British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced backlash Thursday over his decision to suspend Parliament next month, increasing the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit.
The move limits legislative time before Britain leaves the European Union on Oct. 31.
Protesters took to the streets in England after Queen Elizabeth II approved Johnson’s motion on Wednesday. An online petition against the suspension garnered over a million signatures.
More from The New York Times:
His new timetable has Parliament resuming work on Oct. 14, after the political parties hold their annual conferences — and several days later than previously expected. In addition, he has scheduled an address to Parliament on that date by the queen, laying out his government’s agenda, which lawmakers must then debate, taking up several critical days.
Elsewhere in the E.U., far-right political parties are on the rise.
In Germany, the Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, is expected to win key state elections in Saxony and Brandenburg.
This could bring simmering tensions in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union to the surface and hasten her departure from German politics.
In Italy, normally adversarial political parties are joining forces to thwart a common enemy.
The Five Star Movement, normally anti-establishment, and the center-left Democratic Party reached a deal to form a new government.
This thwarted a power play for the position of prime minister by far-right Northern League party leader Matteo Salvini (https://thehill.com/policy/international/459163-italy-forms-new-coalition-government).
Here’s some of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s address from the The Guardian:
It’s a delicate period for the country and we need to exit the political uncertainty soon,” Conte said after a meeting with [Italian President Sergio] Mattarella on Thursday. “This will be a new season, a time for relaunch … it won’t be a government ‘against’, but one that is for the citizens and modernizes the country.
What’s the future of far-right parties in Europe? What’s fueling their rise?
The G7 Summit was held in France this weekend. President Donald Trump was in attendance and made headlines for several comments.
Trump floated the idea of bringing Russia back to the G7. The rest of the leaders at the summit disagreed.
The president also suggested that next year’s summit be held at Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort in Florida. Critics panned the president’s proposal. Democrats announced they will investigate the president’s suggestion, saying that the comments prove his financial interest are shaping his decisions as president.
What will that investigation look like? Will Russia ever make it back to the table?
French President Emanuel Macron prioritized wildfires in the Amazon rainforest at the G7. The member countries agreed to a $22 million fund to fight fires raging in the rainforest.
However, a row between Macron and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro initially derailed the aid. Macron suggested that Brazil did not have sovereignty over the rainforest. Bolsonaro then said Brazil would only accept the aid if Macron withdrew the claim.
Brazil eventually accepted a $12 million aid package from Britain. Next month, countries that house sections of the Amazon are expected to meet to discuss how to protect the habitat.
What will the conclusion of that meeting bring? How much of the rainforest is truly in danger? Can we rebuild it?
Meanwhile, a U.S. cyberattack carried out in June hurt Iran’s ability to target oil tankers.
The attack targeted a database run by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps that was reportedly involved in an attack on an American oil tanker earlier this year.
The White House has not commented on the attacks.
How will this affect negotiations between the two countries? What does Iranian retaliation look like?
Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, is sinking. The government, led by President Joko Widodo, has announced it will create a new capital on the island of Borneo.
Widodo’s announcement has met with a broad range of reactions, from concerns about the environmental impact on Borneo to support — and suggestions that the president should focus more on Indonesia’s economy and its energy and health needs rather than on building a new capital.
Experts say that Jakarta’s residents have extracted so much groundwater that the level of the ground is changing.
We recap the global news that made headlines this week.
GUESTS
Simon Marks, President and chief correspondent, Feature Story News, serving audiences in the U.K., South Africa, New Zealand, Asia and elsewhere; @SimonMarksFSN
Jennifer Williams, Foreign editor, Vox; co-host of Vox’s foreign affairs podcast, “Worldly”; @jenn_ruth
Ron Nixon, International investigations editor, Associated Press; author of “Selling Apartheid: South Africa’s Global Propaganda War”; @nixonron
Luiza Franco, Reporter, BBC News Brazil; @luizavmf
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