Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Friday 24 May 2019
UK's May delays Brexit bill, faces showdown on resignation

LONDON (AP) — Increas- make the right decisions in
ingly isolated, Prime Minister the interests of the country,
Theresa May backed down this government and our
Thursday from plans to seek party," Leadsom wrote in a
Parliament's support for a resignation letter to May.
Brexit bill already rejected May moved quickly Thurs-
by much of her Conserva- day to replace Leadsom
tive Party, as expectations with former Treasury minis-
rose that she would cave in ter Mel Stride.
to demands that she resign But she also delayed the
and let a new leader try to bill, which May previously
complete the U.K.'s stalled said would be published
withdrawal from the Euro- Friday and put to a vote
pean Union. during the week of June 3.
Conservative lawmakers On Thursday, the govern-
have given May until Friday ment only promised an "up-
to announce a departure date" on the bill during that
date or face a likely lead- week.
ership challenge. Several The political turmoil
British media outlets report- weighed on the pound,
ed that she would agree which fell to $1.2601 on
to give up the prime minis- Thursday, its lowest point
ter's post June 10, sparking against the dollar since
a Conservative leadership early January.
contest. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip leave a polling station after voting in May met Thursday with two
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the European Elections in Sonning, England, Thursday, May 23, 2019. of her most senior ministers,
treasurer of the committee Associated Press Foreign Secretary Jeremy
that oversees Conserva- Hunt and Home Secretary
tive leadership races, said said. coming leadership race. vote on whether to hold a Sajid Javid, who under-
that if May did not agree Conservative lawmakers With her authority draining new EU membership refer- scored Cabinet concerns
to leave, there would be increasingly see May as an away by the hour, May on endum. about her bill.
"overwhelming pressure" obstacle to Britain's EU exit, Thursday delayed plans to That concession, which Slack said May was "listen-
for a no-confidence vote although her replacement publish the EU withdrawal could ultimately lead to ing to colleagues' views"
in her. will face the same dilem- bill — her fourth and likely Brexit being halted, was the and still hoped to secure
If May does name an exit ma: a Parliament deeply final attempt to secure Par- final straw for many Con- backing for her Brexit deal.
date, she will likely remain divided over whether to liament's backing for her servative lawmakers and But he said delivering Brexit
prime minister for several leave the EU, and how Brexit blueprint. ministers, who also balked had "proved more chal-
more weeks while Con- close a relationship to seek House of Commons leader at May's offer of a close lenging even than she had
servative lawmakers and with the bloc after it does. Andrea Leadsom — an- customs relationship with imagined."
members vote to choose a Few doubt this is the end- other likely contender — the EU, which would limit May became prime min-
successor. game for May's term, which helped seal May's fate Britain's trade autonomy. ister soon after the June
May's spokesman, James has been consumed by when she resigned late Leadsom said May's Brexit 2016 EU membership refer-
Slack, said she would still Britain's decision to leave Wednesday, saying she plan did not "deliver on the endum and has spent her
be in office when U.S. Presi- the EU. Senior Conserva- could not support May's referendum result" that saw entire tenure trying to de-
dent Donald Trump comes tives, including former For- withdrawal bill. The draft voters in 2016 opt to leave liver on that decision.
to Britain for a June 3-5 eign Secretary Boris John- contains measures aimed the EU. She seemed close to suc-
state visit. son and several members at winning support from "No one has wanted you to cess when she struck a di-
"She looks forward to wel- of her Cabinet, are already the opposition, including a succeed more than I have, vorce agreement with the
coming the president," he jockeying for position in the promise to let Parliament but I do now urge you to EU late last year. q

Hunger-striking Greek extremist wins new hope of jail leave

Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A lawyer for a Greek far-
left extremist jailed for 11 murders says Greece's
supreme court has ordered lower judges to re-
consider his request for a temporary leave from
prison, which had earlier been rejected.
Dimitris Koufodinas is serving 11 life terms for his role
as the main hit man for the November 17 group,
which killed 23 people between 1975-2000.
The 61-year-old is in intensive care due to the ef-
fects of a hunger strike he launched May 2 to pro-
test the rejection of his furlough bid — which has
sparked a violent arson and vandalism campaign
by far-left sympathizers.
Lawyer Ioanna Kourtovik said Thursday the su-
preme court agreed to have Koufodinas' de-
In this Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017 file photo, Dimitris Koufodinas
smiles as he leaves Korydallos prison in western Athens. mand re-examined by a panel of judges in the
Associated Press central town of Volos, where Koufodinas' prison
is.q