Former British secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs Boris Johnson is expected to become the UK’s next prime minister this week, vowing to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31 come what may, in the face of fierce opposition in British parliament.
The former London mayor is the runaway favorite to win the ruling Conservative Party’s leadership contest and replace British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday.
The postal ballot of 160,000 grassroots party members is expected to return Johnson, 55, as the new Conservative leader over British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt when the result is announced tomorrow.
Photo: AP
Any remaining ballots must be delivered by today at 5pm. Bookmakers give Hunt about a one in 15 chance of victory.
The center-right Conservatives command a razor-thin majority in the British House of Commons and Johnson’s opponents — both within and outside the party — are keen to scupper his leadership.
Opponents of Brexit, and especially of a no-deal departure, are plotting moves against Johnson.
Some Conservatives have hinted that they are prepared to bring down their own government rather than accept leaving the EU without a deal.
British Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke said he would quit the government if Johnson became prime minister.
He told the Sunday Times newspaper that a no-deal Brexit would cause national “humiliation.”
The newspaper reported that up to six pro-EU Conservative lawmakers were considering defecting to the centrist, pro-EU Liberal Democrats should Johnson win — leaving him without a legislative majority.
Pro-EU protesters on Saturday rallied in central London in anticipation of Johnson taking office.
The “No to Boris, yes to Europe” protest saw a giant balloon of Johnson flying outside parliament.
“I want to be on the right side of history. I think anybody who considers Brexit to be a good solution, really hasn’t considered the facts,” protester Tamara Bishop said.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship, in the clearest sign yet Beijing is advancing toward producing the nation’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery and Chinese government documents provided to The Associated Press. There have long been rumors that China is planning to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, but the research by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California is the first to confirm it is working on a nuclear-powered propulsion system for a carrier-sized surface warship. Why is China’s pursuit of nuclear-powered carriers significant? China’s navy is already
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) launched a week-long diplomatic blitz of South America on Thursday by inaugurating a massive deep-water port in Peru, a US$1.3 billion investment by Beijing as it seeks to expand trade and influence on the continent. With China’s demand for agricultural goods and metals from Latin America growing, Xi will participate in the APEC summit in Lima then head to the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week, where he will also make a state visit to Brazil. Xi and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte participated on Thursday by video link in the opening
IT’S A DEAL? Including the phrase ‘overlapping claims’ in a Chinese-Indonesian joint statement over the weekend puts Jakarta’s national interests at risk, critics say Indonesia yesterday said it does not recognize China’s claims over the South China Sea, despite signing a maritime development deal with Beijing, as some analysts warned the pact risked compromising its sovereign rights. Beijing has long clashed with Southeast Asian neighbors over the South China Sea, which it claims almost in its entirety, based on a “nine-dash line” on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of several countries. Joint agreements with China in the strategic waterway have been sensitive for years, with some nations wary of deals they fear could be interpreted as legitimizing Beijing’s vast claims. In 2016,
RSS