Pressure on Boris Johnson to resign is mounting
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resisted calls to resign, even as a delegation of cabinet members went to Downing Street yesterday to beg him to resign. More than 30 government ministers and aides have resigned so far – but Johnson has vowed to fight on, insisting he has a mandate from the voters to steer Britain into its post-Brexit future.
British lawmakers yesterday considered – then postponed, for at least a few days – a change to party rules that would allow another confidence vote, possibly next week, against the prime minister, who survived such a vote just a month ago. But consensus is growing that Johnson’s time in power is most likely coming to an end.
Given the speed at which Johnson’s government is falling apart, many Tory lawmakers believe he needs to be replaced soon to limit the electoral damage to the party. Johnson does not rule out calling early elections to cast his fate to British voters. Such a move would require the consent of Queen Elizabeth II and could spark a political crisis.
Departure: Johnson last night fired one of his closest advisers, Michael Gove, from a powerful economic position after Gove urged him to resign. That moment of drama was followed by the belated resignation of another minister, Simon Hart, the secretary of Wales.
Millions displaced by the war in Ukraine
According to official data, it is estimated that more than 11 million Ukrainians — a third of the population — have been displaced from their homes since Russia invaded in February, including more than 6.27 million who are still in the country. Nearly 5 million people have fled to Europe as refugees, according to the UN
Most of the displaced persons in Ukraine now come from the east, as that region is becoming the center of the conflict. The majority are women and children, and many face shortages of food, water and basic necessities, UN experts say. Five months after the war, many have begun to fear that they will never return home. The few that remain usually have sick relatives, are too poor to move, or have stayed to protect property.
Helping the displaced to return to their homes – or find new ones – looms as one of Ukraine’s greatest challenges, regardless of the outcome of the war. Some of their birthplaces may not come back under Ukrainian control. Others have been pulverized by the scorched earth tactics of the Russian military.
Europe considers gas and nuclear energy projects ‘green’
In a historic vote, the European Parliament yesterday agreed to label some gas and nuclear energy projects as ‘green’, giving them access to hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans and even state subsidies. It immediately proved controversial, sparking booing from opponents inside and outside the parliamentary building in Strasbourg, France.
Critics said it would maintain and prolong Europe’s reliance on fossil fuels, while proponents of the measure, including members of the European Commission, said it is part of a pragmatic approach to the transition to renewable energy, especially as Europe is trying to to lead from Russia. fuel imports in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The war is forcing European countries to source gas from somewhere other than Russia, or to double down on renewable resources such as wind and solar energy. The vote indicated an intention to extend their reliance on gas, the main component of which is methane, a greenhouse gas. Europe aims to more than halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
citable: “This will delay a much-needed true sustainable transition and increase our reliance on Russian fuels,” said Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist. “The hypocrisy is striking, but unfortunately not surprising.”
Over the years, the Claddagh ring has been a love and friendship ring. In modern times it has become a symbol of Ireland itself.
The Rise of Minions
Minions – anarchic yellow “moles-type subterranean creatures,” as one of their creators put it – are everywhere. Online, they lead TikTok trends and star in Boomer-loved memes. Offline, their merchandise is ubiquitous.
While some of this cultural saturation may be related to Universal’s lenient stance on copyright enforcement, Minions’ upbeat kind of simple, streamlined comedy is no less important, writes critic Calum Marsh. “In its slapstick argument and non-verbal brio,” he writes, “it reaches a kind of limitless comic nirvana.”
Minions communicate in a soft gibberish, Minionees, that is both undecipherable and strangely coherent. With few punchlines, they instead use slapstick action for comedic effect. “What the Minion movies are most like are comedies from the silent era,” Calum writes.
Perhaps that’s why they have a kind of timelessness — one that doesn’t require sharp pop culture references, celebrity voiceovers, or even human-centric subplots. “The Minions just went gag after gag: pure physical comedy without limits,” as Calum puts it. “And so the Minions took over the world.”