Briefly

UNITED KINGDOM

Johnson in crisis after Tories crushed in votes

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday refused to bow to renewed demands to quit, after his Conservatives suffered two crushing defeats in Westminster elections and a staunch ally resigned. In a pointed letter to Johnson, party chairman and cabinet member Oliver Dowden said "somebody" had to shoulder the blame for "recent events". That was widely seen as a reference to "Partygate" and other scandals dogging the prime minister, who only narrowly survived a no-confidence vote this month among Tory MPs.

Polio virus found in sewage samples

Health officials in Britain warned parents on Wednesday to ensure their children have been vaccinated against polio after the virus that causes the disease was found in London sewage samples in recent months. The UK Health Security Agency said it believes the virus was "vaccine-derived", meaning it came from someone who received the live polio vaccine abroad. That person would then have passed the virus to closely linked individuals in London, who shed the virus into their feces.

UNITED STATES

Trump allies sought pardons over attack

At least five congressional Republican allies of Donald Trump sought White House pardons after supporting the former president's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, witnesses on Thursday told the US House of Representatives probe into the Jan 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. Their names emerged at the end of a fifth day of hearings that focused on how Trump pressured top Justice Department officials daily in his final weeks in office to help him illegally hold onto power. Trump has not testified before the committee and is not expected to do so.

Agencies - China Daily