British lawmakers approve bill to start Brexit…Read full details

In a still image taken from footage broadcast by the UK Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) on February 8, 2017 Members of Parliament react as the deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle announces the results of the main vote on the EU Notification of Withdrawl Bill to the members of parliament in the House of Commons in central London on February 8, 2017. British MPs overwhelmingly backed a bill on February 8 empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to start negotiations on leaving the European Union, bringing Brexit a significant step closer. Members of the House of Commons voted by 494 votes to 122 for a law enabling May to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which begins two years of talks on pulling out of the 28-nation bloc.<br />/ AFP PHOTO / PRU / – /

British MPs overwhelmingly backed a bill on Wednesday empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to start negotiations on leaving the European Union, bringing Brexit a significant step closer.

Members of the House of Commons voted by 494 votes to 122 for a law enabling May to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which begins two years of talks on pulling out of the 28-nation bloc.

“We’ve seen a historic vote tonight — a big majority for getting on with negotiating our exit from the EU and a strong, new partnership with its member states,” said Brexit minister David Davis.

The unamended two-clause bill now moves to the House of Lords, where there may be more opposition from unelected peers — and where May’s Conservative party does not have a majority.

But its passage through the Commons, where two-thirds of MPs had campaigned against Brexit ahead of the June referendum, puts May on course to begin the withdrawal process by the end of March, as she has vowed.

– Labour headaches –
The referendum result sent shockwaves around Europe, spooking investors and raising fears for the future of the EU itself.

In the early weeks, there was speculation that pro-European lawmakers might try to delay or even stop the Brexit process.

May initially sought to bypass parliament, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court that last month ruled she must obtain their approval to trigger Article 50.

But during five days of debate on the resulting government bill, it became clear that most MPs would not stop the process — even if some warned that leaving Europe’s single market could be disastrous.

The opposition Labour party and the smaller Scottish National Party (SNP) tabled amendments demanding guarantees on market access, workers’ rights and those of EU citizens in Britain.

Each was defeated, although during the process the government was forced to promise lawmakers a vote on the final Brexit deal before it is concluded.

Labour imposed a “three-line whip,” a tough disciplinary measure ordering its MPs not to oppose the legislation, ensuring it would pass.

But some 52 Labour MPs rebelled in Wednesday’s vote, including business spokesman Clive Lewis who resigned shortly beforehand, bringing a fresh headache for embattled leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn.

After two-thirds of Labour voters backed Brexit, many of them driven by concerns over mass immigration from the rest of the EU, Corbyn decided his party could not block the process.

“Real fight starts now. Over next two years Labour will use every opportunity to ensure Brexit protects jobs, living standards & the economy,” Corbyn wrote on Twitter following the vote.

But he was swiftly reprimanded in a reply by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon: “How? You’ve just handed the Tories a blank cheque. You didn’t win a single concession but still voted for the bill. Pathetic.”

– ‘Ode to Joy’-
SNP lawmakers voiced their frustration during Wednesday’s vote by singing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, the EU’s anthem, before being told off by Deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.

But the outcome was celebrated by Brexiteers such as Nigel Farage, former leader of the UK Independence Party.

“I never thought I’d see the day where the House of Commons overwhelmingly voted for Britain to Leave the European Union,” he wrote on Twitter.

Liberal Democrat lawmaker Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister, said the vote would allow the government to pursue its aim of a hard Brexit, which will see Britain pull out of the single market.

“There is no mandate for the hardest of hard Brexits the government favours, which risks leaving us poorer, weaker and more isolated,” he said.

May has promised to prioritise controlling migration in the Brexit negotiations, even if that comes at the expense of giving up membership of Europe’s single market and its 500 million customers.

Nobel Peace Laureates denounce Trump ‘hate’ speech…Read full details

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos. / AFP PHOTO / RAFAEL ZARAUZ

Nobel Peace Prize winners condemned US President Donald Trump at a gathering on Thursday at which their host accused him of “a discourse of hate” against immigrants.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, the prize’s latest winner for progress towards ending his country’s civil war, opened the four-day summit of peace prize winners in Bogota.

“Discrimination, the refugee crisis and the growing, absurd rejection of migrants under a discourse of hate and exclusion that wins over the hearts of frightened people. What can we say to humanity?” Santos said.

He did not name Trump but his comments were widely interpreted as an attack on the US leader’s recent moves to restrict immigration from Latin America and seven Muslim-majority countries.

Other laureates such as Tawakkul Karman of Yemen, Costa Rica’s former president Oscar Arias and US anti-landmine activist Jody Williams also spoke up to criticize Trump at the gathering.

Student charged with murder in Quebec mosque attack…Read full details

Alexandre Bissonnette, a suspect in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque, is seen in a Facebook posting. Facebook/Handout via REUTERS<br />

A Canadian political science student known to have nationalist sympathies was charged Monday with six counts of murder over a shooting spree at a Quebec mosque — one of the worst attacks ever to target Muslims in a western country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned as a “terrorist attack” Sunday night’s assault on the Islamic Cultural Center in a busy district of Quebec City, which sent terrified worshippers fleeing barefoot in the snow.

Eight people were also wounded in the crossfire, and five of them remained in critical condition in hospital Monday.

Alexandre Bissonnette, who made a brief court appearance after surrendering to authorities, was charged with six counts of premeditated murder and five of attempted murder, police said.

More indictments are expected later, police added.

“There are search warrants underway,” a spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told a press conference.

“We hope to obtain the evidence to reach the point where we will be able to lay terrorism and national security charges,” she said.

So far, authorities have shed no light on what may have prompted the attack.

Local media said Bissonnette is a Quebec nationalist and anti-feminist who recently “liked” US President Donald Trump’s page on Facebook. He also has reportedly expressed support for French far-right politician Marine Le Pen.

Both police and witnesses had initially described two masked men opening fire inside the mosque, where worshippers were gathered for evening prayer.

But authorities said Monday that a second person detained had only been questioned as a witness.

Explaining how one suspect was eventually let go, the RCMP said: “This morning and last evening we had reason to believe that two individuals should be arrested, that two people had participated.”

After investigating, they said: “we reached the conclusion that we should focus on one single suspect. And there was no reason to believe that the other individual had participated.”

– Victims are dual nationals –
Some 50 people were in the mosque at the time of the attack.

The dead are all dual Canadian nationals: one Moroccan, two Algerians, one Tunisian and two Guineans.

Quebec has traditionally attracted Muslim immigrants from North Africa.

Bissonnette, who is a student at Laval University, surrendered 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the city after calling an emergency services hotline an hour after the attack to reveal his location.

“It is a domestic investigation at this time,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Martin Plante said.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the nation’s security threat level remained at medium — requiring security forces to be on guard but having no specific information about an imminent threat.

It was raised to this level in October 2014 after a lone gunman attacked parliament.

– Open door to Muslims –
Police are continuing to collect evidence in a bid to “identify exactly who is involved and what was their motivation,” Goodale said.

Authorities, he added, don’t have “sufficient, hard facts yet to be able to draw conclusions.”

The Quebec mosque had already been the target of hate: a pig’s head was left on the doorstep last June during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Other mosques in Canada have been targeted with anti-Muslim graffiti in recent months.

Police stationed near the mosque told AFP that they had feared this type of attack “because it’s happening all over the world.”

The shooting came as Canada vowed to open its arms to Muslim refugees after Trump’s controversial immigration ban prompted travel chaos and outrage around the world.

“Last night’s horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians,” Trudeau said.

To the one million Canadians who profess the Muslim faith, he said “36 million hearts are breaking with yours,” alluding to the country’s total population.

“Canadians will not be intimidated,” Trudeau added. “We will not meet violence with more violence. We will meet fear and hatred with love and compassion.”

Trump telephoned Trudeau to offer his condolences following the attack, which was condemned around the world including by leading Sunni Muslim body Al-Azhar, as well as Egypt and Jordan.

– ‘Senseless violence’ –
Mohamed Ali Saidane, who lost a relative in the shooting, joined elected officials at city hall Monday to denounce escalating hate.

“The Arab-Muslim community has become the victim of populist politics,” he told AFP.

People fleeing the mosque — where custom requires worshippers to remove their shoes during prayer — did not have time to collect their winter boots.

“They arrived in a panic,” said Louis-Gabriel Cloutier, the manager of a cafe across the street who saw them fleeing the rampage.

Some took refuge at the cafe.

“I never thought that such a thing could happen,” said a man who frequents another of the city’s 10 mosques. He had ventured to the scene because “I know people who were inside.”

Hamid Nadji learned of the shooting from a friend and rushed to the mosque area.

“For us Muslims, Quebec and Canada had been a safe zone,” he said.