BRUSSELS: The chief of the European Union's executive arm says the Brexit deal the EU reached with Prime Minister Theresa May is the only deal on offer to Britain and will not be changed.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told EU lawmakers Wednesday that the legally binding withdrawal agreement agreed to late last year "remains the best and only deal possible."
Juncker says he remains open to talking with May and "I will listen to her ideas, but I will also be extremely clear about the position of the European Union."
Juncker said: "The debate and votes in the House of Commons yesterday do not change that. The withdrawal agreement will not be negotiated."
British lawmakers voted Tuesday night to send May back to Brussels to seek a better exit deal.
He said London's view of what needs revising in the agreement is still unclear to him, the likelihood of Britain leaving without a deal has increased since Tuesday's votes in the British Parliament.
EU chief Juncker says UK debate will not change Brexit deal
EU chief Juncker says UK debate will not change Brexit deal
- Juncker says he remains open to talking with May
- British lawmakers voted Tuesday night to send May back to Brussels to seek a better exit deal
Floods ravage Minas Gerais, killing 36 as rescuers race to find dozens missing
- Minas Gerais’s fire department said 33 people were still missing and about 3,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes
- 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters
JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil: Dozens are still missing in southeastern Brazil on Wednesday after floods killed at least 36 people in the state of Minas Gerais, officials said Wednesday. Rescue teams worked through the night, as heavy rain is expected in the region in the next few days.
All the victims found so far are in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 310 kilometers (192 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro.
Minas Gerais’s fire department said 33 people were still missing and about 3,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes as of Wednesday morning.
The streets of Juiz de Fora, a city of 560,000 residents, were covered in mud as authorities feared more landslides. Life in neighboring Uba, with its 107,000 residents, came to a stop. Classes were suspended in both cities, their mayors said.
Juiz de Fora’s City Hall said in a statement that around 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters and that the city experienced double the rain expected for February. Mayor Margarida Salomão said at least 20 landslides had been reported since the torrential rain began Monday evening.
On Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on his social media channels that security forces have been deployed on rescue missions and are providing immediate assistance to the population affected by the rain. He also said health care teams had been sent to the region, which lies close to hills, valleys and slopes.
