British PM Theresa May pens open letter to Britons lauding Brexit deal
London, Nov 25 : British Prime Minister Theresa May has written a "letter to the nation" vowing to campaign with "heart and soul" for her Brexit deal once EU leaders sign off on it this weekend.
May, who hopes to seal the divorce agreement and outline of future ties with Europe at a Brussels summit Sunday, faces a daunting challenge winning the support of Britain's parliament.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that members of her own cabinet and EU diplomats are secretly working on "plan B" proposals, fearing lawmakers will reject the current deal.
But in the letter published in several newspapers, May insisted her agreement would "honour the result" of the 2016 referendum - when 52 per cent backed Leave - and be "a moment of renewal and reconciliation".
"It will be a deal that is in our national interest -- one that works for our whole country and all of our people, whether you voted 'Leave' or 'Remain'," May wrote on Saturday.
"It is a deal for a brighter future, which enables us to seize the opportunities that lie ahead." Reiterating Britain would be leaving the European Union on March 29 next year, she urged people to get behind the deal.
"Parliament will have the chance to do that in a few weeks' time when it has a meaningful vote on the deal," the prime minister said.
"I will be campaigning with my heart and soul to win that vote and to deliver this Brexit deal, for the good of our United Kingdom and all of our people."
May is struggling even to unite her ruling Conservatives, and Northern Irish parliamentary allies the Democratic Unionist Party, behind the plan.
Meanwhile, opposition parties including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalists, have all vowed to vote against it.
According to the Sunday Telegraph report, several senior ministers are now plotting the parameters of a Norway-style relationship with Brussels.
It said senior EU figures are "war-gaming" how the bloc could extend Article 50 - the mechanism used to leave the bloc next March - to allow for various scenarios.
Among them is a possible second referendum.
Responding to May's letter, Labour MP Stephen Doughty said it was "completely false" to claim the only options were her agreement or no deal.
"By rejecting this deal, parliament can give the public a real choice in a people's vote between leaving the EU on these terms or sticking with the deal we've got inside the EU," he added.
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
