Coronavirus update: Key developments in the last 24 hours and takeaways

Yesterday, in a video conference with chief ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated the nationwide lockdown could be extended beyond May 17, but with eased restrictions for businesses

The total number of Covid-19 cases in India has reached 70,765, with more than 3,600 cases being reported in 24 hours. Here are some key takeaways: Delhi has added 319 new cases in a day. It has consistently added more than 200 cases for 11 days. Total cases added on these days comes to 3718, which is 51.5% of all case tally of 7233.

Also Read: Centre releases Rs 6,195 crore to 14 states to fight coronavirus crisis

Gujarat has added 347 new cases in 24 hours. It has consistently added more than 300 cases on each of the past 13 days. Total cases added during this period, 4767, is 56% of its case tally of 8541. Maharashtra has added 1230 new cases in 24 hours. The state has consistently added more than 1,000 cases on seven of the past eight days. Its addition of cases in the past eight days is 10427, which is 44.5% of its case tally of 23401…

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Pompeo tries to salvage a post-Brexit Britain alliance amid growing rift

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been touting the prospects of a big new trade deal with the United States that can fill the void of Britain’s departure from the European Union on Friday

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits London on Wednesday to salvage a post-Brexit alliance with an old friend whose defiance on China and Iran underscores Washington’s diplomatic isolation.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been touting the prospects of a big new trade deal with the United States that can fill the void of Britain’s departure from the European Union on Friday. But Pompeo’s meetings with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Johnson on Wednesday and Thursday threatens to become a damage limitation exercise for the “special relationship”.

Mike Pompeo had been doing his best to convince Johnson that allowing China’s Huawei tech giant to help build Britain’s next-generation 5G network introduced a long-term security threat. Britain approved a limited but still important role for Huawei on Tuesday. “The United States is disappointed by the UK’s decision,” a senior administration official said in a terse statement. And Johnson had been pushing Washington to send back the wife of a US diplomat who is using the cover of diplomatic immunity to avoid prosecution over the death of a teenager in a road accident in England last August.

The United States rejected Anne Sacoolas’s extradition to Britain last week. “We feel this amounts to a denial of justice,” Raab said in response. “The UK would have acted differently if this had been a UK diplomat serving in the US.” Disagreements about Iran and a US prosecutor’s complaint that Prince Andrew was stonewalling an FBI investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein only add to the layers of tensions.

Boris Johnson defies Trump, grants Huawei limited role in UK’s 5G network

US congressional leaders widely criticized Britain’s decision, with powerful Senator Lindsey Graham saying it could “greatly complicate” drawing up a new agreement after Britain exits the EU on Jan 31

Prime Minister Boris Johnson granted Huawei a limited role in Britain’s 5G mobile network on Tuesday, frustrating a global attempt by the United States to exclude the Chinese telecoms giant from the West’s next-generation communications.

Defying Britain’s closest ally in favour of China on the eve of Brexit, Johnson ruled that “high-risk vendors” such as Huawei would be allowed into the non-sensitive parts of the 5G network. Whilst such high-risk companies’ involvement will be capped at 35%, they will be excluded from the sensitive core, where data is processed, and they will be banned from all critical networks and locations such as nuclear sites and military bases.

Such an explicit rejection of US concerns that Huawei could be used to steal Western secrets was welcomed by the Chinese firm, founded in 1987 by a former People’s Liberation Army engineer, but dismayed the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Johnson and Trump spoke by phone shortly after the decision was made public. “The Prime Minister underlined the importance of like-minded countries working together to diversify the market and break the dominance of a small number of companies,” the British government said in a statement. Speaking before the call, a Trump administration official said: “There is no safe option for untrusted vendors to control any part of a 5G network…

With clock ticking, British MPs scrutinise Brexit deal to leave EU in time

After his stunning victory in last month’s general election, Johnson is expected to have little trouble getting the legislation enshrining his EU divorce terms through parliament

British MPs on Tuesday resume scrutiny of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal as he races to get it ratified in time for Britain to leave the European Union on January 31. After his stunning victory in last month’s general election, Johnson is expected to have little trouble getting the legislation enshrining his EU divorce terms through parliament. But the Conservative leader is still up against the clock, as both the British and European parliaments must ratify the deal before departure day in just a few weeks’ time.

Britons voted in the 2016 referendum to end more than four decades of integration with the EU, but the process has been plagued by political rows over how, when and even whether Britain should leave. After years of uncertainty that weighed on economic growth, Boris Johnson now looks set to finally make it happen — even if a potentially bigger battle awaits on future ties with the EU. MPs gave their initial approval to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in a vote on December 20, a week after Johnson secured a majority of 80 in the 650-seat House of Commons.

Starting on Tuesday, they will have three days of debate before the bill passes to the unelected House of Lords for further scrutiny next week. Opposition lawmakers and troublesome peers will try to amend the text, but Johnson is virtually certain of getting it through on time. In a sign of his confidence, his government announced it would hold a new post-Brexit budget vote on March 11, to “seize the opportunities that come from getting Brexit done”…

UK elections: Johnson headed for majority, Labour loses ground in heartland

The snap election had been called by Johnson in a bid to win a majority for his Conservative Party and break the Commons deadlock over Brexit

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks set to return to 10 Downing Street with a comfortable majority and a victory for his Get Brexit Done message in the General Election based on forecasts as early results poured in on Friday.

The first sign of what the results held in store came with a definitive exit poll released at the close of voting at 2200 GMT on Thursday, which predicted the Johnson-led Conservative Party winning 368 seats, with the Labour Party way down at 191 in a predominantly Tory blue versus Labour red contest.

The forecast not only pegged the Tories way past the 326-mark required for the all-important majority in the 650-member House of Commons, but also meant Johnson’s so-called divorce agreement struck with the European Union (EU) to take the UK out of the 28-member economic bloc set to be turbo-charged to go full speed ahead.

This has been a hard-fought election in a very cold time of the year because we needed a functioning Conservative majority, said Priti Patel, the senior-most Indian-origin minister in Johnson’s last Cabinet, in response to the exit poll. We are committed to deliver on priorities and getting Brexit done is a priority. The deal is there, we want to move forward, she said….

Keep Reading: UK Elections 

Johnson’s Brexit hangs with a thread as European Union seeks more time

With 17 days before the UK is due to leave the EU, Johnson repeatedly pledged to “get Brexit done,” as he spoke in Parliament on Monday

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal was hanging in the balance Tuesday, after the European Union Presidency said more time was needed before a summit of its leaders this week.

Antti Rinne, premier of Finland — which currently has the rotating presidency of the EU — said negotiations may need to continue after the EU Council summit that starts Thursday. “I think there is no time in a practical way and in a legal base to reach an agreement before the Council meeting, I think we need to have more time,” Rinne told reporters in Helsinki.

With 17 days before the UK is due to leave the EU, Boris Johnson repeatedly pledged to “get Brexit done,” as he spoke in Parliament on Monday following a Queen’s Speech that laid the ground for a general election. He’s refused to ask for a delay to Brexit, even though the Benn Act says he must do so if he hasn’t finalized a deal with both the EU and UK Parliament by October 19.

The EU plans to decide Wednesday whether there will be a deal for leaders to sign during the Oct. 17-18 summit and has ruled out negotiating during the actual meeting of leaders. Johnson postponed a meeting of his political cabinet to Wednesday, when it may become clearer whether a Brexit deal will be done this week, and the government will then be able to decide whether to call MPs in for a sitting on Saturday. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid also announced Nov. 6 as the date for his annual Budget, but that will only take place if the government gets a Brexit deal.

PM Boris Johnson suspends UK Parliament after latest Brexit defeat

What is usually a solemn, formal prorogation ceremony erupted into raucous scenes as opposition lawmakers in the House of Commons chamber shouted ‘shame on you’ and held up signs reading ‘silenced’

The simmering showdown between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Britain’s Parliament over Brexit came to a head as lawmakers delivered three defeats to the government’s plans for leaving the European Union, before being sent home early Tuesday for a contentious five-week suspension of the legislature.

In a session that ran well past midnight, Parliament enacted a law to block a no-deal Brexit next month, ordered the government to release private communications about its Brexit plans and rejected Boris Johnson‘s call for a snap election to break the political deadlock.

Parliament was then suspended or prorogued at the government’s request until October 14, a drastic move that gives Johnson a respite from rebellious lawmakers as he plots his next move. Opponents accuse him of trying to avoid democratic scrutiny.

What is usually a solemn, formal prorogation ceremony erupted into raucous scenes as opposition lawmakers in the House of Commons chamber shouted “Shame on you” and held up signs reading “Silenced.”

Narayana Murthy’s son-in-law among 3 Indian-origin faces in Boris Cabinet

Priti Patel and Alok Sharma are the other two Indian origin faces in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet

Current Affairs: At any rate three Indian-beginning appearances are set to hold key posts in Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet. While Priti Patel has been named as the home secretary, Rishi Sunak, the child in-law of Infosys fellow benefactor Narayana Murthy, is Britain’s new Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Hampshire-conceived Sunak, 39, has been MP for Richmond, Yorkshire, since 2015. A representative, Sunak considered in Oxford and Stanford colleges. Alok Sharma, who has been designated as the Secretary of State for International Development, is the third other Indian-starting point face in the Cabinet. He was the work serve in the Theresa May government.

Priti Patel: UK’s first Indian-source home secretary

Priti Patel is a vigorous Brexiteer who was among the most vocal faultfinders of Theresa May’s Brexit methodology. She was the unmistakable individual from the Back Boris battle for the Conservative Party authority and was generally tipped for the plum post.

The Gujarati-starting point lawmaker, who is a conspicuous visitor at all significant Indian diaspora occasions in the UK, is viewed as an ardent supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK….

Boris Johnson: From failed politician to Britain’s new Prime Minister

This story depends on discussions with parliamentarians, guides and pastors and shows how Johnson persuaded his suspicious associates to put their confidence in him

In a lavish inn in the core of one of London’s most costly neighborhoods, Boris Johnson praised his triumph in the race to move toward becoming UK executive on Tuesday night. Accumulated with his group at the gathering in Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, he and visitors swapped accounts of the six-week challenge over salmon mousse and frankfurters on sticks. They toasted the triumph with glasses of premium rosé champagne. The stimulation was a mystical performer performing card traps.

In any case, the most breathtaking demonstration of wizardry had officially occurred: the change of a government official scorned as a disappointment a year sooner into the most influential man in Britain. This story depends on discussions with parliamentarians, consultants and priests and shows how Boris Johnson persuaded his doubtful partners to put their confidence in him. Presently he needs to keep up that help if he will make due as head administrator and convey his guarantees to arrange a superior Brexit bargain.

In truth, the open substance of the Brexit battle was constantly well known with grassroots gathering individuals frantic to escape the EU. Be that as it may, he confronted one diligent inquiry: would he say he was prominent enough among the 300 or so Conservative individuals from Parliament to be chosen for lead them?

A media star with a present for satire, Johnson won distinction and fans among the British open in a manner couple of government officials ever accomplish. Be that as it may, the general population’s touch at no other time had converted into acknowledgment among his friends in the Westminster….

From journalist to UK PM: Boris Johnson’s career summed up by the numbers

Apart from his own self-advancement, it is hard to pin down just what it is Johnson believes in

International News: Boris Johnson’s ascension to the job of British prime minister is the culmination of years of scheming and plotting. His buffoonish exterior hides a calculating egotist beneath. Apart from his own self-advancement, it is hard to pin down just what it is Johnson believes in, given his habit of doing and saying whatever is needed at the time to achieve his goals. He has left some clues along the way about his character, though. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers that have characterised his career to date.

14 Years spent in journalism

Johnson’s first foray into journalism was in 1987 when he acquired a job at The Times through a family connection. He was fired shortly thereafter for making up a quote in a story about Edward II.

He bounced back quickly, though, using another one of his connections to land a job at The Daily Telegraph, a publication with which he has been associated ever since. As the newspaper’s Brussels correspondent, he established himself as one of the key eurosceptic journalists. He was regularly criticised for fabrications and untruths, but Boris Johnson was never one to let the truth get in the way of a good story. He has openly admitted that he enjoyed the feeling of seeing his articles having an “amazing, explosive effect” on the Conservative party, which, in the early 1990s, was becoming much more hostile towards Europe.

2. Number of black eyes he was happy for a fellow reporter to receive

While working as a journalist for the Daily Telegraph, Johnson was recorded having a discussion with his friend and convicted fraudster Darius Guppy, who wanted to have reporter Stuart Collier physically assaulted..