International

Ex-Senior UK Tory Defects To Fringe Right-Wing Party

Published

2 years ago

March 11, 2024

446 Views

Embattled UK leader Rishi Sunak suffered a fresh blow Monday when a former ally defected to a right-wing populist party that is worrying the ruling Conservatives ahead of this year’s general election.

Lee Anderson announced that he was joining Reform UK, weeks after he was suspended from Sunak’s Conservative party over comments widely condemned as racist and Islamophobic.

The 57-year-old former deputy chair of the Tories became the first MP to represent Reform, whose honorary president is arch-Eurosceptic and Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage.

The fringe party is currently polling at around 10 percent in opinion surveys, which if replicated at the election could split the right-wing vote in key constituencies.

That would make it even harder for the Tories, in power since 2010, to fend off a resurgent main opposition Labour party that is currently soaring ahead in national polls.

To blunt Reform’s impact, Sunak could take his party further rightward, continuing a trend in recent decades that has accelerated following the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union.

Doing so risks alienating more socially liberal voters, however.

Anderson is an MP in a so-called “Red Wall” seat of working-class voters in northern England that are crucial to both the Conservatives and Labour’s chances of winning the election.

The seats were former Labour strongholds before ex-prime minister Boris Johnson flipped them for the Conservatives during his landslide win at the last election in 2019 on a promise to “get Brexit done”.

The New Conservatives, a group of MPs on the right of the Tory party who have rebelled against Sunak, said the Conservative party was responsible for Anderson’s defection.

“We cannot pretend any longer that ‘the plan is working’. We need to change course urgently,” the group said in a statement.

– Populist –

Reform rails against immigration, net-zero energy policies and what it calls overbearing “nanny state” government regulations, and its members regularly heap praise on former US president Donald Trump.

“I want my country back,” Anderson told reporters in London as he announced his defection.

He had been widely tipped to join Reform after he was suspended from the parliamentary party of the Conservatives in February for refusing to apologise after saying London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan was controlled by Islamists.

“Anderson’s defection does highlight the ongoing electoral problem facing Rishi Sunak, with attacks coming from the left and right,” said Emma Levin of the polling firm Savanta.

But she cautioned that the move “will likely mean very little in national polling terms”.

“Lee Anderson’s name recognition among the wider public is low, and if voters are aware of him, it is probably because they saw (and disagreed) with his comments that led to his suspension from the Conservative party,” Levin said.

In the UK, a by-election is not automatically triggered if an MP changes party affiliation, though they may choose to stand down and seek re-election under their new allegiance or as an independent.

Sunak has yet to announce the date of the general election but has said it will be held in the second half of the year.

AFP

International

Uber introduces robotaxi services in London after exiting Nigeria

A licensed operator will remain inside the vehicle initially to monitor the journey. Fully driverless operations are expected in the future, subject to regulatory approval.

Published

18 hours ago

September 3, 2026

OCHEFA

15 Views

Ride-haling company, Uber, in partnership with British Artificial Intelligence company Wayve, has unveiled an autonomous rides in London, marking a new step in the company’s expansion of robotaxi services.

Reuters reported that the move comes few hours after Uber exited Nigeria, where the company had operated its ride-hailing service for over 12 years.

According to Reuters report on Thursday, London is now the second city in Europe where Uber offers autonomous rides, after first it launched it robotaxi service in Zagreb.

At the initial stage, fewer than 20 Wayve-powered Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles will be available.

Passengers requesting UberX, Uber Comfort or Uber Electric could be matched with one of the autonomous vehicles at no additional cost.

A licensed operator will remain inside the vehicle initially to monitor the journey. Fully driverless operations are expected in the future, subject to regulatory approval.

Uber’s Global Head of Autonomous Mobility, Sarfraz Maredia, said the launch would help build public and government confidence in the technology.

“This will build credibility with consumers as well as with the government,” Maredia said.

International

China -Egypt lubricate over 70 years trade, diplomatic relation

President Xi noted that China and Egypt were both ancient civilizations, with a traditional friendship that has endured and grown stronger over millennia.

Published

2 days ago

September 2, 2026

OCHEFA

24 Views

Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping (m), his wife, Peng Liyuan (l), and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, during the arrival of President Xi and his wife in Cairo, Egypt, on state visit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, are in Egypt, on a state visit, via a special plane.

President Xi is in Egypt on the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry disclosed on its official website that upon Xi and Liyuan’s arrival at Cairo International Airport, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his wife were present to warmly greet them.

During the visit , Xi will have an in-depth exchange of views with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on China-Egypt relations, all-round bilateral cooperation, and international and regional issues of mutual concern, jointly charting the course for the development of the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership and opening a new chapter in the history of China-Egypt friendship.

President Xi noted that China and Egypt were both ancient civilizations, with a traditional friendship that has endured and grown stronger over millennia.

Xi also said that over the 70 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have always stood together and cooperated for mutual benefit, regardless of changes in the international and regional landscape.

“In recent years, together with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, I have guided the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership to achieve leapfrog development.

International

US tags 10 Nigerians ” worst of worst criminal aliens” for deportation

The 10 Nigerians listed in the latest update are:

Published

7 days ago

August 28, 2026

OCHEFA

84 Views

The United States Department of Homeland Security has added 10 Nigerians to its “Worst of the Worst” register, a database highlighting immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement over alleged criminal offences.

The latest names were published on the official DHS website and include individuals linked to cases involving fraud, identity theft, drug offences, assault, conspiracy and offences involving children.

The 10 Nigerians listed in the latest update are:

Temitope Bashua — Wire fraud, identity theft and fraud — Allenwood, Pennsylvania

Ojehoro Lewis — Cruelty towards a child — Conroe, Texas.

Osemudiamen Kingsley Oziegbe — Wire fraud — Louisville, Kentucky

Daniel Oworen — Dangerous drugs — Conroe, Texas

Raymond H. Ekevwo — Wire fraud — Oxford, Wisconsin

Franklin Dikeocha — Sex offence against a child – fondling — Dallas, Texas.

Johnson Ogunlana — Fraud and identity theft — White Deer, Pennsylvania.Wire fraud, dangerous drugs, possession of a weapon and aggravated assault involving a non-family gun — Allenwood, Pennsylvania

Tunde Korede — Conspiracy — Allenwood, Pennsylvania.

Chukwuemeka Chinye — Larceny from a banking-type institution, fraud, larceny, identity theft and conspiracy — Pollock, Louisiana.

DHS said the register was established to draw attention to immigrants it describes as the “worst of worst criminal aliens” arrested by ICE.

” Every day, the patriots of ICE are working to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country. Just yesterday, ICE arrested murderers, pedophiles, kidnappers, and other violent criminals to make America safe again,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin.