China’s President Xi Jinping is visiting Hong Kong in his first trip outside of mainland China in more than two years to mark the anniversary…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would do all it could to hold Beijing to its commitments on democratic rights made 25 years ago when Hong Kong was handed back to China.
Johnson said China had failed to comply with its commitment to respect a “One Country, Two Systems” arrangement agreed under the deal that ended British colonial rule in 1997.
Britain has been especially critical of a national security law imposed in 2020 and electoral changes that it says erode the freedoms and autonomy of Hong Kong.
“On the 25th anniversary of the handover, we simply cannot avoid the fact that, for some time now, Beijing has been failing to comply with its obligations,” Johnson said in a video post.
“It’s a state of affairs that threatens both the rights and freedoms of Hong Kongers and the continued progress and prosperity of their home.”
China’s President Xi Jinping is visiting Hong Kong in his first trip outside of mainland China in more than two years to mark the anniversary.
Chinese officials have previously rebutted British criticism, saying it should keep out of the affairs of Hong Kong and accusing it of retaining a colonial mindset despite the handover.
In light of the national security law, Britain introduced a immigration route for holders of British National (Overseas) passports last year, with Johnson saying there had been 120,000 applications under the scheme by Hong Kongers.
“We’re not giving up on Hong Kong. Twenty five years ago, we made a promise to the territory and its people, and we intend to keep it, Johnson said.
He added that Britain would “do all we can to hold China to its commitments, so that Hong Kong is once again run by the people of Hong Kong, for the people of Hong Kong.”
This will be a “first step” to allow Ukraine to go beyond its “valiant defence” efforts and move towards “mounting offensive operations” to regain territory…reports Asian Lite News
Britain pledged another £1 billion in military aid to Ukraine Wednesday to help it fend off Russia’s invasion, including air-defence systems and drones.
The fresh funds will bring Britain’s total military support to Kyiv since the start of the war in late February to £2.3 billion, Downing Street said in a statement.
The package includes “sophisticated air-defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, innovative new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of vital kit for Ukrainian soldiers,” it said.
This will be a “first step” to allow Ukraine to go beyond its “valiant defence” efforts and move towards “mounting offensive operations” to regain territory.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Vladimir Putin’s attacks against Ukraine were “increasingly barbaric” as the Russian leader “fails to make the gains he had anticipated and hoped for and the futility of this war becomes clear to all.
“UK weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine’s defences against this onslaught,” the statement quoted him as saying.
“And we will continue to stand squarely behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine.”
Britain was one of the first nations to provide Ukraine with lethal military aid such as anti-tank missiles in response to Russia’s invasion. It has also been involved in training Ukrainian soldiers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends NATO in Madrid. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
NATO has introduced the New Force Model in support of Leaders’ decision to modernise and strengthen the NATO Force Structure for the future…reports Asian Lite News
The UK has announced an increased contribution to NATO as the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary attend the NATO summit in Madrid.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace MP said, “We have always been clear that our strength and security comes from our alliances, and NATO is at the heart of that. The New Force Model and our presence in Estonia will ensure that the Alliance is able to respond at pace, helping to determine stability across Europe in the decades to come.”
RAF Typhoon and F-35B Lightning fighter jets, Royal Navy vessels including Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, and brigade-sized land forces will all be made available to NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as part of the New Force Model.
NATO has introduced the New Force Model in support of Leaders’ decision to modernise and strengthen the NATO Force Structure for the future. Allies will declare capabilities, equipment and forces available to support SACEUR, ensuring they are in the right place at the right time. This will allow the Alliance’s military command to plan for emerging threats, safe in the knowledge that these assets will be available to take part in the Alliance’s response.
The UK will also contribute to the new Allied Reaction Force: an agile, multi-domain and combat-effective force ready to deploy at very high readiness and to respond to a range of crises.
It comes as the Alliance has agreed a new posture of stronger forward defences to reflect the radically changed security context since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
His gifts included a hand-knotted carpet, carved matka, itr bottles, tea set, brooch and cufflinks…reports Asian Lite News
Indian PM Narendra Modi, who was on a visit to Germany to attend the G7 summit, presented its leaders with various gifts displaying the country’s rich art and crafts, particularly those related to Uttar Pradesh’s ‘one district one product’ scheme.
Modi gifted a platinum-painted, hand-painted tea set from Bulandhshahr to UK PM Boris Johnson. The crockery is outlined with platinum metal paint in honour of the Queen’s platinum jubilee being celebrated this year.
The base form is hand-painted and fired at 1200 degrees Celsius. The embossed outlines are laid on manually with Mehndi cone work and require an extremely confident hand. Each shape is then separately filled with colour with great dexterity, and the entire cup is fired again.
His gifts included a hand-knotted carpet, carved matka, itr bottles, tea set, brooch and cufflinks.
Modi gifted a Metal Marodi carving matka to German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. This nickel-coated, hand-engraved brass vessel is a masterpiece from Moradabad district, which is also known as the Peetal Nagari or “brass city” of Uttar Pradesh. After casting the pot, the design that has to be engraved is first sketched on paper. An outline of the whole design is done with a fine engraving tool hammered with a wooden block. This particular type of engraving is called Marodi, owing to the curved lines used to fill up negative space in this design.
He gifted Gulabi Meenakari brooch and cufflink set to US President Joe Biden. Gulabi Meenakari is a GI-tagged art form of Varanasi. A piece of pure silver is moulded into a base form, and the chosen design is embossed in the metal. The embossed shapes are then filled with great dexterity with crushed meena glass mixed with an intriguing natural anardana (pomegranate seeds) glue.
To French President Emmanuel Macron, PM Modi gifted ‘itr’ bottles in Zardozi box. The carrier box has been crafted in Lucknow. The zari zardozi box has been hand embroidered on khadi silk and satin tissue in colours of the French National Flag. The motifs are traditional Indo-Persian, lotus flowers hand-embroidered with metal wire in blue and a pendant used in Kashmiri carpets and motifs from Awadhi architecture.
PM Modi gifted Platinum painted hand painted Tea Set to UK PM Boris Johnson. The tea set is from Bulandhshahr district, UP. The crockery has been outlined with platinum metal paint in honour of Her Majesty the Queen’s platinum jubilee being celebrated this year. pic.twitter.com/whFSi8IQj1
This box included Attar Mitti, Jasmine oil, Attar Shamama, Attar Gulab, Exotic Musk, and Garam Masala.
Prime Minister Modi gifted hand-knotted silk carpets which are famous all over the world for their softness and craftsmanship to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
Britain proposed on Thursday to extend for a further two years an existing package of tariffs and quotas on five steel products to protect domestic steelmakers…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday it was reasonable to consider ways of protecting British steelmakers against surging energy costs which are less of a problem for their competitors from other countries. “We have a system in the UK where we don’t privilege our industry in the way that some other countries do,” Johnson told broadcasters as he arrived in Germany for a meeting with Group of Seven leaders.
“We need to fix that. We need British steel to be provided with much cheaper energy and cheaper electricity for its blast furnaces. But until we can fix that, I think it is reasonable for UK steel to have the same protections.”
The Sunday Telegraph newspaper said Johnson was seeking tighter quotas for steel imports from emerging economies to protect domestic producers, a move which could breach international trade rules.
Britain proposed on Thursday to extend for a further two years an existing package of tariffs and quotas on five steel products to protect domestic steelmakers.
However, the Sunday Telegraph said wider measures were being finalised for announcement in the coming week.
Johnson said Britain should not to remove tariffs unilaterally without other European countries doing it too.
“I don’t think that’s the right way forward. I want another solution. The difficulty is: is that possible to do while staying within our World Trade Organisation obligations? That’s the problem. But these are tough choices that you have to make.”
Johnson’s Conservative Party last week lost two by-elections including one in an industrial area which had historically supported the opposition Labour Party.
The election defeats suggest the broad voter appeal which helped Johnson win the 2019 election may be fracturing after a scandal over illegal parties held at Downing Street during coronavirus lockdowns…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to lead his Conservative party into the next national election, which could be more than two years away, despite two bruising by-election defeats that have led to renewed calls for him to quit.
Earlier this month, Johnson survived a vote of confidence by Conservative lawmakers, though 41% of his parliamentary colleagues voted to oust him, and he is under investigation by a committee over whether he intentionally misled parliament.
On Friday, Conservative candidates lost two elections to the House of Commons held to replace former Conservative incumbents who had to step down, one after being convicted of sexual assault and the other for watching pornography in parliament.
The election defeats suggest the broad voter appeal which helped Johnson win the 2019 election may be fracturing after a scandal over illegal parties held at Downing Street during coronavirus lockdowns.
Fears that Johnson could have become an electoral liability may prompt lawmakers to move against him, at a time when millions of Britons are struggling with rising food and fuel prices.
However, Johnson said he did not expect to face another internal challenge from within his party.
When asked on the final day of a trip to Rwanda for a Commonwealth summit if he would fight another confidence vote, Johnson told reporters: “What? We just had one of those things and I’m very happy to have got a bigger mandate from my parliamentary party than I got in 2019.”
Asked if he felt the question of his leadership was settled, the prime minister said: “Yes”.
Under existing party rules, Johnson’s leadership cannot be formally challenged again for another year.
Asked if he would lead the Conservatives into the next election, which is due no later than December 2024, Johnson said, “Will I win? Yes.”
Johnson blamed the by-election defeats partly on months of media reporting of lockdown parties at the heart of government.
“I think that actually people were fed up of hearing about things I had stuffed up, or allegedly stuffed up, or whatever, this endless, completely legitimate, but endless churn of news,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, Johnson told BBC radio he rejected the notion that he should change his behaviour.
“If you’re saying you want me to undergo some sort of psychological transformation, I think that our listeners would know that that … is not going to happen.”
Party trouble
Johnson’s explanation for the defeat may do little to ease frustration in the Conservative Party.
A wave of resignations by senior ministers might force Johnson out before the next national election. The party’s chairman, Oliver Dowden, quit after the by-election defeats.
Former Conservative leaders Michael Howard and William Hague are the latest senior party figures to call for Johnson to go.
Asked what his message was for Conservative lawmakers who fear they could lose their seats at the next election, Johnson said: “We have to focus on the things that matter to voters, get it right on the cost of living, the economy.”
Johnson refused to comment on a report in The Times newspaper that he had planned to get a donor to fund a 150,000-pound ($184,000) treehouse for his son at his state-provided country residence.
The story comes months after his party was fined for failing to accurately report a donation which helped fund the refurbishment of his Downing Street apartment.
“I’m not going to comment on non-existent objects,” Johnson said when asked if he planned to use a donor’s money to build the treehouse.
“A lot of people can see its obvious merits. So yeah, of course, if I am seeing the prince tomorrow, of course I am going to make that point,” Johnson told reporters in Kigali…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved away from a confrontation with Prince Charles over the government’s immigration deal with Rwanda after his spokesman said the matter would not likely be raised in talks with the heir to the throne.
Under an agreement struck between London and Kigali, Britain will send tens of thousands of migrants who arrive on its shores illegally more than 4,000 miles (6,4000 km) to the East African country.
British newspapers have reported that Charles had privately criticised the plans, which have also drawn an outcry from political opponents and human rights groups, while the first planned deportation flight was blocked by an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights.
Earlier on Thursday Johnson, who like Charles is attending a Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Rwanda, had said he would raise the issue with the prince, saying “critics need to keep an open mind about the policy”.
“A lot of people can see its obvious merits. So yeah, of course, if I am seeing the prince tomorrow, of course I am going to make that point,” Johnson told reporters in Kigali.
Asked if he would he defend it if Charles were to raise it, Johnson said: “Yes, it hasn’t come up so far, of course.”
However, his spokesman later said Johnson was unlikely to raise the matter.
“It is not something that the prime minister is focused on at the start of this summit,” he said.
According to the media reports, Charles said he was more than disappointed at the government’s Rwandan plan, which he described as “appalling”.
His office Clarence House has previously said it would make no comment on the “supposed anonymous private conversations”, merely stating the prince remained politically neutral and that policy matters were for the government.
It likewise declined comment on Johnson’s remarks.
Johnson suffered two crushing parliamentary by-election defeats on Friday, including in a southwest English seat previously held by his ruling Conservatives for over a century, prompting the party’s chairman to quit…reports Asian Lite News
Beleaguered British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered two crushing parliamentary by-election defeats on Friday, including in a southwest English seat previously held by his ruling Conservatives for over a century, prompting the party’s chairman to quit.
In a stunning reversal, the Tories saw their December 2019 general election majority of more than 24,000 votes overturned by the centrist Liberal Democrats in the Tiverton and Honiton constituency.
At the same time, the main Labour opposition regained the Westminster seat of Wakefield, in northern England, in a further sign of its resurgence following the party’s worst electoral performance in decades two and a half years ago.
The disastrous outcomes for the Conservatives are set to pile new pressure on the embattled Johnson, as the highly damaging “Partygate” scandal involving lockdown-breaching gatherings in Downing Street continues to plague him and his party.
They had been tipped to lose both by-elections and Johnson had already vowed on Thursday — while in Rwanda for a Commonwealth summit — that he would not resign if that occurred.
But the dire results, the latest in a string of electoral defeats for the Tories in the last year, led to the immediate resignation of the party’s chairman, Oliver Dowden.
“Our supporters are distressed and disappointed by recent events, and I share their feelings,” the key Johnson ally wrote in a resignation letter to the Conservative leader.
“We cannot carry on with business as usual. Somebody must take responsibility and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office.”
Wake-up call
The votes were held Thursday after the two areas’ former Tory MPs both resigned in disgrace in recent months.
Tiverton and Honiton’s ex-lawmaker Neil Parish quit after admitting watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons, while Wakefield’s Imran Ahmad Khan was jailed for sexually assaulting a teenage boy.
The by-elections also follow months of scandals and setbacks that have severely dented the popularity of Johnson and his party, and come just weeks after he narrowly survived an attempt by his own lawmakers to oust him as Tory leader and prime minister.
The Liberal Democrats won Tiverton and Honiton — which had voted Conservative in every general election since the 1880s — by more than 6,000 votes, according to officials at a count centre in nearby town Crediton.
Meanwhile, in Wakefield — one of dozens of traditional Labour seats that Johnson took in 2019 on a promise to “get Brexit done” and address glaring regional economic inequalities — the opposition party won by nearly 5,000 votes.
Labour leader Keir Starmer, who is eyeing replacing Johnson as prime minister at the next general election due by 2024, said his party’s victory in one of its former heartland seats showed it could win back power for the first time in more than a decade.
“Wakefield has shown the country has lost confidence in the Tories,” he said in a statement, following Labour’s first by-election gain since 2012.
“This result is a clear judgment on a Conservative Party that has run out of energy and ideas.”
Lies and law-breaking
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said his party has made “political history with this stunning win” and it was a “wake-up call for all those Conservative MPs propping up Boris Johnson”.
“The public is sick of Boris Johnson’s lies and law-breaking and it’s time for Conservative MPs to finally do the right thing and sack him,” he added.
Johnson has spent months fighting for his survival after a series of controversies.
Various opinion polls have shown the public thinks he lied about Covid lockdown-breaking events at Downing Street and should resign.
Even before the controversy erupted last December, the 58-year-old Brexit architect saw the loss of two once-safe seats in by-elections last year.
He then scored dismally in May’s local elections.
Weeks later, dozens of Conservative MPs triggered a no-confidence vote in Johnson which saw more than 40 percent of them desert their leader, leaving him severely weakened and struggling to reset his turbulent tenure.
The polls come as Britain is gripped by 40-year highs in inflation and a cost-of-living crisis that has seen prices soar for everyday essentials such as energy, petrol and food.
Strikes this week by railway workers — including on election day Thursday — were some of the biggest seen in Britain in decades and have added to the sense of crisis.
Johnson, who travels to Germany and then Spain for G7 and NATO summits after his current visit to Rwanda, is not due back in Britain until late next week.
The TUC is calling on the government to stop inflaming the dispute by refusing to aid negotiations, insisting on imposing cuts, and threatening to revoke workers’ legal rights…reports Asian Lite News
The Trade Union Congress (TUC), Britain’s largest workers’ forum, is calling on the Westminster government to adopt a positive role in the rail dispute instead of “inflaming tensions” and threatening to revoke workers’ legal rights.
The RMT workers are on three-day strike this week. Rail workers in Wales have reached agreements with rail operators on pay and job protections. And in Scotland there is meaningful negotiation taking place. But the TUC says this opportunity has been blocked for other rail workers by ministers in Westminster, who insist on imposing cuts rather than negotiating a future for rail that benefits both rail travellers and staff.
And last week the Transport Minister Grant Shapps undermined a negotiated outcome by threatening to change the law so that employers can draft in agency workers in place of their workforce during industrial action – a proposal reminiscent of the action taken by P&O.
Rail workers have already had their pay frozen for the last two years, at a time when most other workers got nominal pay rises. And many of the rail workers who will be taking industrial action are on low pay, so will be hit particularly hard by real terms pay losses worth thousands of pounds.
The TUC is calling on the government to stop inflaming the dispute by refusing to aid negotiations, insisting on imposing cuts, and threatening to revoke workers’ legal rights.
“The government has the power to help end this dispute,” said TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady. “But rather than working in good faith to find a negotiated settlement, ministers are inflaming tensions and trying to pitch worker against worker. Instead of threatening to do a P&O on these workers and rip up their rights, ministers should be getting people around the table to help agree a fair deal.”
Outlining why workers are taking action, Frances added: “Nobody takes strike action lightly. But rail staff have been left with no other option. Many rail staff who will be hit hardest – such as caterers and cleaners – are on low and average earnings. It’s insulting to ask them to take yet another real-terms pay cut when rail companies took £500 million in profits during the pandemic. If these cuts go ahead thousands of safety-critical and frontline jobs will be lost, with train services at risk too. We need a better vison for the future of rail than commuters packed on unsafe trains like sardines.”
Under government pressure to cut spending, Network Rail plans to cut annual expenditure by £100 million, mainly through the loss of 2,500 rail maintenance jobs. RMT analysis of Network Rail data finds that this will lead to 670,000 fewer hours of maintenance work annually. Network Rail responsibilities include track maintenance – essential to avoiding accidents fatal like Hatfield, which was the result of the metal tracks fatiguing. Network Rail is also responsible for maintaining signals to ensure trains are on time and prevent collisions, for the electricity supply to the network, and for the safe upkeep of buildings including public spaces like the UK’s largest rail stations.
Various opinion polls have shown the public think he lied about Covid lockdown-breaking events at Downing Street and should resign…reports Asian Lite News
Voters head to the polls on Thursday in two closely watched UK by-elections that risk renewing pressure on beleaguered Prime Minister Boris Johnson following months of scandals and setbacks.
His ruling Conservatives are tipped to lose both contests, for the parliamentary seats of Tiverton and Honiton in southwest England and Wakefield in the north, after both Tory MPs resigned in disgrace.
Tiverton and Honiton’s MP Neil Parish quit after admitting watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons, while Wakefield’s Imran Ahmad Khan was jailed for sexually assaulting a teenage boy.
The votes come just weeks after Johnson narrowly survived an attempt by his own lawmakers to oust him as party leader and prime minister.
The June 6 vote among Conservative MPs saw more than 40 percent of the parliamentary party desert him, leaving him severely weakened and struggling to reset his turbulent tenure in power.
Johnson has spent months fighting for his survival after a series of controversies including the “Partygate” saga led many Tories to question whether he should remain as leader.
Various opinion polls have shown the public think he lied about Covid lockdown-breaking events at Downing Street and should resign.
Even before the controversy erupted last December, the 58-year-old Brexit architect saw the loss of two once-safe seats in by-elections last year.
He then scored dismally in May’s local elections.
Defeat in the true blue Tory heartland of Tiverton and Honiton, and in Wakefield, which Johnson snatched in 2019 from the main opposition Labour party for the first time since the 1930s, could see his position challenged again.
Parish, who described his actions as an indefensible moment of “total madness”, won a more than 24,000 majority in Tiverton and Honiton in 2019.
There, the small opposition Liberal Democrats are hopeful of picking up the seat in rural Devon after overturning similarly large majorities in two other historically safe Tory seats in 2021.
Wakefield, near Leeds, was one of dozens of so-called Labour “red wall” seats that Johnson took in 2019 on a promise to “get Brexit done” and address glaring regional economic inequalities.
