security forces.

If you have been following the war in Southern Cameroons, you will know Mr. Joseph Beti Assomo who said that French Cameroun soldiers would implement President Biya’s war decision without batting an eyelid.  He is now seeking a longer timeframe to submit a fake report to the international community on the numerous atrocities committed by French Cameroun army soldiers in Southern Cameroons. But for social media, there won’t be any French Cameroun investigation. What genius set that investigation?

Legal obstacles

All military judges and army and gendarmerie commanders are from President Paul Biya’s Beti Ewondo tribe whose main goal is to keep Biya and his tribal setting in power and plunder Southern Cameroons wealth.  The Yaoundé government will not allocate any resources required to pursue this investigation as they have done in the past with the Lake Nyos Gas disaster, the Nsam Fire Disaster, the Mbanga-Pongo Plane Crash and the Eseka train disaster including the murder of Bishop Balla.

Biya and members of his Francophone CPDM crime syndicate are struggling to give the impression that there is indeed a responsible government in Yaoundé. Mr. Beti Assomo has never been in a position to comment on the genocide going in Southern Cameroons. But with Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary anticipating the end of the Biya regime, Assomo is now in the spot light.

The investigation was made public to take the political heat off the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo Government in reaction to shocking revelations made recently by the United Nations. The Biya regime with help from the French have kept the UN silent for too long. As part of the transaction, UN Secretary General received a golden statue from President Biya worth millions of US dollars.

We also know that the French embassy in Abuja, Nigeria is bankrolling the arrest of Southern Cameroonians in the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Buhari regime.  Southern Cameroons has since become a “commercial success” for the French as they now have control of the CDC-the biggest Agro-Industrial Plant in West Africa and the oil and gas fields in the Bakassi Peninsula. This feeds the narrative that Southern Cameroonians are strangers in their ancestral land. The Joseph Beti Assomo investigation will go nowhere.

By Sessekou Asu Isong, London


Kamer Feeling: Boxer who went missing brazenly post images of himself in Melbourne

16, May 2018

Kamer Feeling: Boxer who went missing brazenly post images of himself in Melbourne 0

A Commonwealth Games athlete who went missing during the Gold Coast event this year brazenly posted images of himself while in Melbourne to social media last month.

Cameroonian boxer Fotsala Simplice is one of more than 19 athletes and team staff who went missing from the Games last month and are now seeking asylum in Australia, according to refugee advocates.

Despite threats of detention from Federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton should the athletes not comply with their visa conditions, Simplice openly shared images of him smiling and posing while in Melbourne.

Cameroonian boxer Fotsala Simplice has brazenly posted social media images of him in Melbourne after disappearing from this year's Commonwealth Games. Picture: Facebook.

Cameroonian boxer Fotsala Simplice has brazenly posted social media images of him in Melbourne after disappearing from this year’s Commonwealth Games. Picture: Facebook.

Simplice is one of at least 19 other athletes who went missing from the Games and are now seeking asylum in Australia. Picture: Facebook.

Simplice is one of at least 19 other athletes who went missing from the Games and are now seeking asylum in Australia. Picture: Facebook.

Initially, it was believed 11 athletes had not returned home, including four other boxers and three wrestlers from Cameroon, two athletes from Uganda and a Rwandan Paralympic powerlifting coach.

This week however, Sydney’s Refugee Advice and Casework Service principal solicitor Sarah Dale said the organisation has helped more than 19 people lodge applications for protection, before their federally approved games visas expired on Tuesday.

“The numbers we have seen have been greater than that (19) and it’s our expectation that there are significantly more people in the community that have sought asylum here in Australia,” she told ABC radio on Wednesday.

Cameroon athletes from left to right, top to bottom: Fokou Arsene, Fotsala Simplice, Matam Matam Olivier Heracles, Ndiang Christelle, Fouodji Arcangeline Sonkbou, Ndzie Tsoye Christian, Yombo Ulrich, Minkoumba Petit David. (Supplied)

Cameroon athletes from left to right, top to bottom: Fokou Arsene, Fotsala Simplice, Matam Matam Olivier Heracles, Ndiang Christelle, Fouodji Arcangeline Sonkbou, Ndzie Tsoye Christian, Yombo Ulrich, Minkoumba Petit David. (Supplied)

“It’s a significant number… It’s certainly more than what’s being reported.”

The competitors are seeking asylum for various reasons and are from several different African countries, Ms Dale confirmed.

The federal government has already said “some” of those who went missing have already seen granted bridging visas to allow them to stay.

The applicants will need to demonstrate they fear persecution, whether it be on religious, race, nationality, social group or political affiliation grounds.

More than 19 Cameroon athletes and team members are believed to be seeking refuge. (AAP)

More than 19 Cameroon athletes and team members are believed to be seeking refuge. (AAP)

The Australian Border Force said in a statement that any “visa overstayers” who do not cooperate with authorities to negotiate new visa conditions risk facing “enforcement measures”.

“Some individuals have already applied for other visas, while others will seek to engage Australia’s protection obligations. Those cases will be rigorously assessed in line with standard processes,” a statement said.

“For those who attempt to remain in the community without engaging with authorities, they should be aware that anyone in Australia without a valid visa will be subject to enforcement measures aimed at locating, detaining and removing them from Australia.

“The ABF has stood up a dedicated operation to ensure those that should depart Australia do so. Those who are removed may also face a three year re-entry ban from Australia and may owe a debt to the Australian Government for the cost of their removal.”

Cameroon at Commonwealth Games. (AAP)

Cameroon at Commonwealth Games. (AAP)

Before the expiration of the visas the athletes held to be able to perform in the Commonwealth Games, Mr Dutton also confirmed they would need to leave Australia or risk a detention term.

“If they don’t want to be held in detention or locked up at the local watch house, they’d better jump on a plane before the 15th and comply with their visa’s conditions,” he told Macquarie Radio.

Ms Dale also hosed down suggestions the claimants planned to come to Australia as part of a games team and then stay.

“I would not suggest that there was a group of people that had decided ‘let’s compete in the Commonwealth Games to get to Australia’,” Ms Dale said.

“I think that’s too far of a stretch.”

Culled from www.9news.com



Kenya’s president approves controversial cyber-crimes law

16, May 2018

Kenya’s president approves controversial cyber-crimes law 0

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has approved a controversial law against the online publications of inappropriate content, a move which critics say would enable the leadership in the Horn of Africa country to further tighten their grip on journalists and opposition activists.

Kenyatta signed the sweeping cyber-crimes act on Wednesday, ignoring calls from rights campaigners not to endorse the law which also criminalizes the publication of “false, misleading or fictitious data”, a clause they say is specifically meant to curb free speech.

The law bans hacking, computer fraud, forgery of data, cyber espionage, publishing child pornography or sending pornographic content via any electronic means, punishing violators with a fine of $50,000 (42,000 euro) or jail terms up to two years, or both.

Critics say the law contains clauses that could make it more difficult for journalists and activists to criticize the government. Rights advocates and journalists have censured the bill, saying it could easily target journalists and others expressing their opinions online.

“Kenyan legislators have passed a wide-ranging bill that will criminalize free speech, with journalists and bloggers likely to be among the first victims if it is signed into law,” said the Committee for Protection of Journalists last week as it urged Kenyatta not to sign the bill.

Kenyatta’s approval of the bill comes following a bloody election season in Kenya in which he beat opposition leader Raila Odinga after two rounds of votes that were marred by widespread allegations of fraud. His government ordered three main television networks to close in January after they ran a live coverage of a mock inauguration ceremony by Odinga, who saw himself as the legitimate winner of the elections. The closures sparked criticisms from governments in Europe.

Eight prominent journalists also left their jobs in March over claims of increased meddling by government and a loss of media freedom in Kenya.

 

Source: Presstv


Bundes: Merkel joins European allies in reaffirming support for Iran nuclear deal

16, May 2018

Bundes: Merkel joins European allies in reaffirming support for Iran nuclear deal 0

Germany has joined its European allies in reaffirming support for the Iran nuclear deal in defiance of the US that pulled out of the landmark agreement last week.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pushed back against Washington’s rejection of the Iran nuclear deal, and reasserted a defense of the agreement in remarks to lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

She also said that Iran was complying with its commitments under the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“This agreement is everything other than ideal, but Iran is, according to all the knowledge of the international nuclear authorities, sticking to the commitments of the agreement,” Merkel said.

US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the JCPOA, which was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Britain, France, Russia and China — plus Germany in 2015.

Trump also said he would reinstate US sanctions on Iran lifted by the accord and impose “the highest level” of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

The deal lifted sanctions in 2016 in return for Tehran limiting its nuclear program.

Iran has reiterated it would remain in the JCPOA for now, pending negotiations with the other signatories in the coming weeks before making a final decision on its future role in the agreement.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany in Brussels on Tuesday.

Following the meeting, Mogherini told reporters that European top diplomats had agreed to follow through the Iran nuclear deal despite Trump’s decision to withdraw.

To this end, the EU will launch intensive discussion at all levels with Iran in next few weeks, she said, adding that the discussion would focus on, among others, how to maintain economic relations and effective banking transactions with Iran in the context of renewed US sanctions.

“We are determined to ensure that the JCPOA stays in place. We know it’s a difficult task but we are determined to do that,” Mogherini said, adding, “We’ve started to work to put in place measures that help ensuring that this happens.”

She noted that similar willingness has been expressed by the European and Iranian sides.

Before visiting Europe, Zarif first traveled to China and later Russia, the two other signatory nations that have supported the JCPOA, on the first leg of his diplomatic mission.

Meanwhile, in their first meeting since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, EU leaders are expected to meet to explore options on Wednesday for keeping the Iran nuclear deal alive and protecting their reviving economic cooperation with Tehran.

“I would like our debate to reconfirm without any doubt that as long as Iran respects the provisions of the deal, the EU will also respect it,” the chairman of the gathering, Donald Tusk, said before the meeting in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also host Merkel on Friday to discuss, among other issues, the Iran deal.

 

Source: Presstv


Biya regime to probe brutality meted out to “separatist leader”

16, May 2018

Biya regime to probe brutality meted out to “separatist leader” 0

The Cameroon army has admitted that some of its officials had meted out inhumane treatment to a suspected separatist arrested in the NorthWest region of the country.

According to the Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo, speaking on state radio, gendarmes deployed to the restive region to fight separatists had “mistreated and tied up” an alleged separatist leader during his arrest Saturday.

A viral social media video showed officials having tied the suspects hands behind him. The suspect who was lying on his belly in muddy conditions is kicked and his head is stamped upon by some of the gendarmes and a police.

The gendarmes (paramilitary officials) are “clearly out of the norms and legal techniques in such circumstances,” the minister acknowledged, his condemnation followed a very strong online protest to the video.

It is the first time the army has acknowledged abuses committed by security forces deployed in the two English-speaking regions riled by separatist violence since October 2017.

“An investigation has been opened to identify (and) where appropriate sanction the perpetrators of these acts contrary to respect for human rights,” said the minister.

Nicknamed “general”, the abused person is an alleged separatist leader who was arrested on Saturday, said Beti Assomo. The said general according to authorities “was actively sought for several weeks for his involvement in acts of violence against the population and (in) the killing of the personnel of defense and security forces”.

Security forces have been repeatedly accused by NGOs and witnesses of abuses and burning houses. “We only burn houses where we discover weapons,” the army defended its actions in late April.

The central African regions English speaking regions have been mired in a security crisis that has been tagged the “Anglophone crisis”. In the two regions, northwest and south-west, fighting has become almost daily between the Cameroonian security forces and armed men.

The armed groups say they are fighting to establish an independent Ambazonia Republic. According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), “at least 120” civilians and “at least 43” members of the security forces have been killed since late 2016. The separatist record is unknown.

160,000 people have fled their homes as a result of the violence, according to the UN, and 34,000 have fled to Nigeria, according to the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (Sema).

 

Source: Africa News


Nelson Mandela Legacy: Barcelona in South Africa for friendly with Sundowns

16, May 2018

Nelson Mandela Legacy: Barcelona in South Africa for friendly with Sundowns 0

A star-studded Barcelona side have arrived in South Africa where they are expected to play a friendly match against the Rainbow nation’s league champions, Mamelodi Sundowns, on Wednesday night.

The Spanish and European giants arrived at the Oliver Tambo International Airport with a full squad that included the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and retiring Andres Iniesta.

Security was high at the airport as they were shepherded into their transport and headed for their hotel. They were received by top officials of Sundowns and scores of football fans who thronged the airport to catch a glimpse of their football idols.

The game which takes place at the FNB stadium (formerly the Soccer City Stadium) will form part of the commemoration of the centenary celebration of the life of the country’s first black president Nelson Mandela.

“FC Barcelona has always professed its admiration for Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest figures of the 20th century, who after 27 years in prison went on to become the first democratically elected president of post-apartheid South Africa from 1994 to 1999,” the Spanish side said in a statement last week ahead of today’s fixture.

“Mandela represented the struggle for freedom and equality in the country, and played a huge role in unifying the racially divided society. It is precisely this kind of spirit with which FC Barcelona has always been identified,” the statement added.

Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 and died in December 2013. Leaders from across the world were in South Africa for his funeral.

The friendly comes after Barca’s painful La Liga loss to Levante over the weekend, which result denied them a record unbeaten run in the season. Their final game is at home to Real Sociedad on May 20.

Ernesto Valverde’s side clinched a 25th Liga title on April 29 and the King’s Cup on April 21 but failed to make history as the first team since 1933 to complete a Spanish top-flight season without losing a game.

 

Culled from Africa News


Southern Cameroons Crisis: Biya is not the solution in Cameroon

16, May 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Biya is not the solution in Cameroon 0

The crisis in Southern Cameroons is now in its second year and the spark that led Cameroon down the fiery rabbit hole of the Anglophone revolution is still much alive and active. Frankly speaking, a lack of leadership in Yaoundé, Abuja and the African Union allowed the peaceful strike action led by Anglophone teachers and lawyers to metastasis into a horrific violent conflict, providing an opportunity for the powerful Anglophone Cameroon Diaspora to come in and initiate a struggle that is ending up with the creation of Africa’s newest nation-the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The one million dollar question is, does it represent a policy shift by the UN/Buhari administrations based on the notion of a shared common objective with Paris in Cameroon? Either way, it has blown a violent wind into the boats of those who argue that President Paul Biya should remain in power as a check against anti French forces in the CEMAC region.

There are indeed several controversies with that argument and most glaringly is the fact that it ignores the war crimes and other atrocities committed by the Biya regime. That long and horrific list includes helicopter gunboat attacks, mass killings, mass graves and the targeting of hospitals and schools, not to mention the arrest and torture of hundreds of Southern Cameroonians. Keeping Biya in power is undermining France’s credibility and core values including those of the United States.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group can now reveal that Mr. Paul Biya doesn’t have the military capability to hold Cameroon together. The case of the Far North region abandoned by the army following massive deployments to Southern Cameroons serves as an illustrative example. Ever since the crisis in Southern Cameroons started, the Far North region has seen several deadly attacks carried out by the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram. Although Cameroon government’s forces have repeatedly claimed that the terrorist group has been defeated, they have been unable to secure the Far North while engaged in their assault against Ambazonia Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces. The situation is also true in the Central African Republic as attacks are now rampant in areas under the control of the Cameroon army and the gendarmerie.

To be accurate, what’s left of the French Cameroun army is an empty shell, precariously held together by France, the US and Chad in decreasing levels of importance. Any plan to keep Biya in power clearly runs counter to French and American interests. Upon closer examination, the very fabric that held French speaking and English speaking Cameroonians together is irreparably torn.

Biya took over from the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo in 1982 and to rule Cameroon, the so-called Roman Catholic Christian had to tailor his approach to the few ethnic groups in the Centre and South regions while appeasing the Muslims in the Grand North with numerous political positions and oppressing the Anglophones and at the same time setting the Bamilekes against one another.

In practice, it meant Biya controlling all levers of power and reinforcing his leadership through funny arrangements. He only thought of the Anglophones in 1990 and gave them a prominent position as Prime Minister with the emergence of the SDF party. Correspondingly, the individuals of the Anglophone community that had positions in government were those upon whose patronage he relied. In essence, Biya created a new tribe in Southern Cameroons-the CPDM tribe and demanded complete and total loyalty. Members of this CPDM tribe in Southern Cameroons are presently looking the other way while Biya and his army soldiers are killing hundreds of Ambazonians and destroying their towns and villages.

Many corrupt UN and African Union officials fail to recognize that Biya and his gang had forbade the development of any form of opposition or liberal centers of thought and cohesion — much less a free press — that could challenge his authority.

For 35 years, the key unifying driver of allegiance and cohesion was political appointments followed by loyalty to the Right Royal President. Now that the state of Cameroon has broken down, Biya and some Beti Ewondo political elites are trading the crisis in Southern Cameroons as the most attractive and unifying alternative ideology for all French Cameroonians.

The initial lawyers and teachers strike in Anglophone Cameroon may not have been designed to bring about separation but the way the crisis has been mismanaged has become central in influencing the trajectory of the uprising nonetheless.  Having failed in every aspect of nation building, Biya stands today as a great magnet to which all diplomats from the EU, US, the AU or UN are attracted. The reason is simple: At 85, Biya is prepared to dish out millions of dollars to anyone who can guarantee his continued stay in power and protect his family.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai


Scottish parliament decisively rejects May’s EU withdrawal bill

16, May 2018

Scottish parliament decisively rejects May’s EU withdrawal bill 0

The Scottish parliament has decisively voted against the United Kingdom’s legislation on departure from the European Union (EU), placing London on course for a major constitutional dispute with Edinburgh and the further postponement of Brexit.

The Scottish lawmakers rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU Withdrawal Bill by 93 votes to 30 on Tuesday.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Greens backed First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s party members in rejecting the divorce bill, arguing that it would restrict Holyrood’s powers.

The vote is not legally binding but it will force London to make a high-risk decision and assert power over Edinburgh or make further concessions to the Scottish government to avoid a crisis.

May’s disregard for the vote could fuel Sturgeon’s demands for a second referendum on Scottish independence and provide her Scottish National Party (SNP) with a further justification for staging one.

Britain has been at loggerheads with the devolved nations – Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales – on how power would be shared after the Britain’s separation from the 28-member bloc.

Speaking after the Tuesday vote, Scotland’s Brexit secretary Mike Russell, called on the UK government to respect the will of the Scottish parliament and find an acceptable solution.

“The Scottish Parliament has now said overwhelmingly that this attempt to undermine devolution is unacceptable,” he said. “The UK government cannot ignore the reality of devolution or try to drown out what this parliament says. They cannot pretend that no motion has been passed.”

A day earlier, Sturgeon warned London against ignoring the Holyrood’s views and said May needed to secure a deal with Edinburgh fast.

“They [UK government] have a decision to make as to whether they are going to ignore the views of the Scottish Parliament or listen to those views and try very hard to get a deal and to close the gap that remains between us,” she said.

In the United Kingdom’s 2016 referendum, 52 percent, or 17.4 million people, voted to leave the EU while 48 percent, or 16 million, voted to stay.

The British government has faced fierce criticism both at home and by the EU for its lack of clarity on its Brexit strategy.

The uncertainty has raised fears that Britain could crash out of the bloc without a trade deal, incurring heavy costs on its domestic economy.

London and Brussels are due to move on to the next stage of Brexit negotiations this year, after reaching agreement in December on exit terms.

 

Source: Presstv


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