After one contender was removed, Rishi Sunak, a former British finance minister, received the most votes to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister. In another, it is being reported that Rajapaksa e-mailed his resignation to speaker of the Sri Lankan parliament. Interestingly, Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed tweeted about Rajapaksa’s resignation.
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An Indian-origin UK PM?: Rishi Sunak tops second ballot in Conservative Party leadership contest
Will a man of Indian origin become the new resident of the hallowed 10 Downing Street? It looked like a tantalising possibility as Rishi Sunak, a son of Indian-origin migrants from Kenya, topped the ruling Conservative party leadership race after UK PM Boris Johnson’s ignominious exit. After one contender was removed, Rishi Sunak, a former British finance minister, received the most votes to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister.Sunak won with 101 votes, followed by Penny Mordaunt, a junior trade minister and the betting favourite, with 83 votes, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss with 64 votes. Suella Braverman, the attorney general, lost with 27 votes.
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns amid turmoil in the country
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned from his post. He has e-mailed his resignation to the speaker of the country’s parliament. The former president of the country in unprecedented chaos landed in Singapore from Maldives on Thursday (July 14). He had fled Sri Lanka on a military plane to go to Maldives.
Russian missile strike in central Ukraine kills at least 12
A Russian missile strike on the city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine has killed at least 12 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has termed the attack “an open act of terrorism”. As per Ukrainian emergency services, there were 12 dead, including one baby. The attack has injured 25. Dozens of rescue workers were fighting to douse a large fired caused by the strikes. The missile strike has taken place ahead of the meet of European Union foreign and justice ministers in The Hague. The conference is on alleged Russian war crimes.
A big statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised on Wednesday at a Hindu temple in Richmond Hill, Canada, and police say they are looking into whether it was a hate crime. According to York Regional Police, the five-meter-tall monument at Vishnu Mandir near Yonge Street and Garden Avenue was defaced. Around 12:30 p.m., police were called to the location.
New Zealand ranked second-worst place in world to move by immigrants: Survey
New Zealand has been ranked second-worst place in the world to move by immigrants, according to a survey. The expatriate networking organisation InterNations surveyed nearly 12,000 respondents of 177 different nationalities living in 181 countries and found that New Zealand has a very low rate of welcoming migrants with an overall score of zero per cent.
550 women sue Uber over allegations including kidnapping and sexual assault
Around 550 American women who use the ride-hailing service to book rides are suing Uber on the grounds that drivers there sexually assaulted them. The complaint, which was submitted on Wednesday, claims that female passengers who had been matched with Uber drivers through the app had been “kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed, or otherwise attacked” by those drivers in a number of different states.
European Union to invest €8mn for bunker to prevent evesdropping on secret talks
The European Union is investing €8 million in a safe bunker in Brussels so that leaders can discuss their sensitive topics without any eavesdroppers. Around 100 persons may be seated in the chamber, including 34 leaders, their 34 note-takers, protocol, technical, and culinary staff. The secure area will also be used for discussion by ambassadors and senior EU officials. The bloc currently has 27 members that may increase in the future, as reported by EUobserver.
As cost-of-living skyrockets, Italy’s government faces implosion
The 5-Star Movement, one of the Italian ruling government coalition’s members, announced on Thursday that it will not participate in a parliamentary confidence vote. This puts Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s coalition government in danger of collapsing. Reuters reported that Draghi himself has also announced that he would not lead an administration without 5-Star’s participation. Similarly, other coalition parties have threatened to leave the government if 5-Star boycotts the Senate vote that is scheduled for later in the day. Giuseppe Conte, the head of the 5-Star party, declared late on Wednesday that his party will not support the vote of confidence.
Turkiye brokers deal with Ukraine, Russia and UN to resume grain exports
Turkiye said that it has managed to broker a deal with Ukraine, Russia and the UN to resume exports of Ukrainian grains after it was blocked by Russia in the wake of invasion. The move is expected to bring major relief to world economies whose grain imports were largely dependent on Kyiv.
Bill Gates donates $20 billion to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
In order to increase the annual payments of the philanthropic organisation, he and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates manage, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates is donating $20 billion to it. The 22-year-old organization’s endowment now totals roughly $70 billion, including a $3.1 billion bequest from Warren Buffett last month. “The great crises of our time require all of us to do more,” Gates said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change, among others.
