europe
Russia threatens West's satellites
Ukrainian forces attacked Russia’s hold on the southern city of Kherson on Thursday while fighting also intensified in the country’s east. The battles came amid reports that Moscow-appointed authorities in Kherson have fled the city, joining tens of thousands of residents who have been evacuated to other Russia-held areas.
Ukrainian forces were surrounding Kherson from the west and attacking Russia’s foothold on the west bank of the Dnieper River, which divides the region and the country.
Amid the battles, Russia issued a warning that the United States could be drawn into the conflict, adding it could target Western commercial satellites used for military purposes in support of Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the United States of pursuing “thoughtless and mad” escalation. She argued that Washington should take a more responsible approach shown during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis ‒ when the Cold War superpowers stepped back from the brink of nuclear confrontation.
Ukraine has pushed ahead with an offensive to reclaim the Kherson region and its capital of the same name, which Russian forces captured during the first days of a war now in its ninth month.
More than 70,000 residents from the Kherson city area have evacuated in recent days, the region’s Kremlin-installed governor, Vladimir Saldo, said Thursday.
Members of the Russia-backed regional administration were included in the evacuation, the deputy governor, Kirill Stremousov said. Monuments to Russian heroes were moved, along with the remains of Grigory Potemkin, the Russian general who founded Kherson in the 18th century, that were kept at the city’s St. Catherine’s Church.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces continued to bombard the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, making slow gains toward the center.
Amid the heavy combat on two fronts, Russian officials stepped up warns that the West could become part of the conflict.
“The more the U.S. is drawn into supporting the Kyiv regime on the battlefield, the more they risk provoking a direct military confrontation between the biggest nuclear powers fraught with catastrophic consequences,” said Zakharova, the Russian Foreign ministry spokeswoman.
“Washington now keeps upping the ante, apparently believing that it’s capable of controlling the escalation,” she said.
Read: Russia conducts first nuclear drill since start of Ukraine war
The deputy head of Russia’s delegation at a U.N. arms control panel, Konstantin Vorontsov, described the use of U.S. and other Western commercial satellites for military purposes during the fighting in Ukraine as “extremely dangerous.”
“The quasi-civilian infrastructure could be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” Vorontsov warned.
As they have all month, Russian forces carried out attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which have caused increasing worry ahead of winter.
A Russian drone attack early Thursday hit an energy facility near the capital of Kyiv, causing a fire, said Kyiv regional Gov. Oleksiy Kuleba. He said the latest attacks inflicted “very serious damage.”
“The Russians are using drones and missiles to destroy Ukraine’s energy system ahead of the winter and terrorize civilians,” Kuleba said in televised remarks.
Kuleba announced new rolling blackouts and urged consumers to save power. He said authorities were still pondering over specifics of the blackouts needed to restore the damaged power facilities.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said rolling blackouts would also be introduced in the neighboring Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regioms.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said earlier that Russian attacks have already destroyed 30% of the country’s energy infrastructure.
In a likely response to Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, a power plant was attacked just outside Sevastopol, a port in the Russian-annexed region of Crimea. The plant suffered minor damage in a drone attack, according to city leader Mikhail Razvozhayev. He said electricity supplies were uninterrupted.
Crimea, a region slightly larger than Sicily, was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. It has faced drone attacks and explosions amid the fighting in Ukraine. In a major setback for Russia, a powerful truck bomb blew up a section of a strategic bridge linking Crimea to Russia’s mainland on Oct. 8.
A senior Ukrainian military officer accused Russia of planning to stage explosions at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and blame them on Ukraine in a false flag attack.
Read: Russian authorities advise Kherson residents to leave Ukraine region
Gen. Oleksii Gromov, the chief of the main operational department of the Ukrainian military’s general staff, pointed to Moscow’s repeated unfounded allegations that Ukraine was plotting to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb as a possible signal that Moscow was planning explosions at the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
Russia took control of the Zaporizhzhia plant in the opening days of the invasion. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of attacking the plant, whose reactors were shut down following continuous shelling.
Gromov also charged Thursday that Russian forces may have staged explosions at residential buildings in the city of Kherson before retreating from the city “to inflict a critical damage to the infrastructure of the areas being reclaimed by Ukraine.”
The war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis is likely to cause global demand for fossil fuels to peak or flatten out, according to a report released Thursday by the Paris-based International Energy Agency, largely due to the fall in Russian exports.
“Today’s energy crisis is delivering a shock of unprecedented breadth and complexity,” the IEA said, releasing its annual report, the World Energy Outlook.
The report said this was forcing the world’s more advanced economies to accelerate structural changes toward renewable energy sources.
Russia conducts first nuclear drill since start of Ukraine war
Vladimir Putin has overseen annual exercises by Russia's strategic nuclear forces at a time of heightened tensions with the West over his eight-month-long war in Ukraine, according to BBC.
Ballistic and cruise missiles were launched from the Arctic to Russia's Far East, the Kremlin said.
The US was told about the drill under the terms of the New Start arms treaty.
The launches took place as Russia makes unsubstantiated claims that Ukraine is plotting to use a "dirty bomb".
A "dirty bomb" is an explosive device mixed with radioactive material and the Russian allegations have been widely rejected by Western countries as false.
Kyiv warned the claims indicate Moscow itself could be preparing such an attack.
The last Russian nuclear drill took place five days before it invaded Ukraine.
Ahead of the latest exercise, military officials in Washington pointed out that, in notifying the US, the Russians were complying with arms control obligations.
Nato is also staging its own nuclear exercises, dubbed Steadfast Noon, in north-western Europe. The Western defensive alliance said training flights involving 14 countries were taking place until Sunday over Belgium, the UK and the North Sea.
Russia's exercises were being held against a backdrop of a flagging campaign in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Moscow has sent troops into the key southern city of Kherson to help defend it. Russia took Kherson in the early days of the war, but recently it has come under pressure as Ukrainian troops advance.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was seen on Russian TV saying that the aim of the drill was for military command and control to practise carrying out "a massive nuclear strike by the strategic nuclear forces in retaliation for the enemy's nuclear strike".
A Yars inter-continental ballistic missile was launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome, some 800km (500 miles) north of Moscow, and a Sineva ballistic missile was fired from the Barents Sea to the remote Kura test site in Kamchatka province in Russia's Far East, the Kremlin said.
All missiles reached their targets, it added.
President Putin was shown on Russian TV watching a video feed of the launch. Footage was also broadcast of remarks he gave via videolink to a conference of regional intelligence services in which he doubled down on his accusations of a Ukrainian dirty bomb plot.
He also repeated other baseless allegations made by Russia in recent months against Ukraine, including that it had been turned by the US into a "testing ground for military biological experiments".
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Wednesday that "my personal opinion is that Putin won't use nukes". Separately, he told US TV that Ukraine's counter-offensive in the south had been hampered by rainy weather.
In an address to the nation in September, Mr Putin said his country had "various weapons of destruction" and would "use all the means available to us", adding: "I'm not bluffing."
Following the remarks, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told the BBC that "it's a dangerous moment [in the war] because the Russian army has been pushed into a corner, and Putin's reaction - threatening using nuclear arms - it's very bad".
Sunak defends reappointing Suella Braverman as UK home secretary days after she quit over data breach
Rishi Sunak has defended re-appointing Suella Braverman as home secretary days after she quit over data breaches.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the new PM of doing a "grubby deal" with Ms Braverman to secure her support in the recent Tory leadership contest, reports BBC.
He also asked if officials had raised concern over the appointment.
Mr Sunak avoided the question but argued bringing Ms Braverman back into cabinet brought "experience and stability" to government.
A No 10 spokesperson later denied reports that Simon Case - the head of the civil service - had been "livid" about the appointment.
Taking his first Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Sunak justified his decision telling MPs: "The home secretary made an error of judgment but she recognised that, she raised the matter and she accepted her mistake."
He hit back at the Labour leader, accusing the party of being "soft on crime and in favour of unlimited immigration".
Sir Keir pointed to his own experience as head of the Crown Prosecution Service adding: "I know first hand how important it is that we have a home secretary whose integrity and professionalism are beyond question.
Read:UK PM Sunak facing opposition in Parliament for the first time
"He's so weak, he's done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election - there's a new Tory at the top but as always with them party first, country second."
The Liberal Democrats have also been critical of the appointment with the party's home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael saying: "A home secretary who broke the rules is not fit for a Home Office which keeps the rules."
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford accused the prime minister of doing "a sleazy backroom deal to shore up his own position".
Opposition parties are calling for investigations - the Liberal Democrats want an inquiry into Ms Braverman's appointment "including any promises Sunak made to her behind closed doors", while Labour wants one into possible security breaches by the home secretary.
Some Conservative MPs have also privately expressed their concern to the BBC about the decision.
During an urgent questions on the subject in Parliament, Labour MP Angela Eagle asked if an independent ethics adviser would investigate Ms Braverman's behaviour.
Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin replied that Mr Sunak did intend to appoint a new adviser - the previous holder of the role quit earlier this year - but added that "events in the last administration would not be properly part of the remit of the new independent adviser".
Ms Braverman stepped down last week amid the final days of Liz Truss's short-lived and chaotic premiership.
In her resignation letter, she admitted committing a "technical infringement" of the rules by sending an official document to someone not authorised to receive it.
"I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign," she wrote.
Her letter also hinted at disagreements with Ms Truss over immigration policy expressing concern that the government was not delivering on commitments to tackle illegal migration.
However, on his first day as prime minister Mr Sunak re-appointed Ms Braverman as home secretary.
It came three days after Ms Braverman had thrown her support behind him in the contest to replace Ms Truss, in what was widely seen as a significant endorsement by an influential MP on the right-wing of the Conservative party.
Asked if Ms Braverman had been given the job as a reward for supporting the new PM, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the BBC Mr Sunak had strong support from MPs in the contest adding: "I doubt he needed any particular individual endorsement."
Read:PM Sunak isn’t typical of the millions of POCs who still face barriers in UK
What's behind Suella Braverman's comeback and what does it mean for policy?
It's clear what she wants to do in the job - in her resignation letter to Liz Truss she said she had "serious concerns" over whether the government was committed to reducing overall migration numbers and stopping illegal immigration.
At the Tory conference she talked about her "dream" of making the Rwanda policy work and wanting to eventually get immigration levels down to the tens of thousands.
Remember Liz Truss was poised to make an announcement on immigration policy as a way of trying to stimulate economic growth - something over which she was reportedly at loggerheads with Suella Braverman.
For Rishi Sunak, getting Suella Braverman's backing was a key moment in the truncated leadership campaign - and returning her to one of the great offices of states is an overture to the right of the party.
He talked a lot about asylum seekers during the leadership contest over the summer - but less so about immigration, so we don't know much yet about his thinking.
But it's interesting he's put one of his long-term allies - Robert Jenrick - in the Home Office as immigration minister.
Perhaps his eyes and ears in the department, someone to make alternative arguments or shape one whole policy area.
One to watch.
The row over Ms Braverman's new job, came as MPs on the Home Affairs Committee heard evidence on Channel crossings.
They had been due to hear from the immigration minister Tom Pursglove, but his appearance was cancelled after he lost his job in Tuesday's cabinet reshuffle.
Instead MPs heard from Dan O'Mahoney - the Home Office's clandestine Channel threat commander - who told the committee that 38,000 people have arrived in the UK so far this year in small boats - an increase compared to last year's figure of 28,526.
The committee also heard that around 93% of people arriving in small boats this year have claimed asylum. However, there is a backlog in processing claims and only 4% of applications from 2021 have been processed.
Mr O'Mahoney also noted there had been a huge increase in the number of Albanians arriving in the UK illegally - 21,000 in the UK this year, compared to 50 in 2020.
UK PM Sunak facing opposition in Parliament for the first time
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held the first meeting of his new Cabinet before facing the opposition in Parliament on Wednesday for the first time as leader.
Sunak took office on Tuesday and appointed a government mixing allies with experienced ministers from the governments of his two immediate predecessors, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, as he tries to tackle Britain's multiple economic problems.
Sunak’s office said the lineup “reflects a unified party” and aims to ensure “that at this uncertain time, there is continuity at the heart of government.”
But during the regular House of Commons session known as Prime Minister’s Questions, opposition politicians are likely to focus on the baggage the new ministers carry from the governments of Johnson – who quit in July after a slew of ethics scandals – and Truss, whose government lasted just seven weeks.
A package of unfunded tax cuts Truss unveiled last month spooked financial markets with the prospect of ballooning debt, drove the pound to record lows and forced the Bank of England to intervene — weakening Britain’s fragile economy and obliterating Truss’ authority within the Conservative Party.
Sunak is seen by Conservatives as a safe pair of hands they hope can stabilize an economy sliding toward recession — and stem the party's plunging popularity.
Sunak brought in people from different wings of the Conservative Party for his Cabinet. He removed about a dozen members of Truss’ government but kept several senior figures in place, including Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
He faces a backlash for reappointing Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who resigned last week after breaching ethics rules by sending a sensitive government email from a private account. She used her resignation letter to criticize Truss, hastening the then-prime minister’s demise.
A leading light of the Conservatives’ right wing who infuriates liberals, Braverman is tasked with fulfilling a controversial, stalled plan to send some asylum-seekers arriving in Britain on a one-way trip to Rwanda.
Opponents expressed astonishment that Braverman could be back in her job less than a week after her resignation and before an investigation of her breach of the ethics rules.
Cleverly defended the choice.
“People make mistakes in their work,” he told the BBC. “No one goes to work with the intention of making a mistake.”
Sunak also kept in place Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt, whom Truss appointed two weeks ago to steady the markets. His removal likely would have set off new tremors.
Hunt is scheduled to set out soon how the government plans to come up with billions of pounds (dollars) to fill a fiscal hole created by soaring inflation and a sluggish economy, and exacerbated by Truss’ destabilizing plans.
The government has not confirmed whether Hunt’s statement, due on Oct. 31, will be delayed because of the change of prime minister.
PM Sunak isn’t typical of the millions of POCs who still face barriers in UK
Harmeet Singh Gill was excited to hear that Rishi Sunak would become Britain’s first prime minister of color — news that came as he celebrated the Diwali festival in a London neighborhood sometimes called Little India.
“It’s almost a watershed moment,” the 31-year-old said as he volunteered at the cavernous dome-topped house of worship that serves the Sikh community in west London’s Southall neighborhood. “It’s just a sign of 21st-century Britain, where it doesn’t matter what background you’re from now, that you can rise up the ranks to the positions of power.”
But, for many people of color in the U.K., it’s not so simple. Sunak, 42, will be the first Hindu and the first person of South Asian descent to lead the country, which has a long history of colonialism and has often struggled to welcome immigrants from its former colonies — and continues to grapple with racism and wealth inequality.
King Charles III asked Sunak, whose parents moved to Britain from Africa in the 1960s, to form a new government Tuesday, a day after he was chosen leader of the governing Conservative Party.
The milestone is doubly significant for many people with Asian roots because it comes during Diwali, the five-day festival of light celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.
Earlier this year, Sunak, a practicing Hindu, spoke about the significance of lighting Diwali candles outside the official Downing Street residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the post he held for two years until he resigned in July.
“It was one of my proudest moments that I was able to do that on the steps of Downing Street,” he told the Times of London. “And it meant a lot to a lot of people and it’s an amazing thing about our country.”
It wasn’t always that way in Britain.
In 1968, Conservative lawmaker Enoch Powell delivered his infamous “rivers of blood” speech decrying mass migration and advocating assistance for immigrants to “return home.”
As recently as 1987, there were no people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the House of Commons. One Asian and three Black members were elected to Parliament that year.
Numbers have increased steadily since, with 65 people from ethnic minority groups, or 10% of the House of Commons, elected during the last general election in 2019. That still isn’t fully representative of the U.K. as a whole, where 13% of the population identify as ethnic minorities.
Sunak’s win is evidence of this progress — a step toward something better, said Tariq Modood, director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at the University of Bristol.
“I would say the most important thing about today is that the majority, the overwhelming majority of Conservative members of Parliament, chose as their first choice a youngish man of Indian descent, making him the first British prime minister of color,” he said Monday. “And I think that other parties will note that, the Labour Party most certainly, and will want to catch up with that, if not try and do better.”
But Sunak isn’t typical of the millions of people from Asian, African and Caribbean backgrounds who still face barriers in employment and education.
The son of a doctor and a pharmacist, Sunak earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and a master’s in business administration from Stanford University before going to work for Goldman Sachs and then moving into the hedge fund industry, where he made a fortune in finance. He is married to Akshata Murty, daughter of Indian billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder of the global information technology company Infosys.
Sunak was criticized earlier this year when British news media reported that his wife took advantage of rules allowing her to avoid U.K. taxes on her foreign income. She has since promised to give up her “non-domiciled” status and pay all her taxes in Britain.
On a broader level, Indians have fared better economically than other minority groups in Britain.
Indians earned an average of 14.43 pounds ($16.29) an hour, or 15.5% more than white British residents, in 2019, the latest figures available from the Office for National Statistics. By contrast, people from Pakistan and Bangladesh earned about 15% less than white people, and Black people earned 6.9% less.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the first Muslim woman to attend Cabinet when she served in former Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, said she thought Sunak would be a unifying figure for all British Asians.
“But there has been a huge debate on whether or not this is something that we should celebrate, and I think we do celebrate the fact that this is visible diversity,” Warsi told the BBC.
“But it has to go beyond visible diversity. There have to be young children today from poor homes, going to ordinary state schools, who say that they, too, could become prime minister.”
Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think tank focused on immigration, identity and race, called Sunak’s victory a “historic moment” that wouldn’t have been possible just a decade ago. But, he said, the struggle to end discrimination isn’t over.
“I hope that Sunak will acknowledge that not everybody has enjoyed his advantages in life,” Katwala said. “Rishi Sunak reaching 10 Downing Street does not make Britain a perfect meritocracy. While there is more to do, this is a hopeful sign of progress against the prejudices of the past.”
Sathnam Sanghera, a columnist for the Times of London, said Sunak’s promotion was “amazing” as he recalled the hatred and violence faced by Black and Asian people in Britain in the past.
Immigrants of his parents’ generation still remember the white gangs that roamed the streets “looking for West Indians, Africans or Asians to assault,” and coming home to find excrement stuffed through their mailboxes.
“Some people on the left appear to be reluctant to say it, but it is undeniably a great thing that, in Rishi Sunak, Britain has its first brown prime minister,” Sanghera wrote. “Frankly, I never expected to see such a thing in my lifetime.”
But while Sunak’s success will boost the aspirations of young people throughout Britain, more work needs to be done, Sanghera said.
“Just because we have one British Hindu in charge, and just because some brown ethnic groups are doing well, it doesn’t mean that Britain has defeated racism,” he wrote. “No more than Barack Obama’s election as president represented the defeat of racism in America.”
Those challenges are on display in Southall, where two-thirds of the people have roots in South Asia and real incomes are about 20% of the London average, according to the local governing council.
That means people in this community will be disproportionately hit by soaring energy prices and rising food bills that have pushed inflation to a 40-year high of 10.1%.
But shopkeeper Pratik Shah was optimistic as he stood before a wall of saris in glittering pink, mint and silver and talked about the potential for progress he sees in Sunak’s leadership.
“It might help the country in getting to a higher position,” he said. “And I feel that the whole Asian community has that trust in him.”
Will unite country not with words but with action: Sunak in first speech as UK PM
Rishi Sunak has announced that he has accepted King Charles III’s request to form a new cabinet as the new Prime Minister of UK.
Like yesterday, Sunak begins his remarks on television by paying tribute to Liz Truss, his predecessor, reports BBC.
Sunak said, “It is only right to explain why I am standing here as your new prime minister.”
“Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis.”
“The aftermath of Covid still lingers.”
Sunak praised Truss and claimed that her desire to enhance growth in UK was not misguided since “it’s a noble aim”.
He claimed that while he appreciated her drive to bring about change, “some mistakes were made”.
“I will unite our country not with words but with action,” said Sunak.
“I will work day in and day out to deliver for you.”
“Trust is earned and I will earn yours,” he says.
According to Sunak, the UK government will operate with honesty, competence, and responsibility at every level.
Rishi Sunak as UK PM: What are the expectations?
Rishi Sunak: Leader of a divided party, in the midst of a war in Europe and a time of economic doom, without a clear mandate from the people.
But this time, Rishi Sunak inherits not just all of this, but also the additional difficulty of dealing with the consequences from the uprising against his predecessor Liz Truss, reports BBC.
Senior government officials agree that the UK became a worldwide laughing stock as a result of her vision, its almost quick breakdown, and its implications.
So here comes the newest prime minister. The fifth in just over six years. The third this calendar year.
What are the expectations from Rishi Sunak?
UK heard a lot from Sunak over the summer when he first ran for the leadership, and his main point was that Liz Truss’ economic plan would be disastrous.
He will be able to claim justification for that.
However, a lot has changed since that campaign, not the least of which are the effects of Truss' policies during the past several months.
One of the many curiosities of the recent weeks was a leadership contest that was completed in four days flat and in which two of the three contenders said nothing in the media.
Laura Kuenssberg did receive an interview from Penny Mordaunt, but she only made a few promises. Boris Johnson remained silent. And Sunak didn’t say anything more than what was in a social media post announcing his candidacy.
Since then, he has spoken to Conservative Party headquarters activists, but reporters were not permitted to attend. So, much about his style of administration and his aims is still unknown.
Today, he will have his first significant public appearance at the recently often used Downing Street podium.
It’s the opening statement that every new prime minister makes to the nation and to the record; if they're fortunate, it will be replayed after they leave and used as a historical reference point.
Sunak has already emphasised the significance of "integrity" and "humility," which seems like he is attempting to contrast his strategy with how many people saw his two (very) immediate predecessors, respectively.
Then it will be time to create a government in his own image while attempting to appease the criticism levelled against Truss for creating an administration that virtually exterminated Sunak's supporters.
The importance of stability is another point made. Little surprise given the last weeks.
But how does he manage to accomplish both of these goals at once?
UK would have its third in a week if he changed the home secretary. UK would have its third in a few weeks if he decided to change the chancellor.
Then there is the economic statement scheduled for October 31.
The current chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has warned that really severe decisions will need to be made. That entails lower spending than was initially anticipated. Many of the decisions are likely to be unpopular and involve difficult choices with significant repercussions.
And this from a party that is currently polling in a hopeless position and is widely held responsible for what has occurred in the past several months.
Sunak has pledged to his lawmakers that he will deliver "stable, capable government." That might seem like a minor goal. But it's likely to be the fundamental cornerstone from which he can launch an effort to address the enormous problems the n
Rishi Sunak to be first non-white UK PM
Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak won the race to be leader of the Conservative Party on Monday. He will become Britain’s next prime minister — the third this year — and the first non-white leader of the country.
The former Treasury chief will be Britain’s first leader of color, and faces the task of stabilizing the party and country at a time of economic and political turbulence.
His only rival, Penny Mordaunt, conceded and withdrew.
As leader of the governing party, he will take over as prime minister from Liz Truss, who quit last week after 45 tumultuous days in office.
Sunak had been the strong favorite as the governing Conservative Party sought stability at a time of immense economic challenges and after months of chaos that consumed the past two leaders.
Sunak’s position strengthened after former leader Boris Johnson dropped out of the Conservative Party leadership contest. The party is choosing Britain’s third prime minister this year following Liz Truss’ resignation after a turbulent 45-day term.
Sunak lost out to Truss in the last Conservative election, but his party and the country now appear eager for a safe pair of hands to tackle soaring energy and food prices and a looming recession. The politician steered the economy through the coronavirus pandemic, winning praise for his financial support for laid-off workers and shuttered businesses.
He has promised “integrity, professionalism and accountability” if he forms a government — a nod to the growing to desire for a leader who can tackle the country’s problems.
Earlier in the day, the 42-year-old was the only candidate with confirmed support from more than 100 lawmakers, the number needed to run in the election, with his backers claiming he has been endorsed by more than half the 357 Conservative lawmakers in Parliament. Mordaunt had hoped to reach the threshold by the time nominations closed — but she backed out.
That means Sunak is now the Conservative Party leader and will be asked by King Charles III to form a government. He will become the prime minister in a handover of power from Truss later Monday or on Tuesday.
Sunak, who was Treasury chief from 2020 until this summer, quit in July in protest at Johnson’s leadership.
Johnson dramatically quit the race on Sunday night, ending a short-lived, high-profile attempt to return to the prime minister’s job he was ousted from little more than three months ago amid ethics scandals.
Johnson spent the weekend trying to gain support from fellow Conservative lawmakers after flying back from a Caribbean vacation. Late Sunday he said he had amassed the backing of 102 colleagues. But he was far behind Sunak in support, and said he had concluded that “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament.”
The prospect of a return by Johnson had thrown the already divided Conservative Party into further turmoil. He led the party to a thumping election victory in 2019, but his premiership was clouded by scandals over money and ethics that eventually became too much for the party to bear.
In his Sunday statement, Johnson insisted he was “well placed to deliver a Conservative victory” in the next national election, due by 2024. And he said that he likely would have won a ballot of Conservative Party members against either of his rivals.
“But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do,” he said.
He hinted he might be back, however, saying: “I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”
Truss quit Thursday after a turbulent 45 days in office, conceding that she could not deliver on her botched tax-cutting economic package, which she was forced to abandon after it sparked fury within her party and weeks of turmoil in financial markets.
The Conservative Party turmoil is fueling demands for a national election. Under Britain’s parliamentary system, there does not need to be one until the end of 2024, though the government has the power to call one sooner.
Currently that looks unlikely. Opinion polls say an election would spell disaster for the Conservatives, with the left-of-center Labour Party winning a large majority.
Next UK PM: Rishi Sunak a strong favorite
Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is strong favorite to become Britain’s next prime minister within days — or even hours — after former leader Boris Johnson dropped out of the Conservative Party leadership contest.
After the resignation of Liz Truss last week, the governing party is choosing Britain’s third prime minister this year at a time of political turmoil and severe economic challenges.
Sunak, 42, is the only candidate with confirmed support from more than 100 lawmakers, the number needed to run in the election. House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt has far fewer expressions of support, but is aiming to reach the threshold by the time nominations close at 2 p.m.
If Mordaunt does not reach 100 nominations, Sunak will win by acclamation and could move into 10 Downing St. by Monday evening.
If both make the ballot, the 357 Conservative lawmakers will hold an indicative vote on Monday to show their preference. If neither subsequently drops out, the choice will go to the 172,000 party members around the country, with a result announced Friday.
Mordaunt will come under intense pressure to step aside and not force a membership vote if Sunak is the strong favorite among lawmakers.
Home Secretary Grant Shapps, a Sunak supporter, said the former Treasury chief did not think he had the contest “in the bag.”
“He’s speaking to colleagues this morning, he’s working very hard to attract those supporters who were perhaps with Boris Johnson previously,” Shapps said. “But, look, I’ll leave it to Penny, she’s a terrific colleague. Let’s see what happens.”
Sunak, who was runner-up to Truss in this summer’s Tory leadership race to replace Johnson, has promised “integrity, professionalism and accountability” if he forms a government — a contrast to the chaos that consumed the past two prime ministers.
Johnson dramatically quit the race on Sunday night, ending a short-lived, high-profile attempt to return to the prime minister’s job he was ousted from little more than three months ago amid ethics scandals.
Read: Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss to be named as UK's new prime minister
Johnson spent the weekend trying to gain support from fellow Conservative lawmakers after flying back from a Caribbean vacation. Late Sunday he said he had amassed the backing of 102 colleagues. But he was far behind Sunak in support, and said he had concluded that “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament.
The prospect of a return by Johnson had thrown the already divided Conservative Party into further turmoil. He led the party to a thumping election victory in 2019, but his premiership was clouded by scandals over money and ethics that eventually became too much for the party to bear.
In his Sunday statement, Johnson insisted he was “well placed to deliver a Conservative victory” in the next national election, due by 2024. And he said that he likely would have won a ballot of Conservative Party members against either of his rivals.
“But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do,” he said.
He hinted he might be back, however, saying: “I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”
Truss quit Thursday after a turbulent 45 days in office, conceding that she could not deliver on her botched tax-cutting economic package, which she was forced to abandon after it sparked fury within her party and weeks of turmoil in financial markets.
Sunak, who was Treasury chief from 2020 until this summer, steered Britain’s slumping economy through the coronavirus pandemic. He quit in July in protest at Johnson’s leadership.
The Conservative Party turmoil is fueling demands for a national election. Under Britain’s parliamentary system, there does not need to be one until the end of 2024, though the government has the power to call one sooner.
Currently that looks unlikely. Opinion polls say an election would spell disaster for the Conservatives, with the left-of-center Labour Party winning a large majority.
Russia's defense chief warns of 'dirty bomb' provocation
Russia’s defense chief alleged Sunday that Ukraine was preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device, a stark claim that was strongly rejected by U.S., British and Ukrainian officials amid soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to stem Ukrainian advances in the south.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegations in phone calls with his counterparts from the United States, Britain, France and Turkey.
Russia's defense ministry said Shoigu voiced concern about “possible Ukrainian provocations involving a ‘dirty bomb,’” a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste. It doesn’t have the devastating effect of a nuclear explosion, but could expose broad areas to radioactive contamination.
Russian authorities repeatedly have made allegations that Ukraine could detonate a dirty bomb in a false flag attack and blame it on Moscow. Ukrainian authorities, in turn, have accused the Kremlin of hatching such a plan.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace strongly rejected Shoigu's claim and warned Moscow against using it as a pretext for escalation.
The British Ministry of Defense noted that Shoigu, in a call with Wallace, “alleged that Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by Western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.”
“The Defense Secretary refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation,” the ministry said.
The U.S. also rejected Shoigu’s “transparently false allegations," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation.”
In a televised address Sunday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Moscow itself was setting the stage for deploying a radioactive device on Ukrainian soil.
“If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means only one thing: that Russia has already prepared all of it," Zelenskyy said.
The mention of the dirty bomb threat in Shoigu’s calls seemed to indicate the threat of such an attack has risen to an unprecedented level.
The French Ministry of the Armed Forces said Shoigu told his counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu, that the situation in Ukraine was rapidly worsening and “trending towards uncontrollable escalation.”
“It appears that there is a shared feeling that the tensions have approached the level that could raise the real threat for all,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, the Kremlin-connected head of the Council for Foreign and Defense policies, a Moscow-based group of top foreign affairs experts.
The rising tensions come as Russian authorities reported building defensive positions in occupied areas of Ukraine and border regions of Russia, reflecting fears that Ukrainian forces may attack along new sections of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line of the war, which enters its ninth month on Monday.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has focused its counteroffensive mostly on the Kherson region. Their relentless artillery strikes cut the main crossings across the Dnieper River, which bisects the southern region, leaving Russian troops on the west bank short of supplies and vulnerable to encirclement.
Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-installed regional administration in Kherson, said Sunday in a radio interview that Russian defensive lines “have been reinforced and the situation has remained stable” since local officials strongly encouraged all residents of the region's capital and nearby areas Saturday to evacuate by ferry to the river's east bank.
The region is one of four that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last month and put under Russian martial law on Thursday. Kherson city has been in Russian hands since the early days of the war, but Ukraine's forces have made advances toward reclaiming it.
About 20,000 Kherson residents have moved to places on the east bank of the Dnieper River, the Kremlin-backed regional administration reported. The Ukrainian military said Sunday that Russia's military also withdrew its officers from areas on the west bank, leaving newly mobilized, inexperienced forces.
The Ukrainian claim could not be independently verified.
As Ukraine presses south after liberating the Kharkiv region in the north last month, authorities in the western Russian provinces bordering northeastern Ukraine appeared jittery.
The governor of Russia's Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said Sunday that two defensive lines have been built and a third one would be finished by Nov. 5.
Defensive lines were also established in the Belgorod region, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
More defensive positions were being built in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, said Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire Russian businessman who owns the Wagner Group, a mercenary military company that has played a prominent role in the war.
Prigozhin said his company was constructing a “Wagner line” in the Luhansk region, another of the Ukrainian provinces Putin illegally annexed last month. Prigozhin posted images last week showing a section of newly built defenses and trench systems southeast of the town of Kreminna.
The British Defense Ministry said Sunday “the project suggests Russia is making a significant effort to prepare defenses in depth behind the current front line, likely to deter any rapid Ukrainian counteroffensives.”
Russia’s forces captured Luhansk several months ago. Pro-Moscow separatists declared independent republics in the region and neighboring Donetsk eight years ago, and Putin made controlling all of both provinces a goal at the war’s outset.
The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank in Washington, said Sunday that Russia’s latest strategy of targeting power plants appeared aimed at diminishing Ukrainians’ will to fight and forcing the government in Kyiv to devote more resources to protecting civilians and energy infrastructure.
It said the effort was unlikely to damage Ukrainian morale but would have significant economic impacts.
President Zelenskyy said Sunday that utilities workers were well on their way to restoring electricity supplies cut off by large-scale Russian missile strikes Saturday, but acknowledged that it would take longer to provide heating.
Nine regions across Ukraine, from Odesa in the southwest to Kharkiv in the northeast, saw more attacks targeting energy and other critical infrastructure over the past day, the Ukrainian army's general staff said. It reported a total of 25 Russian airstrikes and more than 100 missile and artillery strikes around Ukraine.
In response, Zelenskyy appealed to mayors and other local leaders to ensure that Ukrainians heed official calls to conserve energy. “Now is definitely not the time for bright storefronts and signs,” he said.