Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered his first parliamentary defeat on Tuesday which could derail his plans for the country to leave the EU by October 31.
ADVERTISEMENTEven as he was campaigning to succeed Theresa May as Britain's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson was adamant to his lawmakers, electorate and fellow European Union leaders: the UK would leave the bloc by October 31 "no ifs, no buts."
But he, who criticised May's Brexit stance at every turn and even quit her Cabinet in opposition of the Withdrawal Agreement which was then rejected three times by lawmakers, was also handed his own significant parliamentary defeat on Tuesday.
Twenty-one of his own MPs rebelled against him and joined the opposition to demand a vote on a proposed legislation that would force him to demand an extension to Brexit to avoid the country crashing out without a deal on Halloween.
Here's how the world's papers covered the turn of events:
Britain
Unsurprisingly, the parliamentary defeat made the front page but the famously partisan press went with quite different headlines.
Left-leaning newspapers such as The Guardian and the Independent led with "Humiliation for Johnson as Tory rebels turn against him" and "Johnson loses control" respectively.
The Times, centre-right, headlined with "PM loses historic vote" while the right-wing Daily Telegraph, for which Johnson wrote a weekly column until his appointment as prime minister, made no mention of his defeat in its headline, going with: "Johnson demands election."
EU
The latest twist in the Brexit saga also made it on the front pages across the EU27, although slightly less prominently.
In Spain, embroiled in its own political crisis, El Pais led with: "Johnson suffers a crucial defeat in his Brexit plan."
Italy, whose own political crisis was resolved on Tuesday when the populist 5-Star Movement and the centre-right Democratic Party agreed to a coalition deal, woke up to "Johnson loses Brexit challenge" splashed across La Repubblica.
In France, where President Emmanuel Macron has often taken a tough stance against the UK regarding its exit from the bloc, Le Monde declared "Brexit: Johnson goes to war against his parliament," while Le Figaro went with: "Brexit: Opposition inflicts setback on Johnson."
"Defeat for Boris Johnson," featured prominently on Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday morning. Der Tagesspiegel chose to focus on the defection of MP Philip Lee to the Liberal Democrats, emphasizing: "Boris Johnson loses majority in parliament."
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US
The devastation unleashed by Dorian across the Bahamas grabbed the headlines in the US but Lee's defection from the ruling Conservative party also made it high up on the Washington Post's front page with "Defections bring loss for Johnson."
The New York Times has two stories dedicated to Brexit on its front page. The first one is entitled "Lawmakers foil Britain's leader with Brexit vote" while the other focuses on the rebellion within the Conservative ranks, led by former Cabinet ministers including Philip Hammond. It is headlined: "In EU divorce, Conservative Party stalwarts take a rebel turn."
