Month: May 2022

The wreckage of the plane, operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air, was recovered in Mustang district in northern Nepal.

The passenger plane was on a 20-minute flight when it lost contact with air traffic control five minutes before it was due to land.

The search is ongoing for the remaining passengers, an official said.

“Fourteen bodies have been recovered so far, search continues for the remaining,” the country’s Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Deo Chandra Lal Karn told AFP a day after the crash. “The weather is very bad but we were able to take a team to the crash site.”

Four Indians, two Germans and 16 Nepalis were on board the plane, according to reports. But search operations were hampered by bad weather and mountainous terrain, and only resumed on Monday morning.

Images posted on Twitter by a spokesman from the Nepalese Army showed the remains of the plane – prominently bearing its registered call sign 9N-AET.

“Search and rescue troops have physically located the plane crash site,” Narayan Silwal said on Twitter earlier on Monday, marking the end of a nearly 24-hour long search for the wreckage.

The plane had departed the tourist town of Pokhara at around 0955 local time on Sunday (04:10 GMT). It was bound for Jomsom – a popular tourist and pilgrimage site.

Nepal has had a fraught record of aviation accidents, often due to its sudden weather changes and airstrips located in rocky terrains that are difficult to access.

In early 2018, a US-Bangla flight carrying 71 people from Dhaka in Bangladesh caught fire as it landed in Kathmandu, killing 51 people.

More recently, three people died in a plane crash in April 2019 when the aircraft veered off the runway and hit a stationary helicopter at Lukla Airport – considered one of the most tricky runways to navigate.

Plans have also been introduced to support the city’s economy, which has been hit hard by the restrictions.

The commercial centre has been under a strict lockdown for almost two months.

Meanwhile, China’s capital Beijing has reopened parts of its public transport system as well as some shopping malls and other venues as infections ease.

The announcement in Shanghai came as official figures showed on Sunday that new daily coronavirus cases fell to 122 from 170 over the previous 24 hours.

Officials said guidelines to curb the spread of Covid-19 and control the number of people returning to work will be revised.

The move will see “unreasonable restrictions” being lifted on restarting work and production at companies, vice mayor Wu Qing told a news briefing.

Companies will no longer need to be on a “whitelist” to resume production starting from 1 June.

The announcement came as the city launched a 50-point plan aimed at revitalising Shanghai’s economy, which before the lockdown was worth more than $600bn (£475bn).

The new measures included reducing some taxes for car buyers, speeding up the issuance of local government bonds, and fast-tracking approvals of building projects.

Under the plans, drivers who switch to an electric vehicle will be able claim a $1,500 subsidy.

Additional help for businesses will include allowing firms to delay insurance and rent payments, as well as subsidies for utility charges.

Banks will also be asked to renew loans to small and medium-sized businesses totalling $15bn this year.

At the same time vouchers will be handed out to help support retailers and e-commerce platforms, particularly for businesses in the cultural, tourism and fitness industries.

The latest moves aimed to revitalise the city’s hard-hit economy come on top of measures rolled-out at the end of March.

Shanghai is China’s biggest city with a population of around 25 million and is a key financial, manufacturing and shipping hub.

The lockdown has seen many of its residents lose income, struggle to find enough food and cope mentally with prolonged isolation.

Manufacturers in Shanghai, including western car makers Volkswagen and Tesla, have been particularly impacted by the restrictions as staff were kept away from factories or had to work in so-called “closed loop” conditions, where they lived at the plants.

Also on Sunday, authorities in Beijing eased curbs in several parts of the city after officials said the outbreak is now under control.

Most of the capital’s public transport system – including buses, trains and taxis – will resume in three districts including the central area of Chaoyang.

Shopping malls and other venues have also been allowed to reopen in some parts of the city.

Workers in two districts in the south west and north east of the city have also been allowed to return to work.

However, tutoring businesses, Internet cafes and karaoke bars remained closed.

Mr Dutton – the former defence minister – was elected unopposed by Liberal MPs.

The Liberal-National coalition had governed for almost a decade when it lost to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor on 21 May.

Some MPs have blamed the defeat on the coalition’s polarising leaders and its stance on climate change.

It lost almost 20 seats, including in areas usually considered to be Liberal Party strongholds.

Mr Dutton – from the party’s right – has been a controversial figure at times and some question whether he could rebuild Liberal support in more progressive, metropolitan areas.

He is best known for overseeing Australia’s controversial policies on asylum seekers, and his role in the downfall of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

But Mr Dutton has said many Australians have only seen the tough side of him.

“I’m not going to change but I want people to see the entire person I am… and make their own judgements,” he said on Monday.

“I’m not as bad as the [media] might sometimes report.”

The former policeman entered parliament in 2001 and has held an array of ministerial portfolios.

In 2018, Mr Dutton challenged Mr Turnbull for the party leadership but didn’t have enough support to replace him. Mr Morrison instead became party leader and prime minister.

In 2015 Mr Dutton was widely criticised for making light of rising sea levels affecting Pacific Island nations, after he was caught on camera joking about “water lapping at your door”.

He boycotted Australia’s 2008 national apology to the Stolen Generations – a name given to tens of thousands of Aboriginal children who were forcibly taken from their families under infamous government policies until 1970. However, he now says that was a “mistake”.

But many colleagues have defended Mr Dutton as the right leader to unite the party’s moderate and conservative wings.

One senior colleague, Stuart Robert, described him as “a warm-hearted, very decent, competent individual”.

Former Environment Minister Sussan Ley became deputy leader of the Liberal Party.

The Nationals – the junior coalition partner – also replaced their leader, Barnaby Joyce. Mr Joyce had previously made international headlines when he threatened to euthanise actor Johnny Depp’s dogs after they were illegally bought into the country.

It is the second time Mr Joyce has been ousted from the position. He lost the party leadership in the wake of personal scandals in 2018, but returned to the top job a year ago.

He was on Monday replaced by David Littleproud – who was his deputy and is the MP for the country’s safest seat.

The government says the “high potential individual” route, which opens on Monday, will attract the “brightest and best” early in their careers.

The scheme will be available to alumni of the top non-UK universities who graduated in the past five years.

Graduates will be eligible regardless of where they were born and will not need a job offer in order to apply.

Successful applicants will be given a work visa lasting two years if they hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and three years if they hold a PhD.

They will then be able to switch to other long-term employment visas if they meet certain requirements.

To qualify, a person must have attended a university that appeared in the top 50 of at least two of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, or The Academic Ranking of World Universities in the year they graduated.

The list of eligible universities from 2021, published online by the government, featured 20 US universities, including Harvard, Yale, and MIT.

There were a further 17 qualifying institutions, including the University of Hong Kong, University of Melbourne, and the Paris Sciences et Lettres University.

The visa will cost £715 plus the immigration health surcharge, a fee which allows migrants to the UK to use the NHS.

Graduates will be able to bring their families, although must also have maintenance funds of at least £1,270.

They will also have to pass a security and criminality check and be proficient in English to at least the B1 intermediate level, defined as having the “fluency to communicate without effort with native speakers”.

The scheme follows changes to allow foreign nationals to stay and work in Britain for up to two years instead of having to leave after finishing a degree.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The route means that the UK will grow as a leading international hub for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

“We want the businesses of tomorrow to be built here today, which is why I call on students to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to forge their careers here.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel added: “I am proud to be launching this new and exciting route as part of our points-based immigration system which puts ability and talent first, not where someone comes from.”

Kate Forbes said tackling the cost-of-living crisis while still feeling the effects of the pandemic made her upcoming financial review critical.

It came after the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned of an estimated £3.5bn funding gap by 2026/27.

Opposition parties have criticised the government’s spending “mismanagement”.

The IFS has said the government could be forced to choose between axing key policy priorities or increasing taxes to tackle the deficit.

The shortfall is the equivalent of £640 per person and the IFS warned it could rise even higher.

Ms Forbes’ spending review on Tuesday will be the first time a multi-year plan has been announced in more than a decade.

The finance secretary said she will set out plans to focus public sector funds “to achieve ambitions to tackle child poverty, reach net zero and deliver sustainable services for the future”.

She said: “These are challenging times, and we need to be canny with our spending, but I’m confident that if we work together we can get through this cost-of-living crisis and still achieve our ambitions.

“We face a very difficult financial position over the next few years with funding increases below inflation levels and the challenge of recovering from the pandemic without the financial tools available to every other government in the world.

“That means that while the spending review is not a budget, it will include difficult decisions to ensure we can really focus on supporting households and services at this time.”

The Scottish government is using its new welfare powers for more generous benefits than in the rest of the UK.

It faces heath service backlogs coming out of the Covid crisis, and income tax – although raising rates for higher Scottish earners – is generating less revenue than expected.

So the Institute of Fiscal Studies warned on Friday that either taxes will have to go up, significant cuts will be required or, with tightly constrained borrowing powers, Kate Forbes could simply hope that Westminster will deliver more funding than it has set out so far.

This week’s review of non-capital spending until 2026 to 20227, the end of this Parliamentary term, should show which of these ministers are choosing.

In setting expectations, Kate Forbes today warns the difficult financial position will require difficult decisions, with a focus on protecting households and services.

But opposition parties have condemned the Scottish government’s handling of the economy.

Scottish Conservatives finance spokesperson Liz Smith MSP said: “It appears Kate Forbes’ response to warnings from the IFS of a £3.5bn black hole in the SNP government’s spending plans is to stick her fingers in her ears.

“Years of economic mismanagement by the SNP – including squandering taxpayers’ cash on failed public sector projects like the ferries fiasco – has left Scotland’s finances in a perilous state. Yet there is no acknowledgement of this in Ms Forbes’ pre-spending review spin.

“The reality is Scots face big public spending cuts, huge tax rises or a combination of both if the SNP are to bridge the huge funding gap they’ve created.”

Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour’s finance spokesperson, said the IFS assessment “laid bare” the price of “SNP economic failure”.

He said: “It is clear that the spending review will reveal the heavy cost of the SNP economic mismanagement.

“You can hear them trying to get the excuses in now, but the truth is that during a cost-of-living crisis, Scots will pay for nationalists prioritising the constitution over the economy.

“This will be counted in lost jobs, cuts to public services and few will be able to forgive the SNP for it.”

So says a Conservative MP to me, as we indulge in a spot of guesswork about how many Tory MPs might have formally requested a vote of confidence in the prime minister.

What we are witnessing right now are the aftershocks, the tremors provoked by the publication of the report into pandemic parties on Boris Johnson’s watch.

For months, many Conservative MPs – who collectively have the capacity to give their leader the boot – invoked the name of the senior civil servant tasked with the inquiry: let’s wait for Sue Gray, they would say.

Well, her words and pictures have sprung into the spring sunshine and provoked a dance. Some of those steps we are seeing in public, with a handful of MPs saying publicly for the first time Mr Johnson’s time is up.

Plenty more such steps are happening privately. So, here are the numbers that matter.

For Conservative MPs to try to topple a leader, 15% of them have to write to the chair of the party’s 1922 Committee, which represents backbench Tory MPs.

Fifteen percent of the current number is 54 MPs. And the chairman of the committee in question is Sir Graham Brady.

Sir Graham – depending on your point of view – is admirably or frustratingly discreet about how many bits of correspondence he has rattling around in his jacket pocket.

All we can say definitively is 54 hasn’t been reached yet, or we’d soon be hearing about it.

Nature abhors a vacuum. And Westminster’s solution is a vast quantity of speculation. Journalists, MPs, advisers – we all do it.

And so you get the political equivalent of that children’s party game Pin the Tail on The Donkey.

Remember it? You have a blindfold put on you, get spun round half a dozen times, and then try to stick the furry fly swatter somewhere close to where an anatomical diagram would suggest it should be.

But your very best effort has it protruding from the beast’s forehead.

Well, a little like the unfortunate creature sporting an appendage in an unlikely location, MPs’ best efforts at guessing the number of letters submitted are exactly that – guesses.

And the whole thing is complicated further because some people have put in letters and then taken them out again.

Others have put them in, but only just said so publicly. So the number appears to have gone up, but actually it hasn’t.

Others have talked about writing a letter, but not yet got round to it, or decided against it. And plenty have absolutely no intention of doing so.

And even if 54 letters are sent, and a vote of confidence happens – assuming Boris Johnson doesn’t resign at this point – another 126 MPs on top of those who sent letters would need to join those original grumblers in voting to get shut of him for him to be a goner.

54 + 126 = 180, which is half of all Conservative MPs plus one more – i.e. a majority.

That is a high bar: 126 MPs who didn’t feel sufficiently strongly to put in a letter who then decide they want him removed.

So they are the numbers. What about the words?

Without question, plenty of Conservative MPs are asking themselves the big question: is Boris Johnson still an asset, or now a liability?

It’s one thing having a duff policy, one MP tells me. In that situation you can change it or go quiet about it. When it’s about the character of your leader, it is much harder.

One MP who submitted a letter of no confidence in the last few days told me they had had seven emails expressing their disappointment in their actions.

And 479 saying good on you.

“I know of so many MPs who are on the verge of sending a letter,” says another MP. “We can’t be that far away.”

At a gathering in the last few days of Tory MPs representing marginal seats – which happened to take place on the same day as Sue Gray’s report came out – I hear there was much chatter about this very question.

What is provoking a fair dollop of soul searching for some is less the gory detail of wine and fines, vomit, and a fight.

Instead, it is what critics see as a lack of attention to detail.

It is corroding MPs’ confidence, I am told, in whether big policy promises can be kept – on levelling up, on the Northern Ireland Protocol, or on the hospital building programme.

The Conservative manifesto in 2019 promised “we will build and fund 40 new hospitals over the next 10 years.”

Now some MPs, asking questions about when their local one might be coming, are hearing the long-winded process hasn’t even started yet.

So what might happen next? There are three options:

So how likely is it that we reach 54 letters?

A growing number think it is imminent, although we went through this rigmarole earlier in the year and it didn’t happen.

“We could get there by accident,” one MP tells me, suggesting the trickle is happening spontaneously rather than being co-ordinated, with irritation emerging from different wings of the party.

One MP who wants Mr Johnson out tells me they fear No10 want it to be reached so they can “face it down” and “secure a year’s immunity.”

That’s a reference to another quirk of the rules – if a leader survives a vote of confidence, no new vote can happen for 12 months.

Another of the same view also thinks Mr Johnson would win a vote of confidence. It’s back to those big numbers again.

“Unlike any one normal (Theresa May etc) he could win a confidence vote by one and carry on regardless,” an MP says.

Theresa May survived a vote of confidence in December 2018, comfortably arithmetically, less comfortably politically.

And while technically winning by one would allow a leader to continue, this MP suggests most would walk at that point – but Mr Johnson would not.

Another says the current half-term break could be crucial.

“I suspect over this week quite a few colleagues will make their minds up. Sue Gray was the public holding position for many. Developments since then won’t have helped the prime minister.”

But hang on.

When following any political story, remember an important rule: account for the people not making a lot of noise, as well as those who are.

Plenty remain loyal to Boris Johnson. Plenty have him to thank for making it to Parliament in the first place.

Some think the Sue Gray report could have been a whole lot worse, and didn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know.

Plenty think huge chunks of the electorate have heard enough about parties and would much rather the focus be on the cost of living.

They’ve priced in the prime minister’s failings, goes the theory, now let him get on with what he was elected to do.

So, assuming in the short to medium term Boris Johnson continues as prime minister, the other thing worth bearing in mind is the parliamentary inquiry into his conduct.

On Monday 6 June, when MPs return from the half term recess, the Privileges Committee will complete its existing work.

At that point, the Labour MP Chris Bryant will stand down as its chairman, having recused himself from the investigation into Boris Johnson, given his known criticisms of him.

Another Labour MP will be taken on by the committee, and under its rules, a Labour MP will become its new chair.

They will then begin an inquiry into whether Mr Johnson knowingly misled parliament in what he said about Partygate.

“It’s very difficult to see into someone’s mind,” says one committee member, acknowledging proving an intent to mislead won’t be easy.

It’s thought the committee’s work could take until October – when, incidentally, the Conservatives gather for their conference in Birmingham.

It can demand documents and witnesses – and who knows what they might turn up – and the whole thing will hang over the prime minister for months.

Whatever happens, the political legacy of Covid rule-breaking in government is going to stick around for a bit yet.