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