World

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces two high-stakes encounters in parliament on Wednesday after his government was rocked by the shock departures of two senior ministers.

Rishi Sunak resigned as finance minister, and Sajid Javid as health secretary on Tuesday night. Both said they could no longer tolerate the culture of scandal that has stalked Johnson for months.

They will now sit on the Conservative back benches at the weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons at 1100 GMT — which promises to be even more combustible than usual.

Johnson then faces an hours-long grilling from the chairs of the Commons’ most powerful committees, who include some of his most virulent critics in the Tory ranks.

The exits of Sunak and Javid were announced minutes after the prime minister apologised for appointing a senior Conservative, who quit last week after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men.

Former education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has been elevated to the finance brief.

Days of shifting explanations had followed the resignation of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. Downing Street at first denied Johnson knew of prior allegations against Pincher when appointing him in February.

But by Tuesday, that defence had collapsed after a former top civil servant said Johnson, as foreign minister, was told in 2019 about another incident involving his ally.

The Pincher affair was the “icing on the cake” for Sunak and Javid, Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, a Johnson critic, told Sky News.

“It’s time for Boris to go. He can drag this out for a few more hours if he wants to. 

“But I and a lot of the party now are determined that he will be gone by the summer recess (starting on July 22): the sooner the better.”

The resignations dominated British newspaper front pages. Under the headline “Johnson on the brink,” The Times said the “apparently coordinated” move “dealt a potentially fatal blow to the prime minister”.

“Johnson hanging by a thread as Sunak and Javid walk out,” was the assessment from the prime minister’s former employers at The Daily Telegraph.

The Guardian and Financial Times also said the PM was “on the brink” while the conservative Daily Mail tabloid was more colourful: “Can even Boris the Greased Piglet wriggle out of this?”

The resignations came after Johnson only narrowly survived a vote of no confidence among Conservative MPs a month ago.

Other cabinet members including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace — two likely contenders for the leadership — continue to back Johnson, aides said.

– Humility? –

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a doggedly loyal cabinet ally, dismissed the resignations as “little local difficulties”.

“Losing chancellors is something that happens,” he said on Sky News, pointing to past Tory leaders — although Margaret Thatcher was ultimately felled by a cabinet revolt by top allies.

Sunak’s departure in particular, in the middle of policy differences over a cost-of-living crisis sweeping Britain, is dismal news for Johnson.

The chancellor of the exchequer said “the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously”.

“I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning,” Sunak wrote to Johnson.

Javid preceded Sunak at the Treasury before quitting over a prior bust-up with Johnson.

He wrote that the prime minister’s survival in last month’s no-confidence vote gave him the opportunity to show “humility, grip and new direction”.

“I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership — and you have therefore lost my confidence too.”

– ‘Collapsing’ –

Johnson has been embroiled in various scandals, above all the so-called “Partygate” affair, which saw him receive a police fine for breaking his own coronavirus lockdown restrictions in Downing Street.

The 58-year-old premier still faces a parliamentary probe into whether he lied to MPs over the lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street.

Pincher’s departure from the whips’ office — charged with enforcing party discipline and standards — marked yet another allegation of sexual misconduct by Tories in recent months.

Conservative MP Neil Parish resigned in April after he was caught watching pornography on his mobile phone in the House of Commons.

That prompted a by-election in his previously safe seat, which the party went on to lose in a historic victory for the opposition Liberal Democrats.

Labour, the main opposition party, defeated the Conservatives in another by-election in northern England on the same day, prompted by the conviction of its Tory MP for sexual assault.

The controversies have come with Britain battling the worsening cost-of-living crisis and a summer of strikes by various unions over wages and working conditions.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said it was “clear that this government is now collapsing”.

The biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic began kicks off Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of mostly maskless worshippers expected to circle Islam’s holiest site in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca.

One million fully vaccinated Muslims, including 850,000 from abroad, are allowed at this year’s hajj, a major break from two years of drastically curtailed numbers due to the pandemic. 

At Mecca’s Grand Mosque, pilgrims will perform the “tawaf”, the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the large cubic structure draped in golden-embroidered black cloth that Muslims around the world turn towards to pray. 

Many have chosen to perform the ritual ahead of Wednesday’s official hajj start date. 

On Tuesday afternoon, white-robed male worshippers and women in colourful abayas walked side by side on the white floors near the Kaaba, the majority without a mask even though authorities said last month that masks would be mandatory at the site.

“I just prayed for you,” one pilgrim, wearing a green robe, said during a video call with relatives. 

“I love you mother, I love you all,” she added, waving into her mobile phone screen as she continued walking around the Kaaba.

– Five days of rituals –

This year’s hajj is larger than the pared-down versions staged in 2020 and 2021 but still smaller than in normal times. 

In 2019, some 2.5 million Muslims from around the world participated in the annual event — a key pillar of Islam that able-bodied Muslims must undertake at least once in their lives. 

But after that, the coronavirus outbreak forced a dramatic downsizing. Just 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents of the kingdom took part in 2021, up from a few thousand in 2020. 

The pilgrimage consists of a series of religious rites which are completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia. 

On Thursday, the pilgrims will move to Mina, around five kilometres (three miles) away from the Grand Mosque, ahead of the main rite at Mount Arafat, where it is believed the Prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon. 

This year’s hajj is restricted to vaccinated Muslims under the age of 65 chosen from millions of applicants through an online lottery system. 

Those coming from outside Saudi Arabia were required to submit a negative Covid-19 PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours of travel. 

Since the start of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia has registered more than 795,000 coronavirus cases, more than 9,000 of them fatal. 

– ‘Too hot’ –

Those attempting to perform the hajj without a permit face fines of 10,000 Saudi riyals (around $2,600).

Policemen in the mountainous city have set up checkpoints and conducted foot patrols while holding green umbrellas to shield themselves from the scorching sun. 

Temperatures in Mecca topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.

Inside the Grand Mosque, female medics were on standby in different locations, and volunteers with wheelchairs were waiting in a long queue to help those needing assistance.

Authorities have set up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to cater to pilgrims. 

Some pilgrims donned clothing featuring the names and flags of their countries. “Hajj 2020 — Chad” was written on the back of the white robes of one group. 

Hosting the hajj is a matter of prestige and a powerful source of political legitimacy for Saudi Arabia’s rulers. 

Costing at least $5,000 per person, it is also a money-spinner for the world’s biggest oil exporter, which is trying to diversify its economy. 

In normal years, the pilgrimage brings in billions of dollars. 

These days it represents a chance to showcase the kingdom’s ongoing social transformation, despite persistent complaints about human rights abuses and limits on personal freedoms. 

Saudi Arabia now allows women to attend the hajj unaccompanied by male relatives, a requirement that was dropped last year. 

“Being here is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can’t wait for the rest,” said 42-year-old Egyptian pilgrim Naima Mohsen, who came to the Grand Mosque by herself Tuesday. 

“My only problem is the weather. It’s just too hot.”

A 21-year-old man who allegedly opened fire on a July 4 parade in a wealthy Chicago suburb while disguised in women’s clothing was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Robert Crimo, 21, was arrested on Monday, several hours after the attack on a festive Independence Day crowd.

“There will be more charges,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters. “We anticipate dozens of more charges centered around each of the victims.”

Police spokesman Christopher Covelli said the death toll rose to seven on Tuesday after one of the wounded victims died in hospital. More than 35 people were injured.

Among the dead were Kevin McCarthy, 37 and his wife, Irina, 35 — the parents of a two-year-old boy who was found wandering alone after the shooting, according to CBS News.

Covelli said no motive had been established for the attack, which sent panicked parade-goers fleeing for their lives.

“We do believe Crimo pre-planned this attack for several weeks,” and that he acted alone, he said.

“We have no information to suggest at this point it was racially motivated, motivated by religion or any other protected status,” he added.

He said Crimo has a history of mental health issues and threatening behavior.

Police had been called twice to Crimo’s home in 2019, once to investigate a suicide attempt, and the second time because a relative said he had threatened to “kill everyone” in the family, he said.

Police removed 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from the home but did not make any arrests, he said.

Covelli said Crimo used a fire escape to access the roof of a building overlooking the parade route and fired more than 70 rounds from a rifle “similar to an AR-15,” one of several guns he had purchased legally.

“Crimo was dressed in women’s clothing and investigators believe he did this to conceal his facial tattoos and his identity and help him during the escape with the other people who were fleeing the chaos,” he said.

– ‘Still reeling’ –

Covelli said Crimo went to his mother’s nearby home after the shooting and borrowed her car. He was captured about eight hours later after a brief chase.

He also said the authorities were investigating disturbing online posts and videos made by Crimo.

The shooting has left the upscale suburb in shock.

“We’re all still reeling,” Mayor Nancy Rotering told NBC’s Today show. “Everybody knows somebody who was affected by this directly.”

The mayor said she personally knew the suspected gunman when he was a young boy in the Cub Scouts.

“How did somebody become this angry, this hateful to then take it out on innocent people who literally were just having a family day out?” Rotering asked.

Crimo, whose father unsuccessfully ran for mayor and owns a store in Highland Park called Bob’s Pantry and Deli, was an amateur musician billing himself as “Awake the Rapper.”

The younger Crimo’s online postings include violent content that alluded to guns and shootings.

One YouTube video posted eight months ago featured cartoons of a gunman and people being shot.

A voice-over says, “I need to just do it.”

It adds: “It is my destiny. Everything has led up to this. Nothing can stop me, not even myself.”

Crimo, who has the word “Awake” tattooed over an eyebrow, is seen sporting an “FBI” hat in numerous photos and a Trump flag as a cape in one picture.

The shooting is the latest in a wave of gun violence plaguing the United States, where approximately 40,000 deaths a year are caused by firearms, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

– ‘Epidemic of gun violence’ –

The deeply divisive debate over gun control was reignited by two massacres in May that saw 10 Black people gunned down at an upstate New York supermarket, and 19 children and two teachers slain at an elementary school in Texas.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who happened to be in Chicago Tuesday for a summit of the nation’s largest teachers’ union, said the Texas shooting was a reminder “of the risks that our children and our educators face every day,” and renewed a call for Congress to ban assault weapons.

Speaking later at the scene of the Highland Park shooting, Harris said: “The whole nation should understand… that this could happen anywhere, in any peace-loving community.”

The Highland Park shooting cast a pall over Independence Day, when towns and cities across the United States hold parades and people attend barbecues, sporting events and fireworks displays.

In another July 4 shooting, two police officers were wounded when they came under fire during a fireworks show in Philadelphia.

In Highland Park, Emily Prazak, who marched in the parade, described the mayhem.

“We heard the pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and I thought it was fireworks,” Prazak said.

President Joe Biden vowed to keep fighting “the epidemic of gun violence.”

Last week, he signed the first significant federal bill on gun safety in decades, just days after the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a fundamental right to carry a handgun in public.