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Troubles mount for Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, Cardinal George Pell and Boeing. Here’s the latest:
Parliament rejects May’s Brexit deal
British lawmakers soundly voted against Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal plan, further deepening confusion just 17 days before the country is expected to leave the E.U. Follow our live updates here.
The defeat, Mrs. May’s second in just a few months, leaves Parliament sharply divided on how — or even if — to proceed with Brexit.
It will also likely intensify calls for Mrs. May’s resignation even though there are no clear front-runners within her Conservative party who could take her place.
What next? Lawmakers will now pivot to another crucial vote tomorrow on whether to leave the E.U. without a deal, which is hugely unpopular.
If parliament votes against a no-deal Brexit, they will then vote on Thursday on whether to postpone Britain’s withdrawal from the E.U.
Cardinal Pell awaits his sentence
George Pell, an Australian cardinal who was the Vatican’s chief financial officer and an adviser to Pope Francis, will be sentenced in Melbourne today for molesting two boys after a Sunday Mass in 1996.
By law, he faces up to 50 years in prison, but he could receive a lower sentence amid pleas from his supporters, including a former prime minister, John Howard, for reduced time.
Reminder: The cardinal was convicted of abuse in December, making him the highest-ranking Catholic clergyman to be found guilty of sexually abusing minors. But his guilty verdict was unsealed only two weeks ago, after a court lifted a gag order that kept the decision out of the public eye for months.
Impact: The charges against and conviction of the cardinal have hardened distrust and anger among Catholics in Australia, pushing the country’s once robust church into a drastic decline. The number of Catholics attending Mass has fallen to 12 percent in 2011 from 74 percent in the 1950s and is expected to fall further.
Boeing scrambles to contain blowback
Nearly half of the 737 Max 8 aircraft in the world have been pulled from use except in one notable country: the United States.
Two days after 157 people were killed on a Boeing 737 Max 8 flight from Ethiopia to Kenya, European Union officials grounded all of the planes traveling in and out of its member countries, following similar moves by aviation regulators in China, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it would examine the data from the Ethiopia crash but added that it was too early to determine what caused the fatal accident. And it cautioned against making comparisons to an October crash in Indonesia involving a Lion Air flight.
We’ll continue to bring you live updates here.
Another angle: The crash dented Ethiopian Airlines’ campaign to become Africa’s leading carrier, with a highly regarded and competitive aviation academy.
Go deeper: After the Lion Air flight, using the same 737 Max 8 model, crashed in October, The Times took a closer look at the relationship between Boeing and the F.A.A.
China claims Xinjiang camps are ‘schools’
A senior official from the western Xinjiang region, in an effort to push back on international criticism, told a room full of foreign and Chinese journalists that the internment camps for Muslim minorities were “like boarding schools where the students eat and live for free.”
He indicated that the camps would eventually be phased out and that the number of inmates would shrink, but he didn’t provide a timeline.
Reminder: China’s sweeping detention of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities has elicited widespread condemnation around the world, including from the U.S., Turkey and the United Nations.
Foreign experts, citing satellite imagery and government documents, have estimated that as many as a million people are held in these camps without trial as part of an effort to turn them into loyal supporters of the Communist Party.
Here’s what else is happening
1MDB: The U.S. Federal Reserve banned two former Goldman Sachs executives from the banking industry because of their roles in the global, multibillion-dollar fraud involving a Malaysian government investment fund.
K-pop: Lee Seung-hyun, who performs under the name Seungri for the immensely popular boy band Big Bang, has been accused of arranging for investors to receive sexual favors at a nightclub. He has denied the allegations but said he would retire to protect the reputation of the band.
Google: Alphabet’s board of directors agreed to pay Amit Singhal, a former top executive at the search giant, as much as $45 million when he resigned in 2016 after being accused of groping an employee. His payment was revealed in a shareholder lawsuit filed this week that accuses Alphabet of shirking its responsibilities and paying executives instead of firing them for just cause.
Nissan-Renault: The Japanese and French carmakers vowed to preserve their alliance and move past the removal of their former chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, whose arrest cast doubt on the future of the auto industry’s most successful partnership. Questions remain about how the two sides will overcome long-running tensions.
Costa Rica: The tiny Central American nation wants to wean itself from fossil fuels by 2050 under a broad decarbonization plan that could serve as a model for other countries. Its chief evangelist is an urban planner, Claudia Dobles, who also happens to be the nation’s first lady.
Venezuela: The U.S. is withdrawing all remaining diplomatic personnel from its embassy in the capital city of Caracas because of the “deteriorating situation” there, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Some see that as a possible precursor to some form of military intervention.
How to disappear: An employee at a Bitcoin security company set out to make himself disappear from the all-seeing eyes of the American corporate world and the government, without having to give up internet access. This is how he achieved it, in 15 (not so easy) steps.
Smarter Living
Tips for a more fulfilling life.
Recipe of the day: With a little forethought, marinated short ribs can be part of a balanced weeknight rice bowl.
Building a successful team is not just about finding the right people but also about fostering a strong sense of teamwork.
Women and performers share tips on how to stay safe on the dance floor.
Back Story
The otherwise invisible special counsel investigation takes regular public shape inside the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, where Paul Manafort will be sentenced today.
It is the same building where the special counsel, Robert Mueller, has used a grand jury to return indictments.
Your Back Story writer has visited the building often, over months of helping cover hearings involving Mueller targets, including Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.
A little over half a mile from F.B.I. headquarters, the courthouse has a bland limestone exterior, tall windows, long hallways and artificial lighting, which combine to create a sterile aura of law and order. Outside, protesters and camera crews have jostled as Trump associates enter and exit through revolving doors familiar to cable news junkies.
Today, guests will crowd into wooden pews as Mr. Manafort waits in a tiled holding room just off Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s chambers. He will enter the courtroom, perhaps for the last time, in a suit and tie, a special request granted by Judge Jackson.
Noah Weiland, from our Washington bureau, wrote today’s Back Story.
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Source : Nytimes
