Tausi Insider

Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that parliament cannot ratify the European Union’s free trade deal with Canada unless laws are changed, posing a challenge to the coalition government if it wants to avoid the matter going to a referendum. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) sets out the removal of tariffs on 99 per cent of all goods types traded between the EU and Canada, some over a period of up to seven years. It has been provisionally in force since September 2017, and has so far been ratified by 16 of the 27 EU member countries, with Germany’s coalition agreeing in June to add its signature. The Irish government had intended to do so as well through a vote in parliament once it cleared the legal hurdles. Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said last year that a delay would send out the wrong message on Ireland’s commitment to trade. However a member of the ruling coalition challenged it in the courts, arguing that the deal should be put to a referendum bec...

Israeli designate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the swearing-in ceremony for the new Israeli parliament the 25th Knesset in Jerusalem, on Nov. 15. POOL/Reuters Several leading Israeli businesses pledged on Monday to strengthen their internal anti-discrimination rules in the wake of remarks by hard-right members of Israel’s incoming government seen as undermining gender equality and minority rights. The remarks, including a call to scrap the Jerusalem gay pride march and another to ease a ban on individuals who support terror or racism from running for parliament, have alarmed many Israelis and drawn a warning from the country’s President. On Sunday, a member of the far-right Religious Zionism party – one of the parties in prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition – told public radio that hotels and doctors should be allowed to refuse services to people on religious grounds, provided others are available. Leading hospitals and health care providers, appare...