Rishi Sunak has arrived at the Conservative Party Headquarters in Westminster in the last few moments.
Tory MPs had gathered on the steps ahead of his arrival, with former health secretary Matt Hancock joining the crowds.
Mr Sunak was met by applause and cheers, shaking the hands of a number of those awaiting the arrival of their new leader.
The incoming prime minister waved to those waiting – and the cameras – before heading inside CCHQ.
Our political editor Beth Rigby has been talking us through what is likely to happen in the next few days after Rishi Sunak became the next Tory leader.
She said: “What’s he up to now? He’s addressing MPs – we haven’t seen him yet.
“But I think we are going to get a statement from him on camera later today. What does a new Conservative Party leader typically do?
“I imagine what we will see later today is he will go to Conservative HQ – this is what every new Conservative leader does.
“Then I think we will see tomorrow the handover of power, that’s when Liz Truss formally exits Number 10 and has an audience with the King, and then the new prime minister has an audience with the King and makes that journey from Buckingham Palace to the podium outside in the street.
“And he will address the nation.”
Beth added that this is an astonishing turnaround for Mr Sunak.
“But what a moment this is,” she said. “Rishi Sunak, he was down and out in July, he was out of the cabinet, he was back on the backbenches. There were questions about whether he would even remain as an MP.
“He is the first British-Asian prime minister… this really is a ground-breaking moment for the country in so many ways.
“But it’s also controversial because he is the third Conservative prime minister since the 2019 general election.”
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Source: Sky news, Beth Rigby
After a mainly shadowy leadership race, the veil has cleared and we now have a new prime minister. We’ll never know how many supporters Penny Mordaunt – or Boris Johnson – had, but it wasn’t clear if this would be a coronation or a struggle until the very end.
It is extraordinary to see the man who was defeated by Liz Truss seven weeks ago replacing her so soon. This time 12 days ago, Kwasi Kwarteng was chancellor and Liz Truss was pushing ahead with her economic vision. Few could have imagined Rishi Sunak would have another shot at the top job so soon.
But today it became clear a Sunak era was close. Pressure had been mounting on Ms. Mordaunt, who was stuck on 25 public endorsements this morning, to pull out as her team dug in. Behind the scenes, they said she had more than 90 backers. She might indeed have been close, but the momentum from the start of this race has been with Mr Sunak.
He did no media interviews, there were no swish videos – just one plain statement announcing he wanted to be the next prime minister.
The former chancellor has managed to bring together very different wings of the party, from Caroline Naokes to Suella Braverman. Even the most ardent of Boris Johnson backers James Duddridge eventually rowed in behind Mr Sunak. His allies say has been proven right on the economy, but the divisions in the Tory party run deep and could quickly resurface. He inherits a grim in-tray in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and will need to find a way to stop the Tory party from tearing itself apart.
They say divided parties don’t win elections. As the next general election slowly starts to creep into view, will Mr Sunak be able to unite the party enough to govern effectively? He certainly has his work cut out.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Source: Skynews
Western governments have expressed worry about the scale of nuclear bluster from senior Russian officials, including President Putin, over Ukraine, particularly in the aftermath of the February incursion.
How does Moscow react to charges it is engaging in such rhetoric and threats?
I asked one of Russia’s most powerful officials, Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SVR Foreign Intelligence Service, to respond to international criticism.
He denied any Russian nuclear rhetoric, even though there’s been plenty.
Mr Naryshkin pointed the finger back at the West.
“Will you state categorically that Russia will not use nuclear weapons in Ukraine or engage in other provocative actions, such as exploding a dirty bomb, or blowing up a dam?” I asked Mr Naryshkin.
Russia’s spy chief didn’t answer the question directly. “We are, of course, very concerned about Western rhetoric about the possibility of using nuclear weapons,” Sergei Naryshkin responded.
“Yesterday Russia’s defence minister talked by phone with his colleagues from Turkey, the US, and France. He told them about the possible plans of the Ukrainian leadership to use a so-called ‘dirty nuclear bomb’,” Mr Naryshkin continued.
“But there is no evidence to back up that claim,” I pointed out.
On Sunday the UK, US, and French governments issued a joint statement on the Russian government’s claims. They rejected what they called “Russia’s transparently false allegations” against Kyiv, adding: “The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation. We further reject any pretext for escalation by Russia.”
I was speaking to Sergei Naryshkin at the opening of an exhibition at the Russian Army Museum.
It is a sobering experience – an exhibition that transports you back to a time when the world was on the edge of nuclear Armageddon.
It marks the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. On the wall, there is a giant photograph of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and US President John F Kennedy. There are images of the Soviet missiles Moscow sent to Cuba, which the Kennedy White House demanded the Kremlin remove.
In the eyes of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, what are the lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
“The lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis is that political leaders must find the inner strength to reach compromises to resolve global problems,” Sergei Naryshkin told me.
It’s true that Kennedy and Khrushchev compromised to end a potentially devastating crisis. Khrushchev removed nuclear missiles from Cuba; Kennedy promised to remove American missiles from Turkey.
But six decades on, there is no sign that Russia’s current leader, Vladimir Putin, is prepared to compromise. Once more there is concern about a possible nuclear conflict.
And yet the war in Ukraine is very different from the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Back in February the Kremlin leader invaded a neighbouring country, a sovereign state; the war has been raging for eight months. Despite major setbacks on the battlefield, President Putin still seems determined to secure some kind of victory, both over Ukraine and against the West.
Former cabinet ministers rushed to congratulate Rishi Sunak on his victory in the leadership election.
It comes at a time when many people are looking for a return to the top table of government.
“Huge congrats to Rishi Sunak,” former health secretary Matt Hancock said. He is the prime minister we need.
“All of those who know Rishi well know he has the integrity, ability, and experience to lead our country in these troubled times.”
Sajid Javid – another former health secretary and ex-chancellor, said: “Congratulations Rishi Sunak on becoming the new leader of the Conservatives.
“We face huge challenges, but he has the skill and experience to bring the stability we need.
“Conservatives must unite behind him and deliver for the British people.”
Former housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Congratulations Rishi Sunak. I couldn’t be prouder of my friend today.
“He’s won the overwhelming support of the parliamentary party. There are huge challenges ahead, but I have every faith that with him at the helm, the country will succeed.”
Ex-Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith said: “In Rishi Sunak as prime minister, the United Kingdom has the best possible person to deal with the current challenges we face. Finally.”
And former business secretary Andrea Leadsom – a key backer of Ms Mordaunt – said: “Penny has done an amazing job and run an excellent campaign.
“Huge congratulations to Rishi Sunak and enormous gratitude to all those who have worked so hard on Penny’s campaign.”
Penny Mordaunt has stepped down at the last minute, paving the way for Rishi Sunak to become the next Prime Minister.
Mr Sunak had over 200 supporters as the two contenders raced to obtain 100 nominations by today’s 2 pm deadline.
Ms Mordaunt said in a statement that it was “clear that colleagues feel we need certainty today.”
“They have taken this decision in good faith for the good of the country…
“As a result, we have now chosen our next prime minister. This decision is a historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party.”
The Commons leader said Mr Sunak now has her “full support” and that now is the time to “unite and work together for the good of the nation”.
“There is much work to be done,” she added.
Ms Mordaunt’s withdrawal means there is only one candidate left in the race – Rishi Sunak – and therefore he will be the new leader.
After the jury was selected on Friday, Hollywood is prepared for the commencement of a fresh trial for Harvey Weinstein, which is slated to begin on Monday in Los Angeles.
Weinstein, who is reportedly in poor condition, has returned to Los Angeles and is being held in a prison cell while on trial for rape and sexual assault.
This court case comes after Weinstein was convicted in New York for other sex crimes, though that verdict is being appealed.
He denies ever having non-consensual sex with anyone.
The LA trial is expected to be much less of a spectacle, but it’s causing many in Hollywood to look back at the #MeToo movement and assess its success.
A recent study by the advocacy group showed that while 83% of respondents felt that progress has been made since 2017, a staggering 69% said they had personally experienced abuse or misconduct at work since the movement began.
“It’s lost momentum,” Women in Film executive director, Kirsten Schaffer, said of the movement for equal rights and representation for women.
Seasoned film producers often ask their stars to shoot sex scenes on the first day of filming. That way, an actor can’t change their mind about nudity halfway through a film when recasting would prove expensive.
That still happens in Hollywood, five years after stories of systemic sexual assault and harassment rocked Hollywood and ignited the #MeToo.
But now, it’s likely an intimacy coordinator will be on set making sure actors feel comfortable and safe as they simulate sex.
Schaffer continues: “I think there is forward motion. And that’s why it’s not super depressing,” she says, adding that five years ago the response to #MeToo was intense, with “so many people caring about it, putting new policies in place, launching programmes”.
And many people in Hollywood say those policies are working.
Actresses say they’re offered more interesting roles, and there are more opportunities for female crew members, writers and directors.
Rosanna Arquette, one of Weinstein’s first public accusers, was part of the Screen Actors Guild committee which helped introduce intimacy coordinators on set, to make sure everyone is comfortable in any scene requiring nudity.
“A lot of people were against the intimacy coordinators, but you know, a lot of abuse did happen that way,” Ms Arquette told the BBC.
Many aspiring actors say the industry has changed for the better. When we visited an acting class five years ago, many told us horror stories of the fear they face going into auditions – the very real fear that they might be sexually assaulted or propositioned in exchange for a role.
At the Michelle Danner Acting Studio this week, aspiring stars spoke to the BBC about their experiences auditioning and performing in low-budget films hoping to get their big break. Aside from a few sleazy propositions, most said they’d been treated with respect.
Ms Danner, who runs the acting studio and directs movies, says the casting couch will never fully disappear but that people are much more careful now.
Auditions have become much more safe and more formal experiences, with monitors and rules about the number of people in a room. And due to the pandemic, many are now taking them via video phone.
“The fears are real,” says Ms Danner, adding that people feel empowered to speak up now more than ever if there is misconduct at work.
“The #MeToo movement created that, and there’s no going back. I don’t think you can ever close the door to what has started.”
The Academy of Motion Pictures has responded to criticism of Hollywood by significantly diversifying its membership, inviting more women and people of colour to be part of the group which hosts the Oscars.
But it can only do so much and the statistics for women in film can be fairly grim.
According to the Center for the Study of Women in Film in Television, female characters accounted for just 35% of major characters in the top 100 grossing films in 2021, down three percentage points from the previous year.
And after reaching historic highs in 2020, the percentage of women directing top-grossing films declined in 2021. The number of women working as directors on the top 100 films retreated from 16% in 2020 to 12% in 2021.
But more women are producing film and TV – 32% of producers (up from 30% in 2020).
Many powerful female players like Reese Witherspoon have started their own production companies, to make the kind of films and TV shows they want to see. That urge has spread throughout the industry.
At the Danner acting school, actresses Josephine Hies and Meitar Paz have started producing as well as acting so they can have more control over the stories they tell.
As a producer you have “a different power in how you tell stories” and power over which stories are told, Hies said.
Harvey Weinstein’s downfall is now immortalized in a film. She Said stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as the New York Times reporters who investigated the sexual harassment and abuse claims against Weinstein. It’s due to hit cinemas in the US in November, and Weinstein’s lawyers failed in their attempt to delay its release, claiming it would prejudice the jury that’s just been selected against him.
At the film’s New York premiere, the stars rubbed shoulders with many of Weinstein’s accusers, some of whom have roles in the film.
Rowena Chiu, Weinstein’s former assistant who says he sexually assaulted her and then coerced her into signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement, or NDA, says she hopes the film will inspire healthier workplaces.
She came forward 20 years after the alleged assault to tell her story because she thought it was important to say that it wasn’t just Hollywood actors who were targeted.
“It’s important that we uphold the legal system. There were dozens of women he assaulted and only a handful can testify,” she said.
“I’m not involved in Hollywood. I don’t work in Hollywood,” she said.
“It’s important to show our stories.”
MPs have one hour remaining to choose their preferred candidate for the leadership battle.
At 2 p.m., we’ll find out if Penny Mordaunt made it onto the ballot.
If she does, an indicative vote will be held among MPs to see who they prefer to be a leader.
If no one drops out, the vote will then go to the membership of the party.
Chris Pincher, the disgraced former deputy chief whip, is at the center of an investigation that began last Thursday.
He is being examined for “actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its members generally,” according to the parliament website.
Mr Pincher resigned in June over allegations he groped two men – with the resulting fallout widely attributed to bringing down Boris Johnson’s government.
Last month, it was reported that Mr Pincher would not be investigated by parliament’s watchdog.
The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) reportedly dropped the complaint because the alleged incident had happened outside of the parliamentary estate.
Mr Pincher was the Tory MP for Tamworth as Staffordshire but now sits as an independent in the Commons.
A source within Penny Mordaunt’s campaign team has texted Beth Rigby to say: “We have now passed 90. For the sake of the party, it’s important our members have their say.”
Only 25 Tory MPs have publicly backed the Commons leader – compared with 180 for Rishi Sunak.
We heard from Boris Johnson’s campaign last night, as he stood back from the race, that he’d had 102 backers – something commentators have questioned.
It will become clear over the coming hours whether Ms Mordaunt’s campaign is inflating the number to try to gain momentum, or whether the bookies and onlookers like George Osborne have got this completely wrong.
Source: Skynews
If Rishi Sunak is elected, one of the first big concerns he will face is appointing a new defence secretary.
Of course, we don’t yet know who will be in his cabinet, but as think tank chief Torsten Bell points out, the present (and popular) Defence Secretary Ben Wallace’s stance on defence expenditure may complicate matters.
Unless Ben Wallace finds himself a climb down strategy the first crisis of this new government could be losing the defence secretary. We ain’t going to be spending 3% of GDP on defence
— Torsten Bell (@TorstenBell) October 24, 2022
Mr Wallace, one of the most experienced and well-regarded members of the cabinet, has campaigned hard for increases in defence spending.
One of Liz Truss’s key pledges had been to boost defence spending to 3% of national income by 2030.
But Jeremy Hunt – who is widely expected to stay on as chancellor when the new prime minister comes in – has refused to commit to this promise.
He said the Ministry of Defence would need to make additional savings, along with other departments.
Mr Sunak himself has also signalled he is unlikely to stand by the 3% spending promise.
He said this target was “arbitrary” and “not a plan”.
The former chancellor had also become embroiled in a row with Mr Wallace, with the latter claiming Mr Sunak had tried to block a multi-year settlement for the Armed Forces in 2019.
One of these comes from Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Brandon Lewis, who tweeted…
tweeted…
At a time of acute challenge, we must come together and unite. It is clear that the majority of our parliamentary party support @RishiSunak to be our next PM. He has the necessary expertise and experience to do that, and he will have my absolute backing in doing so.
— Brandon Lewis (@BrandonLewis) October 24, 2022
The other is from Ruth Davidson – the ex-leader of the party in Scotland and now a Tory peer.
She said: “I backed Rishi in the summer and continue to believe he’s the best person for the job.
“The challenges facing the country are significant, but the government has a duty to meet those challenges head-on – to level with the country as to why and to what end decisions are being taken. There are so many people struggling and worried out there.
“Frankly, a return to moderate, grown up, honest, the stable government cannot come soon enough.”
As the race to get on the ballot enters its dying hours, Penny Mordaunt is digging in.
The number of MPs publicly backing her hovered around 20 all weekend and anyone hoping Boris Johnson’s exit would see a flurry of his backers joining her camp will be disappointed.
Even Mr Johnson’s most passionate backers, like Nadine Dorries and James Duddridge, are rowing in behind Mr Sunak. It is clear which way the wind is blowing.
With over half the parliamentary party now backing the former chancellor, the pressure is mounting on Ms Mordaunt.
Former Chancellor George Osborne has taken to Twitter to urge her to step aside. He said that “she can’t command the support of a majority of MPs” and Mr Sunak is best placed to “reinforce the return of market credibility”.
But there is no sign of Ms Mordaunt giving up – her team says she is continuing to speak to colleagues from across the party and is “in it to win it”.
Allies say behind the scenes the numbers are closer than they seem.
Some MPs do believe the membership should have a say and want a contest – not a coronation.
Last time round Ms Mordaunt secured the backing of 105 MPs in the final round and there are still enough undeclared votes for her to make it onto the ballot.
But one of the biggest jobs for whoever takes over will be uniting a deeply divided parliamentary party; with three hours to go calls for Conservative MPs to unite around Mr Sunak are getting louder.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Source: Sky News
The SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, has written to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, asking him to table a motion of no confidence.
Writing to Sir Keir, Mr Blackford said: “As opposition leaders, we simply cannot stand idly by as the Tories attempt to impose their third prime minister in the space of three months. Now is the time to act.”
He added that the “rules of Westminster” means that only the leader of the Opposition – Sir Keir – can submit a formal no-confidence motion.
Mr Blackford acknowledges that the SNP and Labour will have different goals from the election but he hopes “we can act together to stop this shambles”.
The Tories cannot be allowed to impose a third Prime Minister without an election.
I’ve written to Keir Starmer making clear @theSNP will back a vote of no confidence in the Tory government if he tables it this week. We must put maximum pressure on Tory MPs to give voters a say. pic.twitter.com/r7uxjLcB8c
— Ian Blackford 🇺🇦🏴 (@Ianblackford_MP) October 24, 2022
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats are trying to use a “presentation bill” to amend the law which repealed the Fixed Terms Parliament Act to call for a general election this year.
The likelihood of this working is probably quite slim.
Wendy Chamberlain, the Liberal Democrats’ chief whip, said: “We future of our country cannot be left to another Conservative stitch-up. It must be in the hands of voters who deserve a say through a general election now.”
Rishi Sunak is addressing a caucus of arch-Eurosceptic Conservative MPs this morning, Sky News understands.
The European Research Group (ERG) was instrumental in opposing Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
Mr Sunak is speaking to them this morning in Westminster.
Both Mr Sunak and Penny Mordaunt were Brexit supporters, so will both be hoping for the ERG’s endorsement.
Mark Francois, the chair of the ERG, will be making a statement at lunchtime today.
Source:Skynews
George Osborne, who was chancellor during the David Cameron years, doesn’t have much expectation of Penny Mordaunt persuading 100 backers and taking this to a vote of Tory members…
Rishi Sunak will be Prime Minister by the end of the day. Some think,like me, he’s a solution to our problems;others think he’s part of the problem.But whatever your politics,let’s all celebrate the first British Asian becoming PM and be proud of our country where this can happen
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) October 24, 2022
Further, Mr Osborne thinks Ms Mordaunt should stand aside this morning.
He said: “Penny Mordaunt should drop out this AM.
“She can’t command the support of a majority of MPs.
“An uncontested election of Rishi Sunak today would reinforce the return of market credibility and show the Tories have rediscovered a will to win.
“She should then be part of his top team.”
Mr Osborne said that Mr Johnson’s decision to not run in the campaign was a “very welcome and sensible judgment”.
Sir Keir Starmer has said that a Labour government would not issue further gas and oil licences.
It comes after his party helped clinch Liz Truss’s doom last week with a vote to outlaw fracking. Tory whips transformed it into a confidence vote in the government, and while Ms Truss survived the vote, the pandemonium that followed – with reports of MPs being abused – meant she was gone within 24 hours.
Speaking to LBC this morning, Sir Keir said: “We accept there’s got to be a transition, so where there is oil and gas already being yielded that needs to continue as part of the transition, but no new sites, no new fields to be opened.
“We need to transition to renewables. We can do it … we can double our onshore wind, we can triple our solar energy and we can quadruple our offshore wind – and the sooner we do that, the better.
“I do think that new nuclear, as well, and hydrogen is part of the equation.”
Sir Keir was asked about a number of topics.
He said, “it was a straight no” when asked if the UK would rejoin the EU if Labour took power.
And he said the only way to get people a “sustainable pay rise” is to grow the economy.
Sir Keir said to do this institutions like the OBR and Bank of England need to be respected.
He also said that there was “not a great deal” between Labour and the Conservatives on immigration – although he did say he would scrap the Rwanda scheme.
Sir Keir said: “Now we don’t have free movement anymore, then you either have a pure numbers game or you have a points-based system that says ‘well, for certain types of jobs, certain types of roles here, you would get a number of points. I think that makes sense.
“So, in that sense, not a great deal between the major parties on immigration.
“We would have a slightly different approach and I would particularly want to welcome really good students.”
On Sunday, a major hurricane made landfall in western Mexico, bringing severe rainfall, flash flooding, and landslides.
Roslyn, a category 3 hurricane, made landfall in Nayarit state, with maximum winds of 195 kilometres per hour (120mph).
The hurricane has already been downgraded to a tropical cyclone and is likely to pass over the weekend.
Images of its aftermath showed flooded roads and upturned vehicles in Nayarit, with collapsed rooves and damaged homes in the worst affected area Tecuala.
Further south along the coast in Sayulita, people were pictured wading through and clearing mud from the streets in the area.
Flash flooding and power outages also hit the town of Puerto Vallarta in neighbouring Jalisco state, but only minor damage was caused, according to the state’s governor.
Enrique Alfaro Ramirez said people who had evacuated the area have since started returning to their homes. Flights have also resumed, he said.
He added, however, that beaches would remain closed for the time being.
Prior to the hurricane’s landfall, more than a dozen municipalities in Nayarit and Jalisco set up emergency shelters for those who had been evacuated.
In May, 11 people were killed after Hurricane Agatha struck southwestern Oaxaca state.
Scientists from the US weather service have predicted a very active hurricane season for this year with above-average numbers of named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes.
A Brazilian politician has been arrested after he threw grenades at police officers who arrived at his home in the state of Rio de Janeiro to arrest him.
Before surrendering on Sunday, Roberto Jefferson, an ally of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, wounded two officers.
Previously, a Supreme Court judge ordered his incarceration for disrespecting Chief Justice Cármen Luca. He had already been placed under house arrest for threatening her.
Mr Bolsonaro reacted by saying those who fired at police should be arrested.
The two officers were wounded by shrapnel from a grenade during the attack in Comendador Levy Gasparian, north of the state capital Rio de Janeiro. They were taken to the hospital and later discharged.
Mr Jefferson, the 69-year-old former leader of the PTB political party, also fired a number of shots from a rifle, shattering the windshield of a police car.
Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes had ordered the politician to be detained on the grounds that he violated the conditions of house arrest.
Political tensions are high in Brazil ahead of Sunday’s presidential election run-off between Mr Bolsonaro and left-winger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Lula – who is still seen as the front-runner – fell short of the 50% of valid votes needed to prevent a run-off in the first round earlier this month.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Berlin and other US cities to show their support for Iranian women facing government repression.
Protests have taken place in Berlin, Washington, and Los Angeles in solidarity with Iranian women who have been subjected to a violent government crackdown.
Widespread protests erupted last month after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the country’s morality police.
On the US National Mall, thousands of women and men of all ages – wearing green, white, and red, the colours of the Iran flag – chanted together.
“Be scared. Be scared. We are one in this,” demonstrators yelled, before marching to the White House. “Say her name! Mahsa!”
The demonstrations, put together by grassroots organisers from around the United States, drew Iranians from across the Washington, DC, area, with some travelling down from as far as Toronto, Canada, to join the crowd.
In Los Angeles, home to the biggest population of Iranians outside of Iran, a throng of protesters formed a slow-moving procession along blocks of a closed downtown street. They chanted for the fall of Iran’s government and waved hundreds of Iranian flags that turned the horizon into an undulating wave of red, white, and green.
Shooka Scharm, a lawyer who was born in the US after her parents fled the Iranian revolution, was wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” in English and Farsi. In Iran “women are like a second-class citizen and they are sick of it,” Scharm said.
Iran’s nationwide antigovernment protest movement first focused on the country’s mandatory hijab covering for women following Amiri’s death on September 16. The demonstrations there have since transformed into the greatest challenge to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement over disputed elections.
In Tehran on Saturday, more anti-government protests took place at several universities.
Iran’s security forces have dispersed gatherings in that country with live ammunition and tear gas, killing more than 200 people, including teenage girls, according to rights groups.
The official casualty figure is much lower.
The Biden administration has said it condemns the brutality and repression against the citizens of Iran and that it will look for ways to impose more sanctions against the Iranian government if the violence continues.
Between chants, protesters in Washington broke into song, singing traditional Persian music about life and freedom. They sang one in particular in unison – Baraye, which means because of – the unofficial anthem of the Iran protests. The artist of that song, Shervin Hajipour, was arrested shortly after posting the song to his Instagram in late September. It accrued more than 40 million views.
“Because of women, life, freedom,” protesters sang, echoing a popular protest chant: Azadi – Freedom.
Several weeks of Saturday solidarity rallies in the US capital have drawn growing crowds.
In Berlin, a crowd estimated by German police at tens of thousands turned out to show solidarity for the women and activists leading the movement for the past few weeks in Iran.
The protests in Germany’s capital, organised by the Woman*-Life-Freedom Collective, began at the Victory Column in Berlin’s Tiergarten Park and continued as a march through central Berlin.
Some demonstrators there said they had come from elsewhere in Germany and other European countries to show their support.
“It is so important for us to be here, to be the voice of the people of Iran, who are killed on the streets,” said Shakib Lolo, who is from Iran but lives in the Netherlands. “And this is not a protest anymore, this is a revolution, in Iran. And the people of the world have to see it.”
After Boris Johnson announced his withdrawal from the campaign to become the United Kingdom’s next Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has emerged as the frontrunner.
Among Conservative MPs, the former chancellor presently has the most declared supporters.
The focus now shifts to whether his remaining opponent, Penny Mordaunt, will satisfy the requisite 100 MPs when nominations end at 14:00 BST.
Mr Johnson withdrew from the race to succeed Liz Truss on Sunday.
The former prime minister – who was in No 10 until just seven weeks ago – claimed he had met the threshold required to stand but in a statement said “you cannot govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament”, adding that now was “simply not the right time”.
Many of Mr Johnson’s supporters were caught by surprise at his withdrawal. Essex MP James Duddridge, who gave the first indication that Mr Johnson was intending to run in the Tory leadership race, simply tweeted: “Well that was unexpected. Off to bed!”
With Mr Johnson out of the leadership race, several MPs have begun switching their nominations to the two remaining candidates.
Some 180 out of 357 Tory MPs have gone public with who they are backing, with Mr Sunak garnering support from 155 and Ms Mordaunt securing 25 backers.
Ms Mordaunt’s team said she was still in the running and within “touching distance” of getting enough backers, while Mr Sunak’s team said they were taking nothing for granted.
Damian Green, a former cabinet minister in Theresa May’s government and who is backing Ms Mordaunt, said her numbers are “well above” the published figure.
“We’re confident of getting to 100 before the deadline of two o’clock and putting to colleagues that the case that Penny is the person best positioned to unify the party,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
If she does reach 100 backers, the race could then go to an online ballot of Conservative Party members, with the winner of that being announced by Friday.
Mr Sunak is the firm favourite to replace Ms Truss as PM and could do so by as early as Monday afternoon if Ms Mordaunt fails to meet the benchmark.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who scrapped many of Ms Truss’s major economic plans announced in September’s mini-budget, has endorsed Mr Sunak.
In a piece in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Mr Hunt said: “To restore stability and confidence, we need a leader who can be trusted to make difficult choices.
“We have a leader who can do just that in Rishi Sunak.”
He added that Mr Sunak had been “proved right” over his “unfunded tax cut” warnings during the summer’s Tory leadership campaign.
Whoever wins the race will be the UK’s third prime minister in less than two months.
But there are growing calls from opposition parties for an immediate general election – with Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner saying Mr Sunak had not given a public interview since the leadership process began.
“The Tories are about to hand Rishi Sunak the keys to the country without him saying a single word about how he would govern,” she said. “No one voted for this.
“Perhaps it’s not surprising he’s avoiding scrutiny: after all, he was so bad that just a few weeks ago he was trounced by Liz Truss.
“It’s why we need an election now – people deserve a vote on the future of the country.”
SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford also said Tory MPs should put pressure on their next leader to immediately call for a general election.
“That the Tories can foist upon us a third prime minister in just three years without an election, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and economic crisis of their making, speaks to how unfair and undemocratic this Westminster system is,” he said.
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries has said it would now be impossible to avoid a general election, taking aim at the remaining two candidates.
Ms Dorries, a long-time ally of Mr Johnson, tweeted that Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt, “despite requests from Boris, refused to unite, which would have made governing utterly impossible”.
Ms Truss, who replaced Mr Johnson in No 10 following a lengthy leadership campaign in the summer, resigned as prime minister after 45 days in office marked by turmoil. She will become the shortest-serving prime minister in British history when she stands down.
Algeria’s presidency says, Prince Mohammed will not attend the upcoming Arab League meeting since his physicians have recommended he should not travel.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will not attend an upcoming Arab conference in Algeria due to physicians’ advice to avoid travel according to the Algerian presidency.
Saudi Arabia offered no immediate acknowledgment of the comments on Saturday by Algeria about the condition of Prince Mohammed, who has quickly risen to power under his 86-year-old father King Salman.
Statements carried in Arabic and French on the Algeria Press Service late on Saturday referred to a statement from the office of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune about a telephone call between him and Prince Mohammed.
In the call, Prince Mohammed “apologised for not being able to participate in the Arab Summit to be held on November 1 in Algiers, in accordance with the recommendations of doctors who advise him not to travel”, the statement read.
“For his part, Mr President said he understood the situation and regretted the impediment of the Crown Prince, His Highness the Emir Mohammed Bin Salman, expressing his wishes for his health and well-being.”
A statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency acknowledged a call between Tebboune and the prince but offered no word on the doctors’ advice. It just said the call focused on “the aspects of bilateral relations between the two fraternal countries” and possible joint cooperation.
The Arab League Summit in Algeria represents the first time the regional body has met since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across the world.
The Arab League, founded in 1945, represents 22 nations across the Middle East and North Africa, though Syria has been suspended amid its long-running war. While unified in the call for the Palestinians to have an independent state, the body has otherwise been largely fractious and unable to enforce its mandates.
Prince Mohammed came to power in 2015 as deputy crown prince, then became crown prince some two years later after King Salman removed Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a once-powerful figure as head of Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism efforts and a close ally of the United States.
His rise to power has seen the kingdom undergo rapid changes, like allowing women to drive and opening movie theatres while loosening the grip of ultraconservatives. He also launched a purported corruption crackdown that targeted the richest men in the kingdom and led an internationally criticised Arab coalition that staged a military campaign in Yemen.
US intelligence services linked Prince Mohammed to the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the prince’s policies. The kingdom has denied the prince was involved, though its prosecution of the government squad behind Khashoggi’s slaying has been held behind closed doors.
Recently, the prince has come under intense US criticism over Saudi Arabia’s leading OPEC and allied nations to agree to an oil production cut of 2 million barrels per day.
A TikTok video about sexual consent has been inundated with comments from men accusing women of assault.
Many of them mention Andrew Tate, the divisive influencer who has been barred from multiple sites due to his misogynist views.
The two-minute video, posted by an account with approximately 1,700 followers, has been viewed almost 1.2 million times.
Its creator Emmeline Hartley says she believes TikTok’s algorithms are driving more hate toward the film.
People using TikTok are served content based on a mixture of videos they have previously liked, and on which people like them have watched and commented.
TikTok said misogyny was prohibited on the platform.
“Our community guidelines specifically call it out as a hateful ideology and we are crystal clear that we do not want that content on our platform,” said a spokesperson.
It added that it had removed more than 100 comments from Ms Hartley’s video, which it said was a small proportion of the number that had been left.
Ms Hartley said she had found it impossible to make direct contact with someone from the platform to get help.
“We don’t have the capacity or the manpower to respond to all the comments,” Ms Hartley said.
“I thought, ‘what have I done? I’ve made a film that’s helping rape culture.”
She says she has seen other videos on TikTok that have been swamped with abusive comments where the creator is appealing for likes and positivity to help “pull them back from the wrong side of TikTok”.
Ms Hartley’s original video, Keep Breathing, was 18 minutes long and made in 2018, with funding from various local organizations in Derby and backed by the British Film Institute.
It is a fictional story featuring a couple arguing in a lift about a previous sexual encounter, interwoven with flashbacks to the evening it took place.
The characters had both been drinking alcohol, they met in a nightclub, and there were misunderstandings about how they were going to get home and whether the man was going to stay with the woman.
However, the clip she posted to TikTok in September featured only the pair’s argument and not the contextual flashbacks. When Ms Hartley tried to add a separate video featuring those, they were repeatedly removed by TikTok on the grounds that they were explicit.
She has now been able to share the context but says there are still many comments which are abusive towards women.
Although she considered removing the videos, Ms Hartley says she is content that she decided to share the post.
“I don’t regret it, but I’m trying to navigate how to respond,” she said.
“Some of the comments have been healthy, a couple of people have changed their minds while replying to each other. I think it’s important, it needs to go out there.”
Social media consultant Matt Navarra said that TikTok’s algorithm functions as a recommendation service, drawing both on the previous activity of the individual user and others like them, in order to serve up new content with which the person is also likely to engage.
This keeps them on the platform for longer and more frequently, which is good for advertisers and therefore also good for TikTok’s advertising revenue.
“It means if this content has been seen, engaged with, and liked by a group of users who are, for example, Andrew Tate fans, then it’s likely to show that piece of content to even more people who are that sort of user,” he said. “It’s self-perpetuating.”
The creator cannot stop this train once it is in motion, because they have no control over the algorithm itself and there are limited options for reporting issues, Mr Navarra added.
In July it was reported that Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, was going to make its algorithm more similar to TikTok’s, rather than prioritising content from accounts that individuals were already following.
The moves come amid increased tensions over North Korea’s onslaught of nuclear tests.
North and South Korea have fired warning shots off their western coasts, accusing each other of breaching their maritime border amid rising tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it broadcast warnings and fired warning shots to repel a North Korean merchant vessel that crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary, at approximately 3:40 am local time on Monday (18:40 GMT Sunday).
North Korea’s military said it fired 10 rounds of artillery warning shots toward its territorial waters, where “naval enemy movement was detected”. It accused a South Korean naval ship of intruding into North Korean waters on the pretext of cracking down on an unidentified ship.
“We ordered initial countermeasures to strongly expel the enemy warship by firing 10 shells of multiple rocket launchers near the waters where the enemy movement occurred,” the North Korean People’s Army said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
JCS said the North Korean artillery firings breached a 2018 inter-Korean accord on reducing military animosities and undermining stability on the Korean Peninsula. It said the North Korean shells did not land in South Korean waters but that it is boosting its military readiness.
There were no reports of clashes, but the poorly marked sea boundary of the Korean Peninsula’s west coast is a source of long-running animosities between the two countries. It is the scene of several bloody inter-Korean naval skirmishes and violence in recent years, including North Korea’s shelling of a South Korean island and its alleged torpedoing of a South Korean navy ship that killed 50 people in 2010.
The latest exchange of fire came amid simmering tension, with North Korea carrying out weapons tests at an unprecedented pace this year.
In recent weeks, North Korea has launched short-range ballistic missiles and hundreds of artillery rounds off its east and west coasts on several occasions in protest over its southern neighbour’s military activities.
South Korea’s troops kicked off their annual Hoguk defence drills last week, designed to run until October 28, and boost their own and combined ability with the United States to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. The two allies are also set to hold joint air force drills next week involving some 240 warplanes, including F-35 fighters operated by both nations. The drills are aimed at inspecting the two countries’ joint operation capabilities and improving combat readiness, the South Korean military said on Tuesday.
Pyongyang has reacted angrily to the exercises, calling them provocations and threatening countermeasures. Seoul and Washington say their exercises are defensive and aimed at deterring North Korea.
“Pyongyang’s politics of blaming external threats and projecting confidence in military capabilities can motivate greater risk-taking,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “North Korean probing of South Korean perimeter defenses could lead to a serious exchange of fire and unintended escalation.”
Author Salman Rushdie lost vision in one eye and uses one hand as a result of his stabbing in New York in August as reported by his agency.
“He has about 15 more wounds in his chest,” Andrew Wylie, a New York-based agent, also told Spain’s El País newspaper. “It was a brutal attack.“
Mr Wylie said he could not disclose the novelist’s whereabouts. The assault occurred at an event in New York state.
Mr Rushdie has long faced death threats for his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
Some Muslims regard the book as blasphemous. The man charged over the attack, US-born Hadi Matar, 24, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.
“He’s lost the sight of one eye,” Mr Wylie said in his interview with El País. “He had three serious wounds in his neck. One hand is incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut.”
Asked if the author was still in hospital, Mr Wylie replied: “I can’t give any information about his whereabouts. He’s going to live… That’s the more important thing.”
The novelist was forced into hiding for nearly 10 years after The Satanic Verses was published. Many Muslims reacted with fury to it, arguing that the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad insulted their faith.
He faced death threats and the then-Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa – or decree – calling for Mr Rushdie’s assassination, placing a $3m (£2.5m) bounty on the author’s head.
The fatwa remains active, and although Iran’s government has distanced itself from Mr Khomeini’s decree, a quasi-official Iranian religious foundation added a further $500,000 to the reward in 2012.
Mr Wylie told El País that he had discussed such threats with Mr Rushdie over the years. “The principal danger that he faced so many years after the fatwa was imposed is from a random person coming out of nowhere and attacking.
“So you can’t protect against that, because it’s totally unexpected and illogical. It was like John Lennon’s murder.”
Mr Rushdie was born in India in 1947. He was sent to boarding school in England before studying at the University of Cambridge. In 2007, he was knighted for services to literature.
There has been an outpouring of support for him, with the attack widely condemned as an assault on freedom of expression.
King Charles III is selling some of the racehorses inherited from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Her late Majesty was an ardent racehorse breeder as well as a racegoer and rider.
On Monday, Tattersalls auction house in Newmarket announced the sale of 14 of Queen Elizabeth II’s “brood mares.”
They include Just Fine, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, who oversaw more than 100 royal winners, and Love Affairs.
Tattersall’s spokesman Jimmy George said: “It’s nothing out of the ordinary. Every year they would sell horses.
“The Queen had brood mares of her own, she would breed them and sell them. You can’t keep them all.”
Mr George said the sale of the Queen’s horses did not symbolise the end of the Royal household’s connection with racing.
He said: “Every year owners sell stock. His Majesty is just doing what owners do.”
It was from her father, King George VI, that the Queen inherited the Royal Stud, a racehorse breeding centre at Sandringham that produced many of her winners.
Her racing manager John Warren previously said horses were a “tremendous getaway” from other duties and her support had been a major boost for British racing.
“I’m sure if the Queen had not been bred into being a monarch she would have found a vocation with horses. It was just simply in her DNA,” he said.
Images of students wearing “anti-cheating caps” for college examinations have gone viral on social media in the Philippines, eliciting laughter.
Students at one college in Legazpi City were asked to wear headwear to prevent them from peeping at the papers of their classmates.
Many others replied by making their own contraptions out of cardboard, egg cartons, and other repurposed items.
Their tutor told the BBC she had been looking for a “fun way” to ensure “integrity and honesty” in her classes.
Mary Joy Mandane-Ortiz, a professor of mechanical engineering at Bicol University College of Engineering, said the idea had been “really effective”.
It was implemented for recent mid-term exams, which were sat by hundreds of students at the college in the third week of October.
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her initial request had been for students to make a “simple” design out of paper.
She was inspired by a technique reportedly used in Thailand some years previously.
In 2013, an image went viral to show a room of university students in Bangkok taking test papers while wearing “ear flaps” – sheets of paper stuck to either side of their head to obscure their vision.
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her engineers-in-training took the idea and ran with it – in some cases innovating complex headgear in “just five minutes” with any junk they found lying around.
Others donned hats, helmets, or Halloween masks to fulfill the brief.
They also reportedly inspired schools and universities in other parts of the country to encourage their own students to put together anti-cheating headwear.
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her tutees performed better this year, having been motivated by the strict examination conditions to study extra hard.
She added that many of them finished their tests early – and nobody was caught cheating this year.
In his first comments on the murder of a 12-year-old girl, Emmanuel Macron described it as an act of “extreme evil.”
The French president stated that the family of the girl, Lola, deserved “the nation’s esteem and care.”
Lola’s body was discovered in a plastic trunk outside her apartment building in Paris last Friday.
A 24-year-old woman has been remanded in custody on suspicion of murder, rape, and acts of torture.
The woman is an Algerian immigrant whose residence permit had expired and who was under orders to leave the country.
Parties on the right and far-right have focused on this as a sign of a weak immigration policy.
Members of the far right held a rally in memory of Lola on Thursday in Paris, despite pleas by her family not to politicise her death.
In Brussels, where he was attending a European Council summit, Mr Macron told journalists: “I think all parents experience in their flesh what Lola’s parents experience.
“I think of her parents, her brother, and her half-brother, the distress of this family which is incredibly dignified and united.
“When we are faced with extreme evil, and we experience that it is possible in our society and that it is there, that is what is dizzying,” he added.
A tribute is being organized in the northern town of Fouquereuil, where Lola’s family is from and where they have retreated.
She is due to be buried on Monday in another local northern town. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin is due to attend, invited by her parents, according to BFMTV.
Lola disappeared last Friday after failing to make the short walk home from school in the 19th district of northeast Paris. By late evening, her body had been found inside a trunk on wheels.
An IMF team met with Ukrainian officials in Vienna this week and will continue to work on Ukraine’s request for additional programme monitoring in the coming weeks, according to IMF mission leader Gavin Gray.
Gray said IMF staff met Ukrainian authorities and discussed its findings with Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Andriy Pyshnyi.
He added that Russia’s invasion had caused tremendous human suffering and had a severe economic impact, with the fiscal deficit rising to unprecedented levels.
But IMF officials were encouraging Ukraine to refrain from measures that erode tax revenues.
The European Union will send Kyiv 1.5 billion euros each month in 2023 to assist Ukraine in its struggle against Russia’s invading soldiers, according to the bloc’s leader.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU had given Ukraine 19 billion euros this year. “It is very important for Ukraine to have a predictable and stable flow of income,” she said, adding that Kyiv estimated its monthly needs at 3-4 billion euros “for the basics.”
The EU chief told a news conference the EU would finance 1.5 billion euros per month of that, with the rest expected to come from the United States and international institutions.
“That will give a total of 18 billion for the next year – an amount Ukraine can count on and where there is a stable and reliable, predictable flow of income.”
In a joint statement to Daily Telegraph with the Tees Valley mayor, he says Johnson would lead “a broad-based, inclusive government drawing on talent from right across the Conservative Party, driven by a disciplined Downing Street”.
Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has already backed Johnson, while Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he was “leaning” towards supporting him.
Clarke, a Truss loyalist, said Johnson “is the person we need to lead our country and our party” as he can unite the UK, make Brexit a success, and control illegal immigration.
No one has yet confirmed they are entering the race, but the BBC’s latest tally suggests Rishi Sunak would have the backing of 56 MPs, Johnson would have 33 and Penny Mordaunt would be on 17.
With suggestions that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson may stand to be the leader of the Conservatives once more, let’s re-examine some of his final statements as PM.
When he made his resignation speech in September, one of his remarks fuelled much speculation.
“Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plough,” he said from the lectern outside No 10 Downing Street.
The reference from the Oxford University classics graduate seemed somewhat obscure to the ordinary listener and led to a rise in online searches for Cincinnatus.
Those who weren’t clued up on Ancient Roman history learned that Cincinnatus was said to be a legendary 5th Century BC Roman leader, who was called upon to lead Rome in a time of crisis, before later returning to his farm after resigning.
The crucial point people took from this historical tale, however, was that Cincinnatus supposedly made a comeback as a ruler later on.
Many have interpreted this as a suggestion from Johnson that he himself perhaps wishes to return as leader.
In his final session at Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament earlier in July, Johnson also bid goodbye by quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
“Hasta la vista, baby,” he said, which translates as, “see you later”.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Source: BBC.com
At least 15 EU countries seek a price cap in response to popular outrage over rising living costs, but Germany is adamantly opposed.
Despite hours of squabbling, European Union leaders have failed to achieve an agreement on a proposal to help protect their citizens from rising energy prices.
The group’s leaders emerged from their second summit in as many weeks at about 2 am in Brussels (00:00 GMT) with a “roadmap” to agreeing on a set of measures to lower energy bills, which have soared as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While the announcement of the summit text made a public show of unity among the 27 member states, the absence of any decision on capping gas prices indicated negotiations would remain difficult.
“We do now have a very good and solid roadmap to keep on working on the topic of energy prices,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in the early hours of Friday morning.
No timeframe was given on when a decision on price caps would be made, with EU energy ministers due to meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday for further discussions.
The published text calls on the European Commission and EU countries to find ways to shield consumers from the high prices “while preserving Europe’s global competitiveness… and the integrity of the Single Market”.
“There is a strong and unanimously shared determination to act together, as Europeans, to achieve three goals: lowering prices, ensuring the security of supply, and continuing to work to reduce demand,” said meeting host Charles Michel, the EU Council president.
The EU has been squabbling for months over which joint initiatives to adopt in negotiations made more challenging by the varying energy mixes in each country.
At least 15 EU states want a cap on gas prices amid growing public anger over the cost of living in countries including France and Belgium.
But Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, has resisted the call, arguing a cap risked freezing Europe out of the gas market and reducing incentives for energy saving.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the meeting outcome was a “good signal of solidarity” but there was frustration among other leaders.
Before the war, the EU got 40 percent of its gas from Russia, but in July it agreed to cut Russian gas usage by 15 percent. The move prompted Moscow to cut supplies, further contributing to the rise in prices. European gas prices reached a record high of more than 343 euros ($335) per megawatt-hour in late August.
“We are asked to show solidarity in sharing energy, but there is no solidarity on our calls for containing prices,” Italy’s outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi told his peers, an EU official familiar with the closed-door discussions told the Reuters news agency.
Prime Minister Alexander de Croo of Belgium, which exports gas to neighbouring Germany, shared similar sentiments.
“Solidarity should not just be on supply — it should also be on prices,” he told the gathering, according to the official.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who had gone into the summit saying Germany was isolating itself, expressed satisfaction with the result.
“The next two or three weeks will allow the commission to come up with these mechanisms” to be implemented.
He said it sent a “very clear signal to the markets of our determination and our unity”.
The European Union has promised to give Ukraine €18 billion next year to keep the country running while it fights Russian troops.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the announcement after the bloc’s 27 leaders met in Brussels.
She said the EU has so far given €19bn, adding: “It is very important for Ukraine to have a predictable and stable flow of income.”
It is estimated Ukraine needs about €3-4bn a month “for the basics” and the EU will finance €1.5bn of this, with the rest to come from other countries and international institutions.
“That will give a total of €18bn for the next year – an amount Ukraine can count on and where there is a stable and reliable, predictable flow of income,” she said.
The bloc is divided over further strengthening sanctions on Russia and Iran over claims that Russia is using Iranian-made drones in its war.
Poland and the three Baltic states suggested banning Russian diamond imports and phasing out steel trade more quickly, but Belgium and Italy are among those opposed.
Hungary is against any sanctions on Russia, while Germany and France have said current measures already go far.
The former deputy governor of the Bank of England says the future Prime Minister will have to keep Jeremy Hunt as chancellor.
Prof Charlie Bean has been telling BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme that appointing a new chancellor would “generate volatility”.
He says any change to Hunt’s economic programme would be “problematic”,
“It is a significant tying of hands.”
Prof Bean praises Hunt for doing “quite a good job” of calming the markets and setting out a broad direction by “unwinding two-thirds” of the cost of Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget which caused financial chaos last month.
He says there could be some “tweaking at the margins” of Hunt’s plans – but it would be “problematic” if the new PM came in and said they wanted a more significant change in the economic package ahead of the financial statement on 31 October.
Take a look at our latest tally:
No one has publicly said they’re running yet.
Our tally is based on MPs telling the BBC who they’re backing, or publicly declaring for a potential candidate, as compiled by the BBC.
You may say see different counts online – as others may be including MPs who‘ve privately told them who they’re backing.
We’ll bring you updates on the numbers as we get them.
Other names being floated as potential contenders are former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and international trade secretary Kemi Badenoch. Defence Secretary Ben Wallaceearlier ruled himself out of the contest.
Candidates need the support of at least 100 MPs by 14:00 on Monday – a much higher threshold than the last leadership race.
Source: BBC.com
“You have to really want it,” said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace about the job of prime minister today.
He clearly does not want it himself.
But he also clearly would like to see the return of his old political friend Boris Johnson.
The two go back a long way. In 2016, Wallace ran Johnson’s failed leadership bid after the Brexit referendum.
When Johnson resigned this summer, Wallace is said to have worried that losing him as a leader without a plan for a successor would land the party in trouble.
His support today was not totally unqualified. He did nod towards “questions” around Johnson.
The trouble is they are more than just “questions” for a significant number of Tory MPs who remember Johnson for the chaos he brought to Downing Street, the fact he broke the law while in office, was fined, saw dozens of resignations, and is still being investigated by parliament for lying.
Wallace said today a new Tory leader had to have a focus on unity, but that’s something Johnson may struggle to bring to his party.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Source: BBC.com
We stated in the previous hour that Ukraine had hit a critical bridge near Kherson, so here’s a rundown of what’s going on in the south.
Ukrainian forces have increased pressure on Russian positions in the occupied zone, focusing on resupply routes across the Dnieper.
Ukraine has long trailed a full-scale counteroffensive on the region, hoping to take back control. The city of Kherson was one of the first urban areas captured by Moscow’s forces and remains the largest city under Russian occupation. It is a key target for both sides due to its key industries and major river port.
The region of Kherson has been illegally annexed by Russia, and Vladimir Putin imposed martial law there earlier this week in an attempt to assert Russian authority.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has targeted key crossings along the Dnieper river to cut off Russian resupplies.
The Antonivskyi Bridge – the main route from Crimea to Russian-held territories in southern Ukraine – was struck late last night.
Russian authorities have set up ferry crossings and pontoon bridges to ferry supplies to Kherson after the bridge was made inoperable.
The defence ministers of Russia and the United States spoke by phone today according to reports.
According to the Russian state-owned news agency RIA, Russia’s Sergei Shoigu spoke with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin.
The report said they “discussed topical issues of international security, including the situation in Ukraine”.
“Today’s talks between Shoigu and the head of the Pentagon are the second since the start of the special operation in Ukraine,” the report said.
“The last ones were in May, the topic of discussion then was the same – topical issues of international security, including the situation in Ukraine.”
Russia’s defence ministry said in a post on Telegram that the call did take place.
The Pentagon said Mr Austin had “emphasised the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid the war in Ukraine“.
The young army commander who took power in the latest coup in Burkina Faso has been sworn in as interim president.
Capt Ibrahim Traoré, 34, promised to retake territory from Islamist extremists and organise elections in July 2024 as he took the oath of office.
The ceremony was streamed live on the national broadcaster RTB
September’s coup was the second in Burkina Faso in the past eight months.
Thousands have been killed and two million people forced from their homes during the country’s seven-year insurgency.
Sir Keir Starmer has urged Liz Truss not to take an allowance of up to £115,000 per year after she resigned as Prime Minister.
Liz Truss resigned from the lectern outside No. 10 on Thursday, following only 44 days on the job.
It means she will be able to claim the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA), which is currently fixed at £115,000 and is available to all previous prime ministers.
But the Labour leader said she’s “not earned the right” to the entitlement.
Former prime ministers are able to draw on the PDCA for any costs that arise as a result of public duties.
But Sir Keir, speaking to the BBC, said: “She shouldn’t take that entitlement. After 44 days she has not earned the right to that entitlement, she should turn it down.”
Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, has also said she should not claim the money.
“Most people have to work at least 35 years to get a full state pension,” Mr Davey told LBC radio. “I think working 45 days shouldn’t give you a pension that is many many times what ordinary people out there get after a lifetime of work”
Their remarks follow similar calls from unions and campaigners for the prime minister to turn it down.
The PDCA was announced by former prime minister John Major in March 1991 in the wake of Margaret Thatcher’s resignation.
It was introduced in order to assist former prime ministers still active in private life, with payments only made to meet the actual cost of continuing to fulfill public duties.
The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for office costs and secretarial costs “arising from their special position in public life” – for example, office costs, salaries for staff who help them with their work in public life, or travel to events where they’re appearing as an ex-PM.
It is not paid to support private or parliamentary duties.
All former prime ministers are eligible to draw on the PDCA. John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May have all claimed the allowance after leaving No 10. It is not yet known whether Boris Johnson has claimed the allowance as the figures, which are released every year, have not yet been published.
The current limit on what they are able to draw is set at £115,000 and has remained frozen since 2011.
Former PMs have not always claimed the full amount, and it is not paid automatically, so they have to provide receipts.
Both John Major and Tony Blair claimed the full amount for 2020-21, Gordon Brown claimed £114,712, David Cameron claimed £113,423 and Theresa May claimed £57,382.
The fund also allows former PMs to claim up to 10% of the cost of this allowance to fund the pensions of staff who work in their post-prime ministerial offices.
There is also a severance payment, which amounts to a one-off payment of 25% of the annual salary for the post that ministers have left. For prime ministers, it is about £19,000 (25% of £79,000 annual salary).
Ukraine has released 14 inmates in Novoazovsk, in the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic.
We don’t have any details about the Ukrainian prisoners released in the swap at this stage.
Reports from a news source indicate that Sweden’s speed cameras are disappearing and ending up in Russian-made drones in Ukraine.
According to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, more than 100-speed cameras have been destroyed and looted around the country since the end of August.
It is suspected that Russia uses the equipment in drones being deployed in Ukraine.
Swedish police told the newspaper: “We are aware of rumours that the equipment is being used in Russian home-built drones, but cannot go into detail about our intelligence work.”
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry has previously posted a video online of a crashed Russian drone being taken apart.
It showed a Canon camera (similar to that used in Swedish speed cameras) attached to the drone with Velcro.
After Liz Truss’ resignation, the official Twitter account of Ukraine’s government issued a tweet that appeared to be sympathetic to the former leader, fueling rumors that Boris Johnson will try to reclaim his position as Prime Minister.
Mr Johnson is well-liked in Kyiv for his support for the country in its fight against Russia’s invading forces.
However, the meme based on the Netflix series Better Call Saul and posted by the @Ukraine account triggered a significant backlash, with some even pointing to the Uxbridge MP’s alleged links with Russian figures including Evgeny Lebedev – newspaper owner and son of ex-KGB agent Alexander.
Evgeny Lebedev was made a lifelong peer in the House of Lords during Mr Johnson’s tenure as PM.
The tweet was later deleted.
The Kremlin has avoided answering whether President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to leave Kherson.
Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s spokesman, addressed the question to the defense ministry, stating, “This question concerns the conduct of the special military operation.”
“I recommend you address it to the defence ministry.”
It comes as Russian-installed officials are evacuating tens of thousands of residents from the western side of the Dnipro river, which splits the region.
It also comes after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of planning to blow up a major dam in the region.
Meanwhile, Russia said that Ukrainian forces had killed at least four people and injured 13 in a missile attack on civilians leaving Kherson.
Mr Peskov also took a subtle dig at what he hinted was a lack of democracy involved in the process to choose a new British prime minister following the resignation of Liz Truss.
Asked about the possible return of Boris Johnson to the top post, he said: “We do not expect insight and political wisdom from anyone in the countries of the collective West, let alone Britain.
“Especially in Britain, where people do not choose the person at the head of the executive branch, who appears as a result of internal party shake-ups.”
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of plotting to blow up the Dnipro River’s Kakhovka hydropower facility.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, such a move would wreak extensive destruction.
What do we know about the dam?
What would happen if it was blown up?
Much of the Kherson region would be flooded.
Destroying the hydroelectric power plant would also add to Ukraine’s energy supply issues – the war has damaged a third of its national power network.
Mr Zelenskyy told the European Council on Thursday that destroying the dam would mean “a large-scale disaster”.
It would also show Russia had accepted it could not hold onto the region, he added.
Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, said earlier in the week that Ukrainian forces were preparing a massive strike on the dam.
He agreed such a strike could be a disaster.
The US says Iranian military trainers are in Crimea teaching Russian soldiers how to utilise Iranian-made drones to attack targets in Ukraine.
“We can confirm that Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs and using them to conduct kinetic strikes across Ukraine, including in strikes against Kyiv in recent days,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told a daily briefing with reporters.
“We assess that … Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” Price said.
He added “we do have credible information,” but did not provide evidence.
Ukrainians are experiencing their first large-scale statewide power outages as officials reduce supply.
The action is intended to enable energy providers to repair power plants damaged by Russian air attacks.
The president’s office told Ukrainians late on Wednesday to minimise electricity use from 7 am to 11 pm and prepare for temporary blackouts if this was not done.
No schedule was announced for the outages, but cities such as the capital, Kyiv, and Kharkiv announced curbs on the use of electric-powered public transport such as trolleybuses.
They also reduced the frequency of trains on the metro.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russian air strikes damaged 30 percent of Ukraine’s power stations in just over a week.
The Estonian Prime Minister has called for a special tribunal to investigate Moscow.
“We have agreed sanctions in Iran because they are participating in the war … we are going to discuss Iran today, and we are going to discuss China and developments there,” Kallas said on her way to the second day of an EU summit.
“We definitely have to discuss the legal response to the crimes of aggression that have been committed in Ukraine … that can only be addressed by a separate tribunal,” she added.
Following Liz Truss’s announcement that she was going to step down as prime minister, the Kremlin said it did not expect Britain to choose its new leader with “political wisdom.”
Asked about the possible return of Boris Johnson to the top post, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We do not expect insight and political wisdom from anyone in the countries of the collective West, let alone Britain. Especially in Britain, where people do not choose the person at the head of the executive branch, who appears as a result of internal party shake-ups.”
Former prime minister Boris Johnson, an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, was ousted in July after a wave of scandals.
At the time, Russian media and officials celebrated the news of his departure.
Russia has likewise warmly welcomed news of Truss’s imminent departure.
Bye, bye @trussliz, congrats to lettuce
— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) October 20, 2022
