LONDON: Britain's interior minister quit on Wednesday with a thinly-veiled criticism of Prime Minister Liz Truss who is fighting to reassert her authority over restive lawmakers who are openly calling for her to quit.
The departure of Braverman, over a "technical" breach of government rules, means Truss has now lost two of her most senior ministers in less than a week, both replaced by politicians who had not backed her for the leadership.
Grant Shapps, who on Oct. 4 said Truss only had 10 days to save her premiership, will replace Braverman in a bid by the prime minister to bring critics into the fold to try to quell a rebellion which is growing in size.
Truss, in power for just over six weeks, has been fighting for her political survival ever since she launched a "mini-budget" - an economic programme of vast unfunded tax cuts on Sept. 23 that sent shockwaves through financial markets.
Hours after she told lawmakers that she was sorry for the mistakes she had made, but was not going to quit, reports swirled that her interior minister, or home secretary, had gone.
Confirming her departure, Braverman said she had broken rules by sending an official document from her personal email to a parliamentary colleague. But she added she was worried about the government and that just hoping problems would go away was not a viable approach.
"I have made a mistake, I accept responsibility, I resign," she said in a letter to the prime minister.
Media reports suggested Truss and Braverman may have clashed over immigration. Braverman, who said recently that she dreamt of seeing asylum seekers being deported to Rwanda, has advocated a hardline on immigration numbers.
Truss had suggested immigration restrictions could be lifted in some sections of the economy; as her new finance minister Jeremy Hunt works to find ways to boost the economy, easing immigration rules further could be one option.
LAUGHTER AND JEERS
The latest drama to hit a British government comes just hours after Truss faced a raucous prime minister's questions session in parliament for the first time since Hunt scrapped most of her tax-cutting plan. She came out fighting.
Asked by the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, why she should remain in power, she said: "I am a fighter and not a quitter."
"I have been very clear that I am sorry, and I have made mistakes," Truss told jeering opposition lawmakers in parliament. "I am somebody who's prepared to front up. I'm prepared to take the tough decisions."
The prime minister was met with laughter, boos and jeers, especially when she told the opposition Labour Party it needed to grasp economic reality.
She also tried to appease lawmakers over her future spending plans. After days of uncertainty, she said she was committed to increasing state pension payments in line with the level of inflation.
But some lawmakers were not convinced.
Conservative lawmaker William Wragg said he had submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister, joining a handful of others who have called for her to go. Wragg said he was "ashamed" of facing voters after the so-called mini-budget.
Former science minister, George Freeman, said; "Enough is enough. The Cabinet need to get a grip, fast, to restore collective responsibility and confidence."
Truss also faces a potential challenge later on Wednesday, when lawmakers vote on a motion brought by the main opposition party to overturn her pledge to reintroduce fracking - a vote being treated as test of confidence in the government.
Last month the government lifted a moratorium in place in England since 2019. It has sought to avert any Conservative opposition to the vote by promising to engage lawmakers to ensure local communities can give their consent to any projects.
At least three Conservatives have said they would not follow the government line on the fracking vote, which means they could be removed from the parliamentary party.
BALANCING THE BOOKS
Truss, who was elected on Sept. 6 by Conservative members on a promise of tax cuts and maintaining public spending, is under pressure despite apologising for going "too far and too fast" with an economic programme that prompted investors to dump the pound and government bonds.
Markets have somewhat stabilised since, but with mortgage rates increasing and official figures showing inflation back to a 40-year high, Truss faces a struggle to convince the public and her party that she can tackle a cost-of-living crisis.
Her Conservative Party is some 30 points behind Labour Party, according to opinion polls, and YouGov ranks her as the most unpopular leader the pollster has ever tracked.
Truss and Hunt are desperately trying to balance the books after investor confidence was shattered, and the government is now looking for ways to save money. After offering "reassurance" on pensions, Truss declined to give inflation-matching assurances for welfare payments, or say anything on foreign aid.
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Braverman resigns as UK interior minister with veiled criticism of Truss
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Braverman resigns as UK interior minister with veiled criticism of Truss
- The departure of Braverman, over a "technical" breach of government rules, means Truss has now lost two of her most senior ministers in less than a week
- Truss, in power for just over six weeks, has been fighting for her political survival ever since she launched a "mini-budget"
UN refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the war
- It said Thursday that most have fled from Tehran and other major cities toward the north of the country or rural areas
DUBAI: The UN refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the ongoing war.
It said Thursday that most have fled from Tehran and other major cities toward the north of the country or rural areas.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure pushed oil above $100 a barrel on Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.
Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals after an attack on its port of Basra on the Arabian Gulf.
Iran flouted a United Nations Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran. The country also announced it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran. In Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.
Since the United States and Israel sparked with war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has embarked on a campaign generated at inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to relent in their attacks.
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway leading from the Arabian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9 percent on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38 percent over what it cost when the war started.
Iran fires at multiple Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Arabian Gulf
The UN Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.
As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Arabian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.
In Bahrain, an early Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Authorities urged people to stay indoors and close windows to avoid smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks, and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, the UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.
Saudi Arabia said it had shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert.
Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that it had been forced to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Arabian Gulf port.
Explosions rock Jerusalem while Lebanon and Tehran are hit by Israeli strikes
Sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.
Overnight missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.
An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet Al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.
In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.
Casualties continue to climb as conflict continues
At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.
The UN refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The US has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.
It said Thursday that most have fled from Tehran and other major cities toward the north of the country or rural areas.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure pushed oil above $100 a barrel on Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.
Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals after an attack on its port of Basra on the Arabian Gulf.
Iran flouted a United Nations Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran. The country also announced it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran. In Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.
Since the United States and Israel sparked with war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has embarked on a campaign generated at inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to relent in their attacks.
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway leading from the Arabian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9 percent on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38 percent over what it cost when the war started.
Iran fires at multiple Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Arabian Gulf
The UN Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.
As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Arabian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.
In Bahrain, an early Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Authorities urged people to stay indoors and close windows to avoid smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks, and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, the UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.
Saudi Arabia said it had shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert.
Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that it had been forced to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Arabian Gulf port.
Explosions rock Jerusalem while Lebanon and Tehran are hit by Israeli strikes
Sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.
Overnight missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.
An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet Al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.
In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.
Casualties continue to climb as conflict continues
At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.
The UN refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The US has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.
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