The two finalists in the race to lead the UK’s governing Conservative Party — and become the country’s new prime minister — on Saturday made their first formal pitches to party members, vowing to be the right man to deliver Brexit.
Former British secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs and ex-London mayor Boris Johnson, the runaway favorite of Conservative lawmakers, faced off with British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt at a party conference in central England’s Birmingham.
Opening his address with a focus on delivering the UK’s stalled exit from the EU, Johnson told the audience that “we need to get Brexit done” and be prepared to leave the EU without a withdrawal deal in place.
“I am here to tell you that in all confidence we can turn this thing around,” he said. “I am utterly convinced that with the right energy and the right commitment, common sense will prevail. But just in case it does not, we must prepare to come out anyway.”
Johnson has won backing from the Conservative Party’s die-hard Brexiteers by insisting the UK must leave the bloc on the rescheduled date of Oct. 31, with or without a divorce agreement with the EU to smooth the way.
Johnson and Hunt said they would succeed in seeing the UK out of the EU, a challenge that defeated British Prime Minister Theresa May.
She earlier this month quit as Conservative leader after repeatedly failing to win the British parliament’s backing for her Brexit deal and is to leave 10 Downing Street when her successor is selected.
Hunt pitched himself as the better negotiator, saying that “catastrophe awaits” if the wrong leader is sent to Brussels for talks with EU leaders.
“If we send the wrong person, there’s going to be no negotiation, no trust, no deal, and if parliament stops that, maybe no Brexit,” he said.
“Send the right person, and there’s a deal to be done,” he added.
For the party conference in Birmingham, both contenders were given time to make a short speech before answering questions from the host and audience members.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constructing a new counter-stealth radar system on a disputed reef in the South China Sea that would significantly expand its surveillance capabilities in the region, satellite imagery suggests. Analysis by London-based think tank Chatham House suggests China is upgrading its outpost on Triton Island (Jhongjian Island, 中建島) on the southwest corner of the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), building what might be a launching point for an anti-ship missile battery and sophisticated radar system. “By constraining the US ability to operate stealth aircraft, and threaten stealth aircraft, these capabilities in the South China Sea send
HAVANA: Repeated blackouts have left residents of the Cuban capital concerned about food, water supply and the nation’s future, but so far, there have been few protests Maria Elena Cardenas, 76, lives in a municipal shelter on Amargura Street in Havana’s colonial old town. The building has an elegant past, but for the last few days Maria has been cooking with sticks she had found on the street. “You know, we Cubans manage the best we can,” she said. She lives in the shelter because her home collapsed, a regular occurrence in the poorest, oldest parts of the beautiful city. Cuba’s government has spent the last days attempting to get the island’s national grid functioning after repeated island-wide blackouts. Without power, sleep becomes difficult in the heat, food
Botswana is this week holding a presidential election energized by a campaign by one previous head-of-state to unseat his handpicked successor whose first term has seen rising discontent amid a downturn in the diamond-dependent economy. The charismatic Ian Khama dramatically returned from self-exile six weeks ago determined to undo what he has called a “mistake” in handing over in 2018 to Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who seeks re-election tomorrow. While he cannot run as president again having served two terms, Khama has worked his influence and standing to support the opposition in the southern African country of 2.6 million people. “The return of
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected a plan for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Kyiv due to Guterres’ attendance at this week’s BRICS summit in Russia, a Ukrainian official said on Friday. Kyiv was enraged by Guterres’ appearance at the event in the city of Kazan on Thursday and his handshake with its host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres, who called for a “just peace” in Ukraine at the BRICS event and has repeatedly condemned the invasion, discussed a visit to Ukraine with Zelenskiy when they met in New York