2019
January
09
Wednesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

January 09, 2019
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Arthur Bright
Europe Editor

By most accounts, the Brexit legislative machine currently grinding away in Westminster is capable of producing only two outcomes: a Brexit built on the British government’s proposed deal with the European Union, or a no-deal Brexit that many view as an economic catastrophe in waiting.

As it stands now, Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan looks likely to be defeated when it comes up for a vote in Parliament on Jan. 15. But Parliament has been acting to prevent no-deal as well, in an effort to protect Britain from the risks of crashing out of the EU without any agreements.

On Tuesday, a cross-party bloc of Conservative and Labour members of Parliament voted to attach an anti no-deal amendment to a bill. Basically a poison pill triggered by a “crash out” Brexit, the amendment could be the first of many the bloc uses to dissuade the government from no-deal. And less than 24 hours later, another cross-party bloc voted that, in the event her Brexit deal is rejected, Ms. May must present a plan B for Brexit to Parliament within three days.

All together, it seems an emboldened Parliament is setting itself against a no-deal Brexit. Though much remains uncertain, especially with May’s plan in doubt, it suggests the Brexit machine may yet be turned toward a third outcome yet undetermined.

Now for our five stories of the day.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Amanda Voisard/Austin American-Statesman/AP
Shahid Shafi speaks in Austin, Texas, in December before members of the State Republican Executive Committee, following a vote in favor of a resolution that opposes an effort by the Tarrant County Republican Party to remove him as vice chair because of his religion. County officials are scheduled to vote Jan. 10.
Ilya Naymushin/Reuters
Combines harvest barley in Russa’s Krasnoyarsk Region. Though the debate over GMOs rages on in Russia and elsewhere, some in the US see anti-GMO sentiment as part of a Russian propaganda effort to disadvantage the US and benefit Russia.
Lauren Littell
Jocelyn Murzycki picks up trash during a run in Uxbridge, Mass., in November. What Ms. Murzycki says she's been doing for years – simultaneously running and collecting litter – has a Swedish-coined name, plogging, which entered at least one English dictionary last year.

The Monitor's View

Reuters
Military police officers check suspects in the streets of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, Jan. 9.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir waves to supporters during a rally at the Green Square in Khartoum, Sudan, Jan. 9. In place since an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, he has been embattled of late, with deadly antigovernment protests occurring countrywide. Staggering inflation and a steep bread-price hike in December have helped fuel protests against his regime.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris and Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thank you for accompanying our exploration of the world today. Please come back tomorrow, when we will look at US voters’ growing desire for more impartial ways of drawing districts to bring an end to gerrymandering.

More issues

2019
January
09
Wednesday
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