Venezuala News

Stories of the week 10 February

This week the Brexit battle ground opened up with some retaliation from the EU after a couple of years of UK taunts. With May returning yet again to try and open negotiations despite the EU being clear that this was not an option, Donald Tusk pointed out what seems to be the simple truth that ‘there’s a special place in hell’ for those who promoted Brexit without a plan. And look where we are now…still no plan.

The Press were also quick to point out the Government’s other failings in creating this Brexit chaos. The UK is bullying developing countries into unfair trade deals. The benefit system and Government deceit is the real hell. We are being conned by lies, pantomime and half-truths were just some of the failings.

Brexit didn’t look any better on the wider stage with the potential for UK exports to be locked out of harbours around the word. The US will side with Ireland over No Deal and Europe and, in the ultimate insult to May, Europe says Jeremy Corbyn’s solution is the best.

Rumours of a fantasy No Deal Dunkirk Brexit spirit were finally ground into the dust with Nissan hinting that even a Government bribe of £60m wasn’t enough to keep them in No Deal Britain. The biggest free trade deal in history was signed between Europe and Japan, putting the final nail into the UK car industry’s coffin. Japan will move production to mainland Europe and have a zero tariff within seven years in any case.

But all is not lost for Brexiteers. Apparently, if Brexit is delayed by even a millisecond thousands of Tory voters will leave the sinking ship and join Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party. Hurrah.

In another shockingly appalling Government failure, the Windrush hardship fund had only helped one single person by the end of 2018. An absolute disgrace and so much for the Government denying ‘the hostile environment’.

Donald Trump continues to focus on Venezuela with threats of troops as well as aid. Europe has been thrown into disarray over whether to side with Trump on this or not. In the meantime, Maduro is convinced this is a ‘gringo’ plot to overthrow the revolution.

Environment

The Met Office have predicted global warming could exceed the dreaded 1.5C target within five years. We have already reached a melting point where the dissolving ice sheets will cause climate chaos.

This week saw the great tech rip-off. Cryptocurrency investors became locked out of $190m after exchange founder dies with the password.

Stories of the Week 27 January

In more shocking proof of the incredible global inequality we find ourselves in, figures released this week show that 26 people – think about that number for a moment – that number of people wouldn’t even half fill a single decker bus but they have the same wealth as 3.8 billion people. That’s right, 3.8 billion people. That’s a lot of buses. The Press wonder how long this inequality can and will continue.

If Brexit was a motorway, the carriageways in both directions would be littered with pile ups but still no delays.

Theresa May’s deal is seemingly even further away from parliamentary approval and there are reports of her withdrawing the Human Rights Act. Germany would like the UK to think again.

Airbus, Ford and Sony are among a host of companies either pushing the exit button or threatening to leave with a NO-Deal Brexit. Some Leavers are actually leaving too with Brexit hero Dyson becoming Brexit zero after jumping ship to Singapore.

Theresa May attempted to fix the tricky back stop issue by trying to rewrite the Good Friday Agreement. In other worrying reports there are 700 MI5 Officers in Belfast and Ireland has pointed out the potential for uniformed guards on a hard border.

Now at long last after the pile ups come the consequences. All sides of the Press and all sides of Brexit are coming to an uneasy agreement that Article 50 will need to be extended. Now there’s a surprise.

It all became too much. So much so that the Queen intervened although Rees-Mogg said NO 10 asked her to get involved.

An old friend of Brexit, Nigel Farage, returned this week with talk of a new party.

Borders seemed to be the centre of attention outside Ireland too. Trump’s US Government shutdown came to a temporary end for three weeks even though there is still no movement on financing his border wall.

President Trump also decided to exercise his powers across borders by backing the opposition in Venezuela creating civil unrest and a political upheaval along the way.

This week saw new moves to combat the rising and deadly problem of drug resistant superbugs that could bring medicine back into the dark ages and savagely reduce human life expectancy. In what is seen as a two-pronged approach, Doctors have been set targets to reduce antibiotic use and pharmaceutical companies are to be given large financial sums of money to produce the next generation of antibiotic drugs.