Category: International News

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give up his parliamentary seat amid a long-running ethics investigation that is expected to produce a report into his behavior as Prime Minister next week.

In a blistering statement announcing his resignation from the legislature, Johnson described as a “kangaroo court” the parliamentary committee tasked with examining whether he lied to fellow lawmakers about social gatherings inside government buildings that had flouted his own COVID-19 social distancing regulations.

The committee had provided him with a preview of its report, apparently prompting his decision. His departure statement, the investigative committee responded, had further “impugned” Parliament. Opposition parties termed the turmoil a “soap opera” and wished Johnson “good riddance.”

He and others — including current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — had previously received criminal fines for their behavior during the pandemic. But Johnson has long insisted that incorrect and misleading accounts he gave on several occasions to Britain’s legislators denying these “lockdown parties” — as they became known — had not amounted to intentional lies.

A magazine editor who became a member of parliament then mayor of London, Johnson took power at a time of chaotic division inside his own Conservative Party, stemming from Britain’s botched Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

After helping oust, then replace Theresa May, he led his party to a seismic victory in a 2019 general election, with Brexit as a rallying cry — allowing him to force through Britain’s eventual departure from the European Union.

But soon after, the pandemic upended his premiership, and his own personal behavior became problematic for much of the public, and many in Parliament too.

Controversies centered around those in Downing Street — including Johnson — dominated Britain’s politics, frustrating his legislative agenda and further fragmenting the Conservatives.

For months, eyewitness accounts, photographs and other evidence about parties piled up, infuriating a British citizenry wounded by more than 200,000 COVID-19 deaths and angered by the apparent hypocrisy of those in power.

Johnson eventually apologized — and narrowly stayed in the post despite deep discontent among many of his fellow lawmakers.

But a subsequent scandal involving allegations of sexual assault by a close parliamentary colleague — after Johnson’s appointment of the man to a prominent role — moved many members of his government to resign en masse, and soon after he too was forced to depart from Downing Street.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 struck Japan’s eastern regions, the country’s weather agency said on Friday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) the temblor occurred at 7:03 p.m. local time at a depth of 50 km.

It measured 5 lower on Japan’s seismic intensity scale which peaked at 7.

The temblor’s epicentre was located off eastern Chiba prefecture at a latitude of 35.6 degrees north and a longitude of 140.7 degrees east.

No tsunami warning had been issued.

Al Shabaab fighters on Friday attacked a military base housing Ugandan forces of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, with a Somali captain saying both sides suffered heavy casualties.

The militants attacked the base belonging to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in Bulamarer, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu.

Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) deputy spokesman Deo Akiiki“there was an attack this morning at our base by elements of al Shabaab but we are waiting for official communication from ATMIS headquarters.’’

ATMIS had been assisting Somalia’s federal government in its war against the Islamist group.

The mission was assessing the security situation, it said on Twitter, without providing details.

Al Shabaab claimed in a statement that it carried out suicide bomb attacks and killed 137 soldiers.

There was no immediate official confirmation of the casualties and the group tends to give figures that differ from those issued by the authorities.

The militants attacked an ATMIS base and an adjacent one belonging to the Somali military, a Somali military captain who gave his name as Abdullahi told Reuters from the Lower Shabelle region.

“That prompted a fierce battle for hours. All groups including al Shabaab suffered heavy casualties,” he said.

Residents of the town said they woke up to the sound of huge explosions and heavy weapons.

Local resident Rukia Farah said “Now we see al Shabaab in the town. We cannot know how many died. We are not hearing any shots from ATMIS and government now.’’

Since 2006, the militant group has been fighting to topple the government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

A government pushback since last year has seen the group’s control erode over vast swathes of land. But it is still capable of launching significant attacks on government, commercial and military targets.

A European Union court has annulled the approval for state aid granted to Italian airlines worth 130 million euros (140 million U.S. dollars) during the COVID-19 pandemic in a ruling.

The EU General Court on Wednesday cancelled the European Commission’s approval after finding that the basis for compatibility with EU law had not been sufficiently justified, according to a statement.

Budget airline Ryanair filed the complaint against the state support from Italy.

It follows a similar court decision taken against German state aid awarded to German airline company Lufthansa.

The 130 million euros in funds was intended to compensate the airlines for damages suffered as a result of COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

According to the EU General Court, the commission should have either explained why the competition authority had no issue with the state aid or started an investigation.

State support is usually closely regulated; however, restrictions were loosened during the pandemic.

The commission is the bloc’s top authority on competition matters and approves state subsidies.

The ruling may be appealed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the bloc’s highest court.

Britain’s inflation has eased back to its lowest level since March 2022 but remained higher than expected as food prices continued to rise at a near-record pace.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 8.7 percent in April.

It was down from 10.1 percent in March, as 2022 energy price hikes were not repeated.

But it was higher than forecast by economists, who had penciled in a drop to 8.2 percent in April.

ONS Chief Economist, Grant Fitzner said: “The rate of inflation fell notably as the large energy price rises seen in 2022 were not repeated this April.

“But was offset partially by increases in the cost of second-hand cars and cigarettes.

“However, prices, in general, remain substantially higher than they were this time last year, with annual food price inflation near historic highs.”

The figures showed food CPI inflation at 19.3 percent, down only slightly from March’s eye-watering 19.6 percent.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Although it is positive that it is now in single digits, food prices are still rising too fast.

“So as well as helping families with around 3,000 pounds of cost-of-living support this year and last, we must stick resolutely to the plan to get inflation down.”

Thai Government on Tuesday said seven people were killed and 23 others injured after a school sports arena collapsed in northern Thailand.

According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), the accident occurred at around 7pm local time on Monday when the roof of a primary school sports arena in Phichit province collapsed in a heavy rainstorm.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed condolences to the affected families and instructed relevant agencies to prioritize search efforts for the missing.

Anucha Burapachaisri, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister and government spokesman, said efforts were being made to assess the extent of the damage and provide prompt assistance to victims.

The injured individuals were transferred to two local hospitals, the DDPM said on its Facebook page.

Local media reports indicated that a whirlwind struck the metal roof of the building, resulting in the collapse of the entire structure and trapping students, parents, and school staff under debris.

Phichit Governor Payon Asavapichayon visited the affected site on Tuesday, where at least 100 local households reported damages due to the storm and further assessments were underway.

The school and other affected areas have been declared as public disaster zones.

As the rainy season begins, the Thai Meteorological Department has forecasted heavy and continuous rainfall in most areas of the country.

Montana has become the first U.S. state to ban the Chinese-developed social media app TikTok, as its Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law.

According to the Governor, the decision is to protect personal and private data from the owners whom are a Chinese company called ByteDance.

“To protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party, I have banned Tiktok in Montana,” Gianforte tweeted after signing the bill.

The new rule prohibits app stores from offering the video-sharing app from January 1, 2024 and prevents TikTok from operating as a business in the state.

For those who violate and the social media platform is still available, app providers would have to pay a $10,000 fine.

Users do not face a fine and those who already have the app on their own device are not affected.

Lawsuits challenging the ban based on the right to freedom of expression are expected.

Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok has already been banned on government-issued devices in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the U.S., amid cybersecurity concerns.

The app has more than a billion users worldwide and is widely used in the U.S. and Europe, fuelling fears that Chinese authorities and secret services might use the app to collect information from users or to spread influence.

The company has rejected such allegations.

An indigenous woman in Mexico was sentenced to six years and two months in prison for the murder of her rapist.

The court acknowledged that the woman, named only as Roxana Ruiz, acted in self-defense when she killed her attacker in 2021, but said she used excessive force.

The woman, 23, first knocked the man unconscious, then strangled him and finally tried to dismember his body.

She kept the body for at least 20 hours before putting it in a plastic bag on the street.

The court said that it took into consideration the woman’s “vulnerability as a woman and as an indigenous person” in its sentencing.

“It was my life or his life,” the woman said. “I only wanted to defend my life from a rapist,” she said, adding that she acted out of fear.

She can still appeal the verdict.

The single mother from the southern state of Oaxaca is supported by women’s organizations.

She had already spent nine months in pre-trial detention before being released for the duration of the trial.