Monday 1st - BESA Times
Sixty-Ninth Edition - Monday 1st Every week a complete snapshot of what happened around the world in the past seven days
Picture Courtesy of Skynews
Catching Up to Brexit - What's New, Where Is It All Going?
This past week part of the British Parliament, the House of Commons, has decided to take matters out of the governing coalitions hand. With a successful vote for the "Business Motion", allowing the MP's to decide what to discuss and vote on in two working days within the House of Commons, 16 amendments were offered to the Speaker of the House and 8 were chosen to be discussed. A summary of the 8 amendments will be provided shortly however, all being rejected, we have only seen what the Parliament won't do during the coming days of Brexit. After the indecisiveness of the Parliament, even when left to their own accords, were made public; Theresa May tried her chance for the 3rd time with her EU-Leaving agreement. To increase her chances, she offered her seat as Prime Minister signaling that as long as the deal passed "she'd leave earlier than anticipated". Even such enticing words for those hungry for the seat weren't enough to push the agreement through. Thus bringing another failed attempt by the British government and the Parliament to put an end to the long, tiresome process that has haunted news-cycles since the day of its conception. The rejected amendments were as following:
Leaving with no deal, come 29th of March, if no deal has been agreed upon. (Rejected)
Common Market 2.0, UK joins European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the European Economic Area (EEA) and makes a comprehensive customs arrangement with the EU. (Rejected)
Custom Market 2.0, minus the customs arrangement. The idea was to charm people in favor of strong borders and inner market power. (Rejected)
Permanent customs arrangement, no matter how the rest of the Brexit goes, a solution aimed to calm the worried markets. (Rejected)
Super Light Brexit, offered by Labor MPs (Rejected)
The Emergency Brakes, in the event of a no-deal, 2 days before the exit to be finalized, parliament would have to vote on a no deal Brexit. If the Parliament votes against a no-deal scenario Article 50 would be revoked immediately, essentially cancelling the Brexit process altogether. (Rejected)
Referandum 2.0, The public is given a vote on any agreed upon or possible Brexit scenarios and agreements. they are asked to vote between them, or to vote for Brexit to be cancelled if no offered agreement satisfies them. (Rejected)
Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) to be sought with EU after Brexit (Rejected)
Either the House of Commons votes on an EU negotiated exit plan in the coming week, in which case Brexit would be delayed until May 22nd to give enough time to both parties to finish up bureaucratic work, or UK leaves with no deal on the 12th of April. Understanding that May has the only EU agreed deal in the Parliament and it has been rejected three times now, with less than two weeks left to the deadline means the choices are limited. From now on its either her deal, no deal or no Brexit. We have no way to find out, other than keeping a lose eye...
Brunei Anti-Gay Laws, World Reactions:
A now made public bill that is set to go into law this Wednesday, in the Kingdom of Brunei, has created uproar around the world and even attracted celebrity attention. The bill is unfortunately no news for the Island, as this bill was initially introduced in 2013 as a part of a bundle of motions and attracted too much attention worldwide so was shelved by the government. The Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan, who is also the first, only and incumbent Prime Minister of Brunei named Hassanal Bolkiah, is known for his extreme leaning views on Islam and Sharia Law. The law that was found too controversial to pass in 2013 was very silently re-surfaced in December of 2018 and slowly made its way to realization. If the law is set into motion as expected on Wednesday, homophobic activity or any form of adultery will be punishable by death. Notably US, UK, Austria, Australia and New-Zealand have reacted, although with questionable severity, quoting concerns on some of the punishments in the law appearing inconsistent with international human rights obligations. Some celebrities also called for boycotts of high-class hotels that have connections with Brunei hierarchy.
Boeing 737 Max, Updates and Company Reactions:
The recent updates surfaced after the black-box of the Ethiopian Crash that killed all 157 people on board was recovered. It is now believed that an oversight in the new design for "incoming attack sensors" were responsible for the sudden loss of control by the cabin crew. An update has to the software has been issued by Boeing, though it is hard to believe their problems will end here. The effects of these news on the company itself was damaging instantly, dropping their market shares instantly. However, the company to this day continues signing huge contracts. We will have to wait and see if there will be any long lasting ramifications. For now all we can do is send our good will those who are affected.
Boeing 737 Max Timeline Courtesy of LiveMint by Paras Jain
Did You Know?
Today is the day Japan officially announces the word of their new imperial era. Whenever an emperor steps down and another takes his place, he declares a word symbolic in nature that defines his expectations for the nation. Of course nowadays Japan's imperial ruler is only a symbolic figure, but the family is still held in high regard and their messages has social impact. Update* (1st of April 2019): The word has been revealed to be "Reiwa" meaning order and harmony. Look out for the speculations of what this word may mean for the nation of Japan in the coming days. While on the topic of Japan, keep your eyes peeled for pictures of Sakura blossoms as it is peak season and photographers from all levels of experience are sharing the wondrous event signaling the arrival of spring.
What to Look Out for in the Upcoming Week
We have all heard news of Article 13, how it has gone under many changes and eventually was voted in by mostly clueless old men. Wait until you hear more of it, this time coming from the capital of humanitarian freedoms, Russia. The new law passed for internet censorship and criminalizing "the insult of the state and its officials". Keep watch on both countries to see how censorship is boycotted by the people and how governments deal with it. Comparing those answers with China's policies will give you a good understanding of the possible grim picture of our technology dependent future.
WRITTEN BY ANIL CAN KACAR
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