UK’s Sunak prepares for first TV debate amid ‘election crisis’

UK’s Sunak prepares for first TV debate amid ‘election crisis’
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends a Conservative party rally, after he called for a general election, in London, Britain, May 22, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 04 June 2024
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UK’s Sunak prepares for first TV debate amid ‘election crisis’

UK’s Sunak prepares for first TV debate amid ‘election crisis’

LONDON: Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hunkered down Tuesday as he prepared to go head-to-head with Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer in the first televised debate of the UK general election campaign on the back foot.
It comes with Sunak under intense pressure to reset the Tories’ faltering campaign following the release of two polls Monday showing they face defeat in a historic landslide on July 4.
The embattled leader also faces the perilous prospect of the right-wing vote splitting between the Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s Reform party, after the Brexit figurehead U-turned Monday and announced he will stand as a candidate.
Farage’s announcement grabbed headlines and he was set to officially launch his campaign in the seaside resort of Clacton, east of London.
His arrival into the fray diverted attention away from the hour-long debate between Sunak and Starmer, which is due to start at 2000 GMT, and see both quizzed by the audience.
Sunak will reportedly spend the entire day off the campaign trail preparing for the clash, with his performance seen as critical to his party’s fortunes — and the threat posed by Farage.
The Tory-backing Daily Mail called the situation “Rishi’s darkest hour,” while the left-leaning Mirror said he was facing an “election crisis.”
Sunak announced the election on May 22, calling it six months earlier than required and making an inauspicious start in a widely-mocked rain-sodden speech outside 10 Downing Street.
Labour has enjoyed double-digit poll leads for 18 months and that has held firm nearly two weeks into the campaign, with Britons appearing weary of the Conservatives after 14 years in power.
A YouGov survey Monday — using the same nationwide modelling that correctly predicted the 2017 and 2019 general elections — showed Labour on track to win 422 of the 650 seats in parliament.
That prediction would mean Labour winning its best-ever election result, the poll also predicted the Conservatives will suffer their worst defeat in more than a century and see a host of senior ministers ousted.
Another poll from More in Common using similar modelling suggested a Labour majority of 114.
Both were carried out before Farage announced his decision to run for the anti-immigration Reform UK party and return as its leader.
The move came less than two weeks after the populist ex-member of the European Parliament, who has failed seven times to become a British MP, had said he would not stand.
His decision could divert key votes away from the Tories in numerous seats, and help Labour seize power for the first time since 2010.
But interior minister James Cleverly downplayed the significance of the polls while warning against supporting Farage’s party.
“We are focusing exclusively on the one poll that really matters, which is the one on the 4th of July,” he told Sky News on Tuesday.
“Keir Starmer would love people to vote reform, because he knows that a vote for Reform basically opens the door to a Labour government.”

IMMIGRATION PROMISES
Sunak, 44, has made a series of headline-grabbing promises in the campaign’s early days in a bid to appease right-wingers who want him to be tougher on immigration and law and order.
They include vowing to introduce a form of national service for 18 year olds, restrict taxes on pensioners’ incomes and amend Britain’s equality law so that biological sex alone would determine who could use single-sex spaces.
On Tuesday, the party pledged to impose an annual cap on immigration.
Starmer, 61, has been playing it much safer, seeking to reassure voters that Labour will responsibly marshal the economy and Britain’s defense as the center-left party seeks to protect its lead.


Pope Francis hosts East Timor mass for more than half a million faithful

Pope Francis hosts East Timor mass for more than half a million faithful
Updated 25 sec ago
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Pope Francis hosts East Timor mass for more than half a million faithful

Pope Francis hosts East Timor mass for more than half a million faithful
  • Pilgrims have clamored to the capital to catch a glimpse of the 87-year-old pontiff
  • Many arrived for the mass hours early to get a prime spot, waiting in the heat
DILI, East Timor: Pope Francis hosted a mass for hundreds of thousands of devotees in East Timor on Tuesday, rallying the faithful of the most Catholic country outside the Vatican in tropical heat.
Pilgrims have clamored to the capital to catch a glimpse of the 87-year-old pontiff, greeting him with a rapturous reception in a coastal area of Dili ahead of his sermon.
Around 600,000 people were in attendance at the mass as it got underway, the Vatican said in a statement, citing local authorities.
“I am so happy for everyone in East Timor. Now I want to see Papa Francisco here and give my present to Papa Francisco. I am so emotional,” said Mary Michaela, 17, who said she would attend the service.
It was the main event of the third leg of Francis’s 12-day Asia-Pacific tour, which has already taken in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and will conclude in Singapore.
Many arrived for the mass hours early to get a prime spot, waiting in the heat.
Firefighters sprayed devotees with water, and many held white-and-yellow Vatican umbrellas to protect themselves from the glaring sun.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao joined crowds to lift spirits with a sing-along, before pouring water into the mouths of those waiting to perform for Pope Francis.
Earlier on Tuesday he met the Catholic faithful at a cathedral in Dili, calling for the “perfume of the Gospel” to be spread against alcoholism, violence and a lack of respect for women.
On his first day in East Timor, Francis addressed the country’s leaders, hailing a new era of “peace” since independence in 2002, and also called on them to prevent abuse against young people in a nod to recent Catholic Church child abuse scandals.
But it was the mass that rallied the faithful of Asia’s youngest country.
“I am grateful I can join this Holy Mass regardless of my age. I don’t know if I would still be able to come if the pope visited even a few years later,” said 49-year-old housewife Felicidade do Rosario.
Around 300,000 people had officially registered for the mass, the government said.
Hundreds of thousands were estimated to have shown up, bringing an estimated total to nearly half the country’s entire population, according to the Vatican.
“It is a blessing of God to us, the people in this land,” said Atanasio Sarmento de Sousa, a 46-year-old member of the committee organizing the pope’s visit.
The sheer number of people descending on Dili caused at least one local telecom company to inform customers their signal would be affected by the pope’s visit.
In 2023, around a million people congregated in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital Kinshasa for Pope Francis’s visit.
The record is still held by Philippine capital Manila in 2015 where more than six million people are believed to have gathered to see Francis.
This visit is only the second papal trip to East Timor, where around 98 percent of the population is Catholic, after John Paul II in 1989.
East Timor’s capital had a $12 million makeover before the visit, including $1 million spent on an altar where the pope will sit on stage next to a crucifix.
The cost has attracted criticism because East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world.
Rights groups also say some makeshift homes were demolished in preparation for the mass. The government says they were erected illegally.
Authorities have also relocated street vendors in areas where Francis will travel, prompting further criticism on social media.
However, others who had traveled to see the pope were more optimistic about the occasion.
“There are still many problems that need to be taken care of, but the pope has come here to bring joyful news,” said Felix Kosat, an Indonesian Catholic priest.
“So let’s make changes.”

Indian state imposes curfew after ethnic clashes

Indian state imposes curfew after ethnic clashes
Updated 4 min 30 sec ago
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Indian state imposes curfew after ethnic clashes

Indian state imposes curfew after ethnic clashes
  • Manipur has been rocked by periodic clashes between the Hindu Meitei majority and the Christian Kuki community
  • Manipur is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party

NEW DELHI: Authorities in India’s strife-torn northeastern state of Manipur imposed a curfew on Tuesday after violent rallies staged to condemn the latest round of killings in ethnic clashes.
Manipur has been rocked by periodic clashes for more than a year between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community, dividing the state into ethnic enclaves.
At least 11 people were killed last week as hostilities between the two communities erupted again after months of relative calm.
The curfew was imposed in the state capital Imphal and the surrounding valley after student-led protests on Monday sparked clashes with police.
Students “provoked” security officials protecting the state governor’s residence in Imphal “by pelting stones and throwing plastic bottles,” police said in a statement on Monday.
Protesters in another valley district snatched arms from police and fired at them, the statement said.
“One police personnel was hit on the left thigh by a live round and another police personnel was hit in the face by an unknown projectile,” it said.
A local government notice announced a “total curfew... with immediate effect until further orders.”
Protesters were demanding action against insurgents accused of using “improvised” projectile weapons and drone attacks last week, in what police called a “significant escalation” of violence in Manipur.
Long-standing tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities revolve around competition for land and public jobs.
Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain.
Manipur is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.


Ukraine strikes Moscow in biggest drone attack to date

Ukraine strikes Moscow in biggest drone attack to date
Updated 13 min 47 sec ago
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Ukraine strikes Moscow in biggest drone attack to date

Ukraine strikes Moscow in biggest drone attack to date
  • Russia said it destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the Moscow region
  • The drone attacks damaged at high-rise apartment buildings in the Ramenskoye district of the Moscow region

MOSCOW: Ukraine struck the Moscow region on Tuesday in its biggest drone attack so far on the Russian capital, killing at least one woman, wrecking dozens of homes and forcing around 50 flights to be diverted from airports around Moscow.
Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, said it destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the Moscow region, which has a population of more than 21 million, and 124 more over eight other regions.
At least one person was killed near Moscow, Russian authorities said. Three of Moscow’s four airports were closed for more than six hours and almost 50 flights were diverted.
Kyiv said Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, had attacked it overnight with 46 drones, of which 38 were destroyed.
The drone attacks on Russia damaged at high-rise apartment buildings in the Ramenskoye district of the Moscow region, setting flats on fire, residents told Reuters.
A 46-year-old woman was killed and three people were wounded in Ramenskoye, Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said.
Residents said they awoke to blasts and fire.
“I looked at the window and saw a ball of fire,” Alexander Li, a resident of the district told Reuters. “The window got blown out by the shockwave.”
Georgy, a resident who declined to give his surname, said he heard a drone buzzing outside his building in the early hours.
“I drew back the curtain and it hit the building right before my eyes, I saw it all,” he said. “I took my family and we ran outside.”
The Ramenskoye district, some 50km southeast of the Kremlin, has a population of around quarter a million of people, according to official data.
More than 70 drones were also downed over Russia’s Bryansk region and tens more over other regions, Russia’s defense ministry said. There was no damage or casualties reported there.
As Russia advances in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv has taken the war to Russia with a cross-border attack in Russia’s western Kursk region that began on Aug. 6 and by carrying out increasingly large drone attacks deep into Russian territory.
DRONE WAR
The war has largely been a grinding artillery and drone war along the 1,000 km (620 mile) heavily fortified front line in southern and eastern Ukraine involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Moscow and Kyiv have both sought to buy and develop new drones, deploy them in innovative ways, and seek new ways to destroy them — from shotguns to advanced electronic jamming systems.
Both sides have turned cheap commercial drones into deadly weapons while ramping up their own production and assembly to attack targets including tanks, energy infrastructure such as refineries and airfields.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has sought to insulate Moscow from the grinding rigours of the war, says the Ukrainian drone attacks are “terrorism” as they target civilian infrastructure — and has vowed a response.
Moscow and other big Russian cities have largely been insulated from the war.
Russia has hit Ukraine with thousands of missiles and drones in the last two-and-a-half years, killing thousands of civilians, wrecking much of the country’s energy system and damaging commercial and residential properties across the country.
Ukraine says it has a right to strike back deep into Russia, though Kyiv’s Western backers have said they do not want a direct confrontation between Russia and the US-led NATO military alliance.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine about Tuesday’s attacks. Both sides deny targeting civilians.
Tuesday’s attack follow drone attacks Ukraine launched in early September targeting chiefly Russia’s energy and power facilities.
Authorities of the Tula region, which neighbors the Moscow region to its north, said drone wreckage fell onto a fuel and energy facility but the “technological process” of the facility was not affected.


Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan convicted of rape on appeal in Switzerland: court

Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan convicted of rape on appeal in Switzerland: court
Updated 30 min 27 sec ago
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Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan convicted of rape on appeal in Switzerland: court

Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan convicted of rape on appeal in Switzerland: court

GENEVA: A Swiss appeals court on Tuesday said it found Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan guilty of rape and sexual coercion in a Geneva hotel 15 years ago, overturning an earlier lower court acquittal.
The court said it “annuls the judgment of 24 May 2023,” and sentenced the 62-year-old former Oxford University professor to three years in prison, two of them suspended.
The announced verdict, first reported by public broadcaster RTS, was slightly more lenient than the three years prison — half suspended — requested by the prosecutor in the case.
Ramadan, a charismatic yet controversial figure in European Islam, has always maintained his innocence.
Ramadan’s accuser, a Muslim convert identified only as “Brigitte,” had testified before the court that he subjected her to rape and other violent sex acts in a Geneva hotel room during the night of October 28, 2008.
The lawyer representing Brigitte said she was repeatedly raped and subjected to “torture and barbarism.”
Ramadan said that Brigitte invited herself up to his room. He let her kiss him, he said, before quickly ending the encounter.
He said he was the victim of a “trap.”
Brigitte was in her forties at the time of the alleged assault. She filed a complaint 10 years later, telling the court she felt emboldened to come forward following similar complaints filed against Ramadan in France.


Blinken to discuss support for Ukraine in meetings with senior officials in London

Blinken to discuss support for Ukraine in meetings with senior officials in London
Updated 10 September 2024
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Blinken to discuss support for Ukraine in meetings with senior officials in London

Blinken to discuss support for Ukraine in meetings with senior officials in London
  • Blinken will also discuss issues including the Indo-Pacific region and the AUKUS defense pac
  • Blinken’s visit to London also comes a week after Britain suspended some arms export licenses with Israel

LONDON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, as well as the response to the conflict in the Middle East, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other UK officials in London on Tuesday.
In meetings with Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Blinken will also discuss issues including the Indo-Pacific region and the AUKUS defense pact between the US, Australia and Britain, the State Department said.
The trip comes as a senior Iranian official denied reports that Tehran had supplied Russia with ballistic missiles, information a European Union spokesperson described as “credible.”
CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unidentified sources, that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, as Moscow continues to wage war in Ukraine more than two and a half years after its 2022 invasion.
Thousands of civilians have died in the war, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced and cities and villages have become piles of rubble.
Russian forces have been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine. A month ago, Ukrainian troops launched their first major assault on Russian territory, capturing a swath of the Kursk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading for Western nations to supply more long-range missiles and lift restrictions on using them to hit targets such as airfields inside Russia.
Blinken’s visit to London also comes a week after Britain suspended some arms export licenses with Israel over equipment that could be used in the war in Gaza.
The administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running to succeed him, is under pressure from critics of the war to suspend some arms deliveries to Israel, Washington’s closest Middle East ally.
While Blinken is in London, he and Lammy will open talks on a UK-US Strategic Dialogue to strengthen ties which deliver growth and security, the British government said.
This will cover key elements of the UK-US relationship, including defense and security, Europe, Ukraine, the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific, and other global priorities, it added.
“In a more volatile and insecure world, it is even more important that we are highly aligned nations,” Lammy said in a statement ahead of the meeting.