Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU
By Alex Hunt & Brian Wheeler - BBC News
12 December 2016
Why is Britain leaving the European Union?
A referendum - a vote in which everyone (or nearly everyone) of voting age can take part - was held on Thursday 23 June, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union. Leave won by 52% to 48%. The referendum turnout was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting.
What was the breakdown across the UK?
England voted for Brexit, by 53.4% to 46.6%, as did Wales, with Leave getting 52.5% of the vote and Remain 47.5%. Scotland and Northern Ireland both backed staying in the EU. Scotland backed Remain by 62% to 38%, while 55.8% in Northern Ireland voted Remain and 44.2% Leave.
What has happened since the referendum?
Britain has got a new Prime Minister - Theresa May. The former home secretary took over from David Cameron, who resigned on the day after losing the referendum.
Like Mr Cameron, Mrs May was against Britain leaving the EU but she says she will respect the will of the people. She has said "Brexit means Brexit" but there is still a lot of debate about what that will mean in practice especially on the two key issues of how British firms do business in the European Union and what curbs are brought in on the rights of European Union nationals to live and work in the UK.
What about the economy?
The UK economy appears to have weathered the initial shock of the Brexit vote, although the value of the pound remains near a 30-year low, but opinion is sharply divided over the long-term effects of leaving the EU. Some major firms such as Easyjet and John Lewis have pointed out that the slump in sterling has increased their costs.
Britain also lost its top AAA credit rating, meaning the cost of government borrowing will be higher. But share prices have recovered from a dramatic slump in value, with both the FTSE 100 and the broader FTSE 250 index, which includes more British-based businesses, trading higher than before the referendum.
The Bank of England is hoping its decision to cut interest rates from 0.5% to 0.25% - a record low and the first cut since 2009 - will stave off recession and stimulate investment, with some economic indicators pointing to a downturn.
2016年12月26日 星期一
week7 ISIS伊斯蘭國
Scores of ISIS fighters killed in Mosul
BY REBECCA KHEEL - 12/26/16 11:30 AM EST
Nearly 100 fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were killed by Iraqi and coalition forces Sunday as the battle for Mosul continues, according to Monday reports.
The 97 militants were killed in three separate incidents, Iraq's Joint Military Command reportedly said in a statement.
In the first, Iraqi forces detonated two car bombs as ISIS fighters were trying to advance near a federal police position south of the city. The bombs killed 21 ISIS fighters, the Iraqi military said.
The second incident happened as ISIS tried to launch attacks on military positions using car bombs and suicide bombers in the neighborhoods of Intisar, al Salam and al Shaimaa' in southeastern Mosul. Iraqi forces killed 51 ISIS fighters, according to the military.
Finally, coalition aircraft carried out airstrikes on an ISIS gathering in al Wahda neighborhood in eastern Mosul, killing 25.
Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, is ISIS’s last urban bastion in the country, and, as expected, they’ve been fighting fiercely to keep it against the ongoing coalition offensive. ISIS has held the city since 2014.
Iraqi, Kurdish Peshmerga, tribal militia and coalition forces launched an offensive in October to retake the city. Iraqi special forces entered the city limits within weeks, but advancement has slowed as the fight has turned into street-by-street urban warfare.
The U.S. military typically does not tout the number of enemy killed, citing a desire to avoid the Vietnam War practice of using "body counts" as misleading measures of success.
Estimates have placed the number of ISIS fighters killed in the two-year anti-ISIS campaign at anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000.
Who: ISIS fighters
When: 12/26/2016
What: ISIS fighters' killing
Where: Mosul
Keywords:
ISIS,
ISIS fighters,
Mosul,
killing,
bombs,
street-by-street urban warfare,
25,000 to 50,000 fighters
網址:
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/311826-scores-of-isis-fighters-killed-in-mosul
2016年12月5日 星期一
2016年12月4日 星期日
Week5 unnamed aerial vehicle
Sky Magic Live at Mt. Fuji: Drone Entertainment Show
Beautiful backdrop of the world heritage site Mt. Fuji was used to stage the first Live performance using MIDI controlled LED flying machines, accompanied by Shamisens, the Japanese traditional guitars.
This was done so by utilising more than 20 units of these flying machines, flight swarming formations, music, and 16,500 LED lights to combine into a single audio visual extravaganza. Furthermore, we are able to control the flying machines, visual and audio aspects concurrently, using the DMX512.
網址: http://midnightinthedesert.com/sky-magic-live-mt-fuji-drone-entertainment-show/
Actually, these flying machines mentioned above are called unnamed aerial vehicle. They create a beautiful show at Fuji Mountain in 2016, which mentioned in the article.
Key words:
unnamed aerial vehicle
Mt. Fuji
LED
the first Live performance
audio visual extravaganza視聽盛宴
What:
a beautiful show created by tens of unnamed aerial vehicles
When:
2016
Where:
Fuji Mountain
訂閱：
意見 (Atom)