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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 29, 2017)
Page 8 The Skanner March 29, 2017 News World News Briefs UK Set to File for EU Divorce, Triggering 2 Years to Brexit LONDON (AP) — Britain is set to formally fi le for di- vorce from the European Union Wednesday, walking out on a 44-year relationship, enacting the decision made by U.K. voters in a referendum nine months ago and launching both Britain and the bloc into unchart- ed territory. Prime Minister Theresa May is due to tell House of Commons at lunchtime that she has invoked Article 50 of the EU’s key treaty, the trigger for a two-year countdown to Britain’s exit. Just before May’s statement, scheduled for 1130 GMT (7:30 a.m. EDT), Britain’s EU envoy, Tim Barrow, will hand-deliver a letter from May to EU Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels. Photos were released of May signing the letter late Tuesday in the Cabinet room at 10 Downing St., un- der a portrait of Britain’s fi rst prime minister, Robert Walpole. The letter, which is several pages long, was whisked to Brussels aboard a Eurostar train, British media Raqqa Residents Trapped by Militants Ahead of Assault BEIRUT (AP) — As U.S.-backed forces bear down on the de facto capital of the Islamic State group, the mil- itants have taken their strategy of hiding behind ci- vilians further than ever before, eff ectively using the entire population of Raqqa as human shields. A belt of land mines and checkpoints has been laid on roads in and out the northern Syrian city to pre- vent escape. All men have been ordered to wear the jihadis’ garb of baggy pants and long shirts, making it diffi cult to distinguish militants from civilians. Hundreds if not thousands of Syrians who fl ed other parts of the country now live in tents in the streets, vulnerable to warplanes or ground fi ghting. Enormous tarps have been stretched for blocks in the city center to hide the militants’ movements from spy planes and satellites. The estimated 300,000 people trapped inside live in terrifying uncertainty over how to fi nd safety. Air- strikes by the U.S.-led coalition shake the city almost AP PHOTO/MATT DUNHAM reported. Barrow arrived at European Council head- quarters carrying a briefcase Wednesday morning, before his appointment with Tusk. A woman rides her bicycle during a pro-EU protest near Parliament Square in central London Wednesday. Britain will begin divorce proceedings from the European Union later on March 29, starting the clock on two years of intense political and economic negotiations that will fundamentally change both the nation and its European neighbors. daily, mainly hitting northern neighborhoods, amid reports of civilians killed by strikes in the nearby countryside. Leafl ets dropped by coalition warplanes give confusing directions — one suggests areas clos- er to the Euphrates River are safer, but then another See WORLD on page 11 F R E E M OV I E S C R E E N I N G wake of vanport Digital narratives and storytelling from fl ood survivors and residents SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2017 • 2 PM THE HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, OR 97212 Free to the public. Limited seating. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Together, this touching collection of truly heartfelt remembrances paint a poignant portrait of a short-lived, idyllic oasis —Movie Critic Kam Williams REGISTER ONLINE AT https://wakeofvanport.eventbrite.com PHOTO: Survivors gather on high ground to watch the destruction of Vanport. May 30, 1948. Photo by Allen deLay (1915-2005) ©Thomas Robinson Stories told by Vanport survivors and others closely related to the era will be screened at The Hollywood Theatre on Sunday, April 30 at 4:30 p.m. The stories focus on life in Vanport and the 1948 Memorial Day fl ood when a dike broke on the Columbia River. The rising waters completely destroyed Vanport, Oregon, the city built by industrialist and ship builder Henry J. Kaiser. Immediately following the screening there will be a discussion about possible plans for a Vanport memorial. SPONSORED BY: The Skanner Foundation • North Portland Multimedia Training Center (NPMTC) Mount Hood Cable Regulatory Commission • Portland Community Media The Regional Arts and Culture Council • The Oregon Historical Society The National Endowment for the Arts: Art Works • The Hollywood Theatre