The world reacts to Liz Truss’s resignation
Liz Truss has resigned as prime minister after just 44 days in the post – here’s how the news was received around the world.
Russia: Liz Truss will be remembered for her ‘catastrophic illiteracy’
Russia’s foreign ministry welcomed the resignation of Liz Truss – saying she was a “disgrace” of a leader who will be remembered for her “catastrophic illiteracy”.
Sunak favourite to be new PM as Truss resigns – live politics updates
“Britain has never known such a disgrace of a prime minister,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The claim of illiteracy appears to refer to Ms Truss’ visit to Moscow shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine while she was foreign minister.
In a meeting with Russia’s veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, she appeared to confuse two regions of Russia with Ukraine, triggering mockery by the Russian diplomat and across talk shows on Russian state TV.
Senior Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev tweeted: “Bye, bye @trussliz, congrats to lettuce,” referring to the UK Daily Star’s joke about whether a lettuce would last longer than Ms Truss’s prime ministership.
France: We wish for stability for the UK
French President Emmanuel Macron said: “I won’t comment on this issue which relates to British politics, but what I want to say is that we always had very constructive meetings and exchanges over the phone, no later than a few days ago in Prague.
“I also want to say that France, as a friend of the British people, wishes for stability and in this context of war and tensions over the energy crisis, it is important that Great Britain sets out again on the path of political stability and that’s all I wish for.
“On a personal level, I am always sad to see a colleague leave and I hope that stability will come back.”
US: We’ll continue to have a close relationship
US President Joe Biden said: “The United States and the United Kingdom are strong allies and enduring friends – and that fact will never change.
“I thank prime minister Liz Truss for her partnership on a range of issues including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine.
“We will continue our close co-operation with the UK government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face.”
Ireland: New PM should be appointed as ‘quickly as possible’
Britain must appoint a new prime minister to succeed Liz Truss as “quickly as possible” to ensure political and economic stability, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said.
“I think stability is very important and we would like to see the UK system within its capacity to have a successor selected as quickly as possible and that stability would be brought to the situation given the fairly significant geopolitical issues facing Europe, not least the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis,” he said.
Read more:
Who could replace Liz Truss?
The divided Tories won’t find it easy choosing a new PM
Australia: ‘Voters want a say in what happens next’
Rebecca Armitage wrote for the Australian Broadcasting Corp: “Voters are the ones who have endured a devastating pandemic, Putin’s cold and costly winter, and now a looming recession.
“After their government descended into chaos, in-fighting and betrayal, they want a say in what happens next.”
In The Sydney Morning Herald, columnist Waleed Aly wrote that Ms Truss’s downfall held lessons for Australia’s Liberal Party.
He said: “In a certain sense, this Tory nightmare really began with a loss: specifically David Cameron’s lost gamble that he could put Brexit to bed. But Australia’s Coalition found civil war in victory, especially on issues like climate change.
“Which explains probably the key similarity we’re now seeing.
“There’s a certain Tory who feels the extremists are now in charge of their party, and who hopes that this crash landing might be the chance to remove them and restore a traditional Tory balance.
“There, as here, victor’s remorse must inevitably become reduced to a loser’s hope.”
United Arab Emirates: The market won the argument
The National’s columnist and assistant editor-in-chief Mustafa Alrawi wrote: “People are dealing with a cost-of-living crisis and governments must respond – which will mean spending more or taxing less.
“The UK wanted to do both to stimulate growth and the market was highly sceptical it would work.
“The market won the argument.”
Netherlands: ‘I’m annoyed for her personally’
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “I had a good contact with her… so I’m annoyed for her personally.
“We agreed on a whole range of views and I’m looking forward to work with who will be my next colleague.
“It will be the fifth one, I believe.”
Ms Truss with Dutch PM Mark Rutte
Canada: Government by lettuce leads only to the compost heap
Tom Rachman, columnist at Canada’s Globe And Mail, blamed Britain’s political “disgrace” on “the culmination of six woeful years sparked by the vote for Brexit, which hastened the decline of a major power while thrusting dunces and charlatans into command”.
“Sadly, Britain cannot simply vote this mess off the island.
“Besides the ongoing costs of Brexit, this latest loss of credibility means billions more frittered on higher borrowing costs.”
He says public service cuts, inflation and soaring energy prices make for a “frightening” winter, adding: “One economic boost is obvious, yet few dare speak its name: re-joining the EU”.
“Britain must summon courage now, and view itself honestly. Government by lettuce, it turns out, leads only to the compost heap.
“A humbling was due. A humbling is here.”
India: Failed promises and dashed hopes
India Today’s Nandini Singh wrote that the British prime minister’s short tenure was “marred by failed promises and dashed hopes”.
She notes the possibility that Boris Johnson could make a return to power “as he still has a core of supporters who feel a departure forced by a string of scandals inside Downing Street was unfair, and that number has surely grown as Tory MPs and members grasp for anything that could rescue the party from electoral oblivion”.
World
‘Widespread sexual violence’ took place during Hamas’s 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says
A newly released report led by Israeli legal and gender experts presents detailed evidence alleging “widespread and systematic” sexual violence during the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October.
Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence
The findings, published by the Dinah Project, argue that these acts amount to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and assert that “Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war”.
The report draws on 18 months of investigation and is based on survivor testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with first responders, morgue personnel and healthcare professionals.
According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns – such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage – indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.
Reported incidents span at least six locations, including the Nova music festival, and several kibbutzim in southern Israel.
A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP
One section of the report describes victims “found fully or partially naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their backs and/or to structures such as trees and poles, and shot”.
At the Nova music festival and surrounding areas, the investigators found “reasonable grounds to believe” that multiple women were raped or gang-raped before being killed.
The report’s findings are consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Read more:
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict previously concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” CRSV took place during the attack.
Destroyed vehicles near the grounds of the Supernova electronic music festival. Pic: AP
Significantly, the Dinah Project urges the international community to officially recognise the use of sexual violence by Hamas as a deliberate strategy of war and calls on the United Nations to add Hamas to its list of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The nature and scale of sexual violence on 7 October have been a subject of intense controversy, with some accusing parties of weaponising the narrative for political ends.
This report seeks to confront what its authors call “denial, misinformation, and global silence,” and to provide justice for the victims.
Hamas has denied that its fighters have used sexual violence and mistreated female hostages.
World
Israeli soldiers ‘psychologically broken’ after ‘confronting the reality’ in Gaza, UN expert says
A UN expert has said some young soldiers in the Israeli Defence Forces are being left “psychologically broken” after “confront[ing] the reality among the rubble” when serving in Gaza.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, was responding to a Sky News interview with an Israeli solider who described arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza.
She told The World with Yalda Hakim that “many” of the young people fighting in Gaza are “haunted by what they have seen, what they have done”.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Ms Albanese said. “This is not a war, this is an assault against civilians and this is producing a fracture in many of them.
“As that soldier’s testimony reveals, especially the youngest among the soldiers have been convinced this is a form of patriotism, of defending Israel and Israeli society against this opaque but very hard felt enemy, which is Hamas.
“But the thing is that they’ve come to confront the reality among the rubble of Gaza.”
An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel. Pic: AP
Being in Gaza is “probably this is the first time the Israeli soldiers are awakening to this,” she added. “And they don’t make sense of this because their attachment to being part of the IDF, which is embedded in their national ideology, is too strong.
“This is why they are psychologically broken.”
Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman who is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said he believes the Sky News interview with the former IDF solider “reflects one part of how ugly, difficult and horrible fighting in a densely populated, urban terrain is”.
“I think [the ex-soldier] is reflecting on how difficult it is to fight in such an area and what the challenges are on the battlefield,” he said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ex-IDF spokesperson: ‘No distinction between military and civilians’
‘An economy of genocide’
Ms Albanese, one of dozens of independent UN-mandated experts, also said her most recent report for the human rights council has identified “an economy of genocide” in Israel.
The system, she told Hakim, is made up of more than 60 private sector companies “that have become enmeshed in the economy of occupation […] that have Israel displace the Palestinians and replace them with settlers, settlements and infrastructure Israel runs.”
Israel has rejected allegations of genocide in Gaza, citing its right to defend itself after Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Israel has shifted towards economy of genocide’
The companies named in Ms Albanese’s report are in, but not limited to, the financial sector, big tech and the military industry.
“These companies can be held responsible for being directed linked to, or contributing, or causing human rights impacts,” she said. “We’re not talking of human rights violations, we are talking of crimes.”
“Some of the companies have engaged in good faith, others have not,” Ms Albanese said.
Read more:
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
British surgeons on life in Gaza
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The companies she has named include American technology giant Palantir, which has issued a statement to Sky News.
It said it is “not true” that Palantir “is the (or a) developer of the ‘Gospel’ – the AI-assisted targeting software allegedly used by the IDF in Gaza, and that we are involved with the ‘Lavender’ database used by the IDF for targeting cross-referencing”.
“Both capabilities are independent of and pre-ate Palantir’s announced partnership with the Israeli Defence Ministry,” the statement added.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike