Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister: Who could replace her? - CNA

LONDON: Liz Truss said on Thursday (Oct 20) she was resigning as British prime minister just six weeks after she was appointed.

A leadership election will be completed within the next week to replace Truss, who is the shortest serving prime minister in British history. George Canning previously held the record, serving 119 days in 1827 when he died.

Given the divisions in the party there is no obvious candidate and any replacement would face a country likely heading into a recession. Leading names are below:

RISHI SUNAK

Truss easily beat the former chancellor of the exchequer in this summer's Tory leadership contest, winning party members over with promises to slash taxes and regulations without curbing government spending.

Sunak, 42, had warned that her plans to fund the proposals through extra borrowing were reckless and could worsen decades-high inflation as well as market confidence in the UK.

Now that he has been proved right, Sunak was installed by bookmakers as the early favourite following Truss's dramatic announcement.

He garnered the support of the largest number of Tory lawmakers in successive rounds of voting, before party members installed Truss.

A new YouGov poll on Tuesday found he has the best ratings of the touted alternatives to Truss - albeit still with an overall net favourability rating of -18.

But he is also now viewed as a divisive figure.

Many party members, who usually get the final say on who leads the party, are unwilling to forgive him for his role in ousting ex-prime minister Boris Johnson.

BORIS JOHNSON

The former premier left office early last month after a revolt among his cabinet and Tory MPs, sparked by the resignation of Sunak and others from his faltering government following months of controversies.

Encouraged by several strong hints from Johnson himself, speculation has swirled ever since that he would attempt an eventual comeback - though few thought that could be feasible this quickly.

The Times reported after Truss's demise that he was planning to enter the race.

The ever-ebullient Brexit figurehead remains popular with a section of Conservative MPs and the party. But his brand among the wider electorate was severely damaged by his scandal-tainted three-year tenure.

A recent YouGov poll showed the 58-year-old is far more popular than Truss. Yet around two-thirds of those asked had an unfavourable opinion of him.

Johnson has kept a low profile since resigning, giving a paid speech in the United States last week but no indications of his views on the current crises gripping the UK.

He was thought to favour Truss in the summer leadership contest - although his former top aide-turned-arch-critic Dominic Cummings argued that this was because he expected her tenure to be disastrous and short-lived, paving the way for his return.

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2022-10-20 15:35:00Z
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Our lettuce outlasted Liz Truss, British paper declares, as PM quits - CNA

LONDON: To the strains of Britain's national anthem, a national newspaper on Thursday (Oct 20) declared a lettuce the victor in a race to see if it could outlast Liz Truss, after the under-fire prime minister resigned.

The tabloid Daily Star set up a live feed on Friday showing the unrefrigerated iceberg next to a photo of Truss, asking readers: "Which wet lettuce will last longer?"

It later expanded the tableau, adding a wig, a face and grasping hands to the vegetable, as well as two British flags, a pasty on a plate and a red mug bearing the legend "Keep Calm and Carry On", a slogan used to raise morale in Britain during World War Two.

More than 12,000 Twitter users were watching the feed as Truss announced her resignation outside the prime minister's Downing Street residence.

Moments later, as viewer numbers hit 21,000, God Save the King rang out as a hand reached across the table and set Truss's photo on its back and the caption "The lettuce has outlasted Liz Truss" appeared.

The stunt echoed a comment at the other end of Britain's journalistic spectrum. In a column published last week titled "The Iceberg Lady", the Economist magazine described Truss as having "the shelf-life of a lettuce".

Truss's political role model, 1980s prime minister Margaret Thatcher, was widely known as the Iron Lady.

Appointed on Sep 6, Truss succumbed to mounting pressure after being forced to sack her finance minister and closest political ally, Kwasi Kwarteng, following a disastrously received economic package that sent shockwaves through financial markets.

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2022-10-20 13:22:09Z
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Liz Truss resigns after six weeks as UK prime minister - CNA

LONDON: Liz Truss said on Thursday (Oct 20) she was resigning as British prime minister just six weeks after she was appointed, brought down by an economic programme that sent shockwaves through the market and divided her Conservative Party.

Speaking outside the door of her Number 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she had lost the faith of her party and said she would step down next week, becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.

Truss, who had said on Wednesday she was a "fighter and not a quitter", told the mass of journalists gathered in Downing Street that she realised she could no longer deliver on the promises that won her the Conservative leadership.

"I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party," said Truss, who was supported only by her husband with her aides and loyal ministers noticeably absent.

A new leadership election will be completed by Oct 28. Those expected to run include former finance minister Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, a former defence minister.

Jeremy Hunt, the man brought in to rescue the public finances, has ruled himself out.

Party members and Conservative lawmakers are expected to be given a say in the vote. A poll earlier this week showed that most members wanted former prime minister Boris Johnson - who was ousted from Downing Street in July - to return.

Britain is not scheduled to hold a national election for another two years. 

Betting odds put Sunak as the favourite, ahead of Mordaunt and Johnson.

Appointed on Sep 6, Truss was forced to sack her finance minister and closest political ally, Kwasi Kwarteng, and abandon almost all her economic programme after their plans for vast unfunded tax cuts crashed the pound and British bonds. Approval ratings for her and her Conservative Party collapsed.

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2022-10-20 12:43:00Z
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China Is Debating a Reduction to Covid Quarantine for Inbound Travelers - Bloomberg

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1. China Is Debating a Reduction to Covid Quarantine for Inbound Travelers  Bloomberg
2. China considers reducing COVID-19 quarantine for visitors: Report  CNA
3. Hong Kong may let VIP bankers who get Covid-19 exit on private jets  The Straits Times
4. China Stocks Pare Loss on Report Authorities Mull Quarantine Cut  Bloomberg
5. China considers shorter COVID quarantine for visitors - Bloomberg News  Reuters
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2022-10-20 08:03:03Z
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Russia, Iran defiant as West presses sanctions over drones in Ukraine - CNA

If the UN Secretariat or Secretary-General Antonio Guterres still go ahead, "we will have to reassess our collaboration with them, which is hardly in anyone's interest", Polyanskiy said.

Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, also rejected the "unfounded and unsubstantiated claims" on the drone transfers and said that Tehran, which has abstained in votes on the Ukraine war, wanted a "peaceful resolution" of the war.

The alleged arms transfers come as Iran is facing growing pressure over its crackdown on the biggest protests in years, which were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old detained by the clerical state's notorious "morality police."

"SWIFT AND FIRM" RESPONSE

The European Union is expected to approve sanctions over the drones ahead of a summit on Thursday in Brussels.

A list seen by AFP showed the 27-nation bloc planned sanctions on three senior military officials, including General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, as well as drone maker Shahed Aviation Industries, an aerospace company linked to the powerful Revolutionary Guards.

Nabila Massrali, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said the bloc had "gathered our own evidence" and would prepare "a clear, swift and firm EU response".

The United States has charged that the drones violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231 of 2015 that blessed a now moribund nuclear deal.

The resolution's ban on Iran's conventional arms sales expired in 2020, despite attempts by the then-US administration of Donald Trump.

The United States has not spelled out the purported violation but Resolution 2231 still bars through October 2023 any transfers that could benefit nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.

"Iran's supply of these specific types of UAVs to Russia is a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and it is an issue for the UN Security Council," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

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2022-10-19 21:58:00Z
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Malaysia to go to the polls on Nov 19 amid worries over monsoon season - CNA

An election had not been due until September 2023, but Mr Ismail Sabri had been under pressure from some factions of his ruling coalition to hold the vote earlier.

On Sep 30, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) supreme council decided that parliament must be dissolved soon so that GE15 can be held this year.

UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is facing 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering, had been very vocal in pushing for snap polls, ostensibly to seek a fresh mandate from the people.

UMNO’s call for an early GE15 has been criticised by the opposition and Mr Ismail Sabri’s own Cabinet members as Malaysia’s Meteorological Department has warned of floods during the north-east monsoon season, which typically starts in November and ends in March.

Following the dissolution of parliament, Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said he had no choice but to consent to the dissolution of the parliament.

In a statement on Oct 10, Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara, Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, said that the ruler was disappointed with the current political developments in the country.

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2022-10-20 04:21:00Z
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China’s Xi Crowned `People’s Leader’, A Position That’s Only Comparable with Mao - Bloomberg

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China’s Xi Crowned `People’s Leader’, A Position That’s Only Comparable with Mao  BloombergView Full coverage on Google News
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2022-10-19 21:00:00Z
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