Thursday, December 6, 2018

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom Parliament started five days of debates ahead of a vote over Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal to leave the European Union.

The deal being debated is a withdrawal agreement for the United Kingdom (UK)’s exit from the European Union (EU), and a political framework defining ambitions for the future of the UK–EU relationship.

In a statement to the House of Commons shortly before debates began, Theresa May said “I have spent nearly two years negotiating this deal […] I have lost valued colleagues along the way, I have faced fierce criticism from all sides. If I had banged the table, walked out of the room, and at the end of the process delivered the very same deal that is before us today, some might say that I’d done a better job.”

Following the debates, a vote in the House of Commons is to determine if the deal will be implemented. The vote is scheduled for next Tuesday, December 11.

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

John Luk Jok, the South Sudanese minister for East African Affairs and a figure in independence from Sudan, died yesterday in Juba, the capital city of South Sudan. Luk, reportedly aged about 68, had suffered a prolonged illness, according to a family spokesperson. He is also credited with helping draft South Sudan’s Transitional Constitution prior to independence in 2011.

Michael Makuei, the Information Minister paid tribute to Luk. He said on Voice of America’s South Sudan in Focus programme “It is a great loss to the people of South Sudan, because John Luk had contributed a lot, and him and myself has done a lot in the legal sector and in the negotiations and in all aspects of governance system in South Sudan. So his death is not only a loss to the community, but a loss to the people and the government of South Sudan”.

One of South Sudan’s Vice Presidents, Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, also commented on Luk’s death to The EastAfrican. She said “John Luk was very honest, hardworking and a brilliant person who devoted his entire life to fight for South Sudan during the liberation processes until his death. He is a person the whole country will miss.”

Prior to holding the post of East African Affairs minister, Luk reportedly held positions as transport, justice, and petroleum, energy, and mining minster at different times since independence. Prior to the 2011 independence he served as a legal advisor during peace negotiations.