Brexit without agreement is back on the table as EU-UK trade talks begin

Here is today Foreign policy February: TheBrexitthe process heats up again as the British government sets a deadline, Russia seeks to deepen its economic involvement in Syria, and West African leaders pressureJunta e Malisto appoint a new transitional government.

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The announcement comes as the British government is working to push legislation through Parliament that will dominate key parts of the Brexit withdrawal deal in recent years. Times Financial reported on Sunday the so-called internal market bill is expected to remove the legal force of the highly controversial Northern Ireland protocol, which observers have long argued is vital to maintaining post-Brexit peace and stability in Ireland.

The Irish border question revised. Northern Ireland Protocol was included in the withdrawal agreement as a way to prevent the return of physical infrastructure along the Irish border, which both the Irish government and the European Union argued could disrupt travel and trade, dealt a blow to decades of effort. for peace, and antagonize Republican paramilitary groups seeking to unify Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland in the south.

Under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, Northern Ireland would function normally within a new UK customs union but would continue to be subject to EU trade rules, effectively establishing the new UK economic border at sea Irish. The deal infuriated Northern Ireland unionists, who insist on keeping Northern Ireland’s equal seat within the UK.

Unionist influence. On Sunday, Democratic Union Party Sammy Wilson said that the withdrawal agreement was to be revoked and Johnson charged with treason in Northern Ireland. Johnson do it is said that tell the European Union today that the withdrawal agreement must be rewritten to protect the union between Britain and Northern Ireland. On Monday, EU officials warning London that there would be no trade deal if it tried to give up the withdrawal deal.

Economic impact. Economists have repeatedly warned that the economic impact of a Brexit without a deal could be severe. On Monday, business leaders in Britain doubled those warnings, showing Johnson that securing a Brexit deal was essential to the UK’s economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic.

But markets already seem to have responded negatively to the latest news. On Monday, the pound fell slightly against the US dollar, losing 1 percent of its value on the first day of negotiations.

September 8-10. The eighth round of Brexit negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union is taking place.

September 8th. US and UK trade representatives meet for final round of trade talks.

September 8th. The trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who is appearing in court on corruption charges, begins.

9-12 September. The ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) takes place.

September 10-11. French President Emmanuel Macron hosts the Med7 summit with leaders from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain.

September 11-12. EU finance ministers will meet for their first personal meeting since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

September 11-13. Russian local elections take place.

Navalny is responsible after poisoning. The Berlin hospital that cared for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said that he is now out of his coma and is responsible, after confirming last week that he had been poisoned by nerve agent Novichok. It remains too early to assess the possible long-term effects of his severe poisoning, the hospital said in a statement.

The revelation that Navalny, one of the harshest critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was poisoned has strained relations between Germany and Russia. German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested that it could jeopardize the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Moscow did not take action on the suspected attack.

Khashoggi attackers convicted. A court of Saudi Arabia sentenced eight people in prison for their involvement in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi Arabian government under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. UN officials and human rights activists criticized the trial because the real perpetrators of the murder will be allowed to be released. Saudi authorities are closing the case without the world knowing the truth about who is responsible for Jamals’s murder, wrote Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancée, in a statement.

Doubt has long revolved around the crown prince for his alleged role in ordering the crime, and Khashoggi’s death in October 2018 led to the Saudi regime’s international condemnation and severely damaged bin Salmans, who carefully cultivated his image as a reformist.

Syria needs more Russian help. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he wants to expand his countries’ economic and business ties with Russia as a way to circumvent crippling US sanctions during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday. Lavrov hinted that Russia was ready to come to the aid of the Assads, scoring during a subsequent press conference that Syria needed international help to help rebuild its economy now that Assad has in control most of the territory he lost during the country’s brutal civil war.

The meeting was Lavrov’s first visit to the country since 2012, demonstrating Moscow’s continued interest in Syria after giving Assad critical military support throughout the civil war.

Juti Mali under pressure. The Heads of State of the Economic Community with 15 Nations of the West African States (ECOWAS) have i tha Malis has the newly formed junta that has until September 15 to appoint civilians to the positions of president and prime minister at the head of a new transitional government. Talks between coup leaders and opposition figures started on saturday but made little progress as opposition figures protested the proceedings. Like Philip Obaji Jr. recently wrote for Foreign policy, a democratic transition in Mali tackling the problem of corruption is vital to prevent further destabilization of the region.

The announcement of the blocs is his latest attempt to put pressure on the Malis junta as it tries to force a return to civilian rule. Shortly after the August 18 coup, ECOWAS imposed a series of sanctions on Mali to demonstrate its opposition to taking over the army. African leaders have been far less critical of elected leaders who use constitutional tricks to stay in power, Adem Abebe recently argued in the FPand to remain credible that they will have to condemn both military and constitutional coups .

Libyan talks are under way. Representatives of Libya, the UN-recognized National Accord Government (GNA) and its rival, the east-centered House of Representatives, u takua in Morocco on Sunday as the country continues to look for a way out of its nearly decade-long civil war. The meeting took place two weeks after the two sides declared a surprise ceasefire across the country. Although Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said he would applaud [the Libyans] regardless of the outcome of the talks, he stressed that the final resolution would have to be mediated by the United Nations.

Like Anas El Gomati recently wrote for Foreign policy, The head of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftars, to capture the capital Tripoli helped create a military blockade that could leave partition as the only lasting long-term solution for the country. Leaders of rival groups are expected to meet today for talks in Switzerland.

San Bernardino Unit of the California Department of Firefighting confirmed on Sunday that a revealing gender party using a pyrotechnic device that generates smoke appears to have caused one of the many current fires ravaging California. The fire started Saturday and has now spread to more than 8,500 acres, part of a much wider range of fires that have unleashed widespread devastation in California. Some nearby communities have been forced to evacuate.

It is not the first time a gender-exposed party was behind the start of a fire. In 2017, a future father in Arizona fired a rifle at an explosive-laden target that caused a 47,000-acre fire.

This is for today.

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Photo credit: Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP through Getty Images