THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Sunday stood by his government’s decision to expel a Turkish minister, saying she had been an “undesirable” visitor to The Netherlands. “What happened yesterday is totally unacceptable,” Rutte told the public NOS broadcaster, after Turkey’s Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya ignored repeated Dutch requests to Ankara not to travel to Rotterdam for a planned rally. “It was undesirable that she was here,” Rutte added, […]
Tag: referendum
Battle over early elections grips Italy in limbo
ROME, Italy (AFP) – by Ella IDE A fight over whether to hold early elections gripped Italy Tuesday after Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s resignation left the eurozone’s third largest economy in political limbo. Renzi’s exit Monday after a crushing referendum defeat over constitutional reforms unleashed the political hounds, with all parties vying to take advantage of the power vacuum. “Italy is now entering into troubled waters,” Giovanni Orsina, political science professor at the Luiss University in […]
UK Labor leader defies revolt over Brexit strategy
by Michael THURSTON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s opposition Labor party leader Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he will not quit despite the resignation of 11 members of his top team Sunday over his handling of the EU referendum campaign. Corbyn, widely criticized for his lukewarm support for the Remain camp, said he will not betray the trust of the party members who elected him, and vowed to “reshape” his shadow cabinet starting on Monday. […]
Marine Le Pen hails Brexit, calls for French referendum
PARIS, France (AFP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Friday hailed Britain’s decision to leave the European Union and called for a similar referendum in France. “Victory for Freedom! As I have been asking for years we must now have the same referendum in France and EU countries,” the National Front (FN) leader tweeted. The eurosceptic, anti-immigration FN has accused the EU of suffering a “democratic deficit” and has long urged all members […]
Winners and losers from Britain’s EU vote
by Alice RITCHIE LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Here are the winners and losers from Britain’s EU membership referendum, after the country voted to leave the 28-member alliance, according to national media forecasts Friday: Losers – DAVID CAMERON There was widespread agreement among experts before the referendum that the prime minister, who put his integrity on the line for a “Remain” vote, could not survive losing. He promised to call the vote in 2013 on […]
Early support for Brexit sends pound plunging
by Robin MILLARD LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Early results from Britain’s knife-edge referendum showed unexpectedly strong support for leaving the European Union on Friday, sending the pound plummeting as investors feared a historic blow against the 28-nation alliance. Just minutes earlier, global financial markets had been surging after two opinion polls gave them hope that Britons would choose to stay in bloc, born out of a determination to forge lasting peace after two world […]
PM David Cameron votes in British EU referendum
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Prime Minister David Cameron cast his vote Thursday in Britain’s referendum on whether to remain in the European Union. Cameron, who has led the “Remain” campaign, went to a polling station in central London with wife Samantha to fill in his ballot, an AFP photographer at the scene saw. © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
Britain votes in historic referendum on EU
by Katherine HADDON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Millions of Britons began voting Thursday in a bitterly-fought, knife-edge referendum that could tear up the island nation’s EU membership and spark the greatest emergency of the bloc’s 60-year history. A record 46.5 million voters were registered to decide Britain’s future in the 28-nation European Union, which was born out of a determination to unite in lasting peace after the carnage of two world wars. Across much […]
Cameron holding Brexit vote ‘to blackmail’ Europe: Putin
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron is holding a referendum on EU membership to “blackmail” and “scare” Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Friday. “Why has he set up this referendum? To blackmail Europe? Or to scare it? What is the purpose if he himself is against” Britain leaving the European Union, Putin said during a meeting with representatives of news agencies, including AFP. “It’s not our business, it is the […]
Venezuela’s Maduro okays referendum if signatures validated
by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday he would allow a referendum vote on removing him from power if electoral officials validate the 1.85 million signatures submitted on a petition. Opposition leaders on Monday had presented reams of signatures to election authorities calling for a referendum to remove the man they blame for a crushing economic crisis. “If on this second step, they say that the […]
Bolivia rejects Morales’ bid for 4th term
La Paz, Bolivia (AFP)—Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has lost his bid to seek a fourth term, his first direct election defeat since taking office in 2006, according to official results released Tuesday. Morales, 56, has been in power for a decade, thanks largely to support from indigenous groups and grassroots organizations in one of the Americas’ poorest countries. While refusing to concede until the very end, Morales has promised to respect the official results of […]
Greece FM says action toward Greece is ‘terrorism’
(REUTERS) Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said European action toward the country was “terrorism” in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo and said a trillion euros would be lost if Greece was allowed to crash. “What they’re doing with Greece has a name: terrorism,” Varoufakis said in the interview, published on Saturday. “Why have they forced us to close the banks? To frighten people. And when it’s about spreading terror, that is known as […]





