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Liz Truss won’t have it easy as the UK’s new prime minister

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The new leader is likely to pick up where Boris Johnson left off – but with less public trust and worsening crises on her hands

Liz Truss has been revealed as the new leader of the Conservative Party and Britain’s next prime minister.

The media had already been declaring the result a foregone conclusion, because there was no real contest between her and Rishi Sunak when it came to Conservative Party votes. She replaces Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign following a series of scandals which rocked the credibility of his government (of which Truss was a part).

But she doesn’t represent a clean start or a breath of fresh air. She is a product and accumulation of the legacy he set in motion. For those disenchanted with Johnson’s policies, things are going to go from bad to worse.

Johnson was known as a buffoon, albeit often in an intentional way. Before ‘Partygate’ destroyed public trust, he was for the most part likeable. His clown-like antics were an asset before they ultimately showed themselves to be a liability.
Liz Truss joins race to replace Boris Johnson, vows to help defeat Russia

Liz Truss has none of that. She is mocked, but there is a tragic element to it because the key point is she’s trying to be serious. Like when she became widely ridiculed early on due to her obsession with cheese. But it’s not a joke for her.

Truss isn’t your slightly amicable loveable buffoon, she’s a mock-up version of Margaret Thatcher with a very dangerous ideology of Brexit euphoria and nationalistic chauvinism.

She is a democratic fundamentalist who has a very dogmatic understanding of the world, and has blended it into the mantra of Brexit throughout her rise to power, transforming it from a reactionary nationalist nostalgia into a neoconservative confrontationalism.

Her brand is built upon overselling Britain’s capabilities, on pretending it is something it is not, and in conjunction with that striving for a heroic collision course with both China and Russia simultaneously.

It has been reported that she is seeking to declare Beijing as an official threat almost instantly on obtaining office. It remains to be seen whether this is just jingoism, given that she has a record of “governing by slogan,” but even so it will ultimately serve to generate uncertainty and escalate tensions.
Media discovers Boris Johnson’s ambition

And one can’t readily assume she is actually competent and knows what she is doing. For the public, what is most disturbing about Truss is that her actual skills and competence to run a government are questioned by many, and she starts off with a deficit of both trust and popularity. She’s actually less popular than Johnson.

Her entry into Number 10 couldn’t come at a worse time either. People aren’t going to be patient with her. Britons face skyrocketing electricity bills and living costs. The country is expected to enter recession, with many pensioners being unable to pay their electricity bills this winter.

That is the price of victory in Ukraine, she will say, blaming Putin and probably Beijing too. By doubling down on an emerging Cold War with China, and refusing to compromise with Moscow, she is likely to make things much worse for the average Briton in the immediate future. She can talk tough and appear self-righteous, but she doesn’t seem to have a plan that will improve the public’s livelihoods anytime soon.
UK’s new prime minister to be revealed

That isn’t going to accelerate Britain’s revival on a global scale, as she likes to claim, but is in fact going to accelerate its decline into irrelevance. Not only will Britain be poorer, but there’s little inclination to believe a state led by her would actually be respected by others.

Less than a week before Truss’ victory, it was revealed that India’s economy had overtaken the United Kingdom in terms of GDP. For Indians, surpassing their former colonial masters was a moment of celebration, showing the rise of their country.

Yet for Truss, the empire isn’t over, and she doesn’t seem to understand Indians won’t accept one-sided trade terms in Britain’s favor. They don’t do trade deals on “post-imperial nostalgia.”

Her tenure in office is gearing up to become a hard reality check, likely rife with chaos, recklessness and potentially even disaster. That is, unless she surprises her country and the world by pulling some ingenious ace out of her sleeve. Does she have one stashed? Only time will tell.

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Erdogan election defeat would be ‘revenge’ – Syrian Kurds

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The YPG claims the Turkish president failing to win another term would be payback for Ankara’s counter-terrorism operations in Syria

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s defeat in this month’s presidential election would serve as “revenge” for Türkiye’s military operations in Syria, a top official of the People’s Defense Units (YPG) has said.

Salih Muslim, one of the leaders of the YPG — a Syrian militant group affiliated with the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and designated by Ankara as a terrorist organization — said in an interview with Medya Haber Kurdish TV channel that his organization has grown frustrated with Türkiye’s counterterrorism operations ongoing in the northern part of Syria since 2016, Daily Sabah reported.

“Now, we have an opportunity in our hands,” Muslim said, stressing that the YPG is eager to see Erdogan unseated. “It’s the first time we have such a thing happening in elections.” He added that “If we can win at the ballot box, we will take all the revenge from [the defeat of] one person.”

Muslim’s statement comes as several members of the YPG and the PKK have openly expressed support for Erdogan’s main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as the two head into a runoff election on May 28. In the previous round, held on May 14, both candidates failed to secure an outright majority with Erdogan gaining just over 49.4% of the vote while Kilicdaroglu received 44.96%.

Kilicdaroglu has vowed to mend Ankara’s relations with NATO and revive Türkiye’s EU membership talks, which have been effectively stalled since 2016. He has also accused Russia of spreading “conspiracies” and “deep fakes” apparently referring to footage circulating online purportedly linking him to the PKK, and told Moscow to get its “hands off the Turkish state.” Russia has rejected the accusations.

Somalis cheer on Türkiye’s Erdogan to win re-election

Erdogan has repeatedly accused his rival of “colluding with terrorists” and threatening to undo Türkiye’s achievements in its war on terror. He has also blasted Kilicdaroglu for trying to “detach” the country from Russia.

Türkiye has been waging low-intensity warfare against Kurdish militias along its Syrian and Iraqi borders for four decades, in a back-and-forth campaign that has claimed the lives of over 40,000 people.

The PKK and its affiliates have been waging an insurgency since 1984 demanding political and cultural autonomy with the final goal of establishing an independent Kurdish State, laying claim to territories in southeast Türkiye and northern parts of Iraq and Syria.

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Chinese special envoy meets with Zelensky

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Li Hui visited Kiev to share Beijing’s views on a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has met with China’s newly appointed special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, who traveled to Kiev to convey Beijing’s views on a diplomatic resolution to Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.

According to a statement published on Thursday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Li held talks with Zelensky as well as the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andrey Yermak, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, and representatives from several other ministries.

Beijing said both sides had agreed that the recent phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Zelensky had outlined the direction for future relations between their two nations, which it stated should be built on mutual respect and sincerity.

During his trip, Li reiterated that Beijing is willing to serve as a peace broker to help reach a political resolution to the conflict with Russia, based on the principles outlined in a 12-point roadmap published by China in late February.

“There is no panacea in resolving the crisis. All parties need to start from themselves, accumulate mutual trust, and create conditions for ending the war and engaging in peace talks,” Li said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement.

The special envoy’s two-day trip to Ukraine is the first leg of a wider European tour, during which he is expected to visit Poland, France, Germany, and Russia. Beijing has explained that the trip aims to promote communication toward “a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”

Hungary backs Chinese plan for Ukraine

China’s peace efforts have been welcomed by Russia as well as some European nations such as Hungary, and have been praised for acknowledging the national interests of both parties.

The roadmap, however, has been criticized by some in the West. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed that China lacked “credibility” as it has refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell insisted that “the only thing that can be called a peace plan is Zelensky’s proposal.”

The Ukrainian president has demanded that Russia must withdraw from territories that Kiev claims as its own, as well as pay war reparations and face an international tribunal. The Kremlin has dismissed the initiative, claiming it does not take into consideration “the realities on the ground,” including the new status of four former Ukrainian regions as part of Russia.

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Pakistan’s top court orders release of former PM Imran Khan

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Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of former prime minister Imran Khan, whose arrest earlier this week triggered deadly protests across the country, Geo TV news channel has reported.

The court considered an appeal by Khan’s legal team on Thursday, ruling that the arrest of the opposition figure was illegal, according to the broadcaster.

The leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was detained on an order from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday as soon as he arrived at a lower court in connection with a graft case against him. He has been held at a police compound in the capital, Islamabad, since then.

Khan’s spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the 70-year-old was apprehended in court before he could even appear before the judges, which was “in violation of all laws.” The PTI party claimed that it was not an arrest, but “an abduction,” and called on its supporters to take the streets.

Pakistan deploys army after Imran Khan’s arrest

Pakistan has been gripped by violent protests for the last three days, with demonstrators clashing with security forces and setting government buildings on fire in major cities across the country. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has deployed the military in an attempt to curb the unrest.

Some 2,500 of Khan’s supporters, including some top figures in his party, have been arrested so far. Local media have reported at least 11 protesters killed and hundreds of police officers wounded.

Numerous criminal cases have been launched against Khan since his removal from office after a no-confidence vote in April 2022. The PTI leader, who remains highly popular in the country, denies all accusations against him.

The politician claimed a year ago that he had been deposed as a result of a US-led “international conspiracy” and accused his opponents of receiving money from foreign forces.

Khan has been making active attempts to return to power since then, staging massive rallies across the country. The former premier survived an assassination attempt last November, escaping with a non-life-threatening leg wound after several bullets were fired at him.

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