Protesters demand new vote on Brexit – Radical cleric freed

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LONDON, Oct 20, (Agencies): Tens of thousands of protesters marched through central London on Saturday to demand a new referendum on Britain’s departure from the European Union. Organizers want the public to have a final say on the government’s Brexit deal with the EU, arguing that new facts have come to light about the costs and complexity of Britain’s exit from the bloc since Britons voted to leave in 2016.

Some 150 buses ferried thousands of activists from across the country to the British capital, and organizers estimated that over 500,000 took part. “What’s clear is that the only options on the table now from the prime minister are a bad Brexit deal, or no deal whatsoever,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who joined the “People’s Vote March,” told the BBC. “That’s a million miles away from what was promised 2 1/2 years ago.” Prime Minister Theresa May, the leader of Britain’s Conservatives, has ruled out another public vote on the subject. Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, but negotiations over the divorce have been plagued by disagreements, particularly over the future border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

It will be the UK’s only land border with the EU after Brexit, for Ireland is part of the EU and Northern Ireland is part of the UK. There are also growing fears of a “no-deal” British exit, which could create chaos at the borders and in the EU and the British economies. May, speaking at an inconclusive EU summit in Brussels this week, said she would consider having a longer post-Brexit transition period – one that could keep Britain aligned to EU rules and obligations for more than two years after its March departure. Pro-Brexit politicians in Britain, however, saw it as an attempt to bind the country to the bloc indefinitely.

Radical cleric Choudary freed: Radical cleric Anjem Choudary, a long-time thorn in the side of British authorities, was released from prison on Friday having served half his sentence for encouraging support for the Islamic State group. The 51-year-old was jailed for fiveand- a-half years in 2016, and will serve the rest of his sentence under strict supervision orders having been released from Belmarsh top-security prison in southeast London. He made no comment to reporters and photographers when leaving a probation hostel in the British capital.

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