Theresa May dictates Brexit deal and an Uzbekistani music concert with a twist.
Sri Lankan President calls back top envoys for not answering phone
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena justified his orders of recalling the country’s top envoy to Austria, saying more such actions would follow if the foreign service did not shape up, Channel News Asia reported.
The president recalled his top envoy to Austria and five other embassy staff for failing to answer his long-distance telephone calls Saturday.
Ambassador Priyanee Wijesekera was given her orders after calls made by Sirisena to the embassy in Vienna went “unanswered for several hours,” Free Press Journal quoted a source.
“I am being attacked ferociously over social media for recalling the entire embassy staff. Yes, I did that to send a powerful message to other embassies,” Sirisena is reported to have said at a public meeting in Colombo.
The Channel News Asia report added, “Sirisena did not mention the reason as to why he needed to contact the embassy urgently, or why other avenues were not explored to reach the staffers.”
It’s my way or the highway for Theresa May
British Prime Minister Theresa May has given two options to the Members of Parliament in the Brexit deal — it’s either her proposed deal with the European Union or no deal at all, reported BBC
Speaking to BBC in a TV interview, May said that if Parliament does not ratify the Chequers plan, “the alternative to that will be having no deal.”
Many have raised concerns over the possibility of a ‘no deal’ as being proposed by the PM. Stating that a no-deal would be “catastrophic”, shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer told BBC, “It’s not viable. It’s rhetoric, not reality, and it can’t be allowed to happen.”
What May agreed to at the Chequers Summit in July has been fiercely criticised by some Brexiteers. Many say that playing by a “common rulebook” on goods would compromise the UK’s sovereignty.
The UK is set to leave the EU on 29 March 2019, and negotiations between the two sides are still taking place, the report added.
Pope Francis expels top Chilean bishop
Reverend Cristian Precht Bañados of Chile was expelled by Pope Francis Monday, said a statement issued by the Archdiocese of Santiago.
In a first, the Pope has decreed a formal resignation since every bishop in Chile offered to step down in May over the country’s sex abuse scandal.
A CNN report added, “Bañados’ defrocking comes at a time when the Catholic Church continues to get slammed over its response to allegations of sexual abuse against Catholic clergy over the years.”
Earlier in May, the Pope had called for a meeting of the Chilean bishops after receiving a 2,300-page report detailing sexual abuses by priests in the country. CNN said the report alleged that for decades church officials in Chile knew about and covered up cases of sexual abuse, even destroying records.
Last month, the Pope said, “No effort to beg pardon and seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient.”
A meeting of the church’s top officials is reportedly scheduled in February to address the scandal.
Meghan Markle’s latest cookbook project
Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex, has taken on a new project. In her first solo endeavour as a member of the royal family, Markle is supporting a new charity cookbook showcasing recipes from women whose community was affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, reported BBC.
The book, titled Together: Our Community Cookbook, features over “50 recipes from across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, and celebrates “the power of cooking to bring communities together.” It is supported by The Royal Foundation.
Markle first met the group of women in January this year who gathered to cook twice a week in a communal kitchen at the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre. Coming up with a cookbook was a way of ensuring the kitchen could operate more regularly with support from the sales.
“I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen; it is a place for women to laugh, grieve, cry and cook together,” BBC quoted Markle as saying.
Time magazine changes hands after eight months
Time magazine is changing hands once again, nearly eight months after it was sold to US media group Meredith Corp., reported BBC.
Salesforce.com co-founders Marc Benioff and his wife are personally buying the magazine brand for $190 million (£145.3 million). “The deal could close within a month but must first get regulatory approval,” BBC added.
Commenting on Time‘s legacy, Benioff tweeted, “The power of Time has always been in its unique storytelling of the people and issues that affect us all, and connect us all.”
“The Benioffs take over the publication at an uncertain time for print media. Time has cut its circulation and struggled with declining advertising revenues,” the BBC report added.
Meredith had had bought parent company Time Inc. in January and had sold some its most well-known magazine titles soon after, said the report.
Uzbek city hosts concert on dried Aral site
Moynaq, a small city in Uzbekistan, made history last week as it hosted the country’s first electronic music festival, but with a twist, reported Al Jazeera.
The Stihia concert was held where the mighty Aral sea once stood. The ship graveyard, littered with the skeletons of vessels rusting away in the sand served as reminder.
“The festival organizers wanted to raise awareness of the desiccation of the Aral and call for a more responsible approach in the notoriously water-hungry region,” Al Jazeera added.
In the 1960s, the Aral sea fell victim to Soviet development projects when Amu Daria and Syr Daria, two rivers that flowed into the sea, were diverted to support Soviet’s cotton growing regions. As a greater part of the economy shifted towards agri-business, fishing industry in the region collapsed.
“By the mid-1990s, the coastline retreated over 100 kilometres and the sea lost three-quarters of its water,” added the report.
Environmental damages followed as the sea died and groundwater under toxic.
Currently, both the United Nations Development Project and the Uzbek government are trying to address the effects of the disaster on the local populations. Measures include improving people’s health, education and environmental security, promoting entrepreneurship and developing local infrastructure.