While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 27
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Former British culture secretary Nadine Dorries savaged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in her online resignation letter.
PHOTO: PA IMAGES VIA REUTERS CONNECT
Johnson ally quits Parliament with scathing attack on Sunak
Former British culture secretary Nadine Dorries savaged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in an excoriating resignation letter, as she finally quit her parliamentary seat, weeks after first saying she would do so.
Ms Dorries, an ally of ex-premier Boris Johnson who blames Mr Sunak for his ouster last year, lashed out at the prime minister in a letter published online by the Daily Mail late on Saturday, saying he had “no mandate” to lead the country and “no plan” to run it.
She also said Mr Sunak lacks the “winning X-factor qualities” of Mr Johnson, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair – a line that preys on Conservative Party fears ahead of a general election expected in 2024.
“Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened,” Ms Dorries wrote.
Three Ukrainian military pilots die in mid-air collision
Three Ukrainian military pilots including a “mega talent” who yearned to fly F-16s were killed on Friday when two L-39 combat training aircraft collided over a region west of Kyiv on Friday, the air force said on Saturday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is counting on the swift training of crews to fly up to 61 F-16 fighter jets promised by his Western allies, said in his nightly video address that the three men included Andriy Pilshchykov, callsign Juice, “a Ukrainian officer, one of those who greatly helped our state.”
Air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat described Pilshchykov – who was fluent in English and aged 29 when Reuters interviewed him in December – as a “mega talent” and leader of reforms.
One dead, 46 injured after gas station blasts in Romania
One person died and 46 were hospitalized after two explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas station in the Romanian town of Crevedia, near the capital Bucharest on Saturday.
After the first explosion, the fire spread to two tanks and a nearby house, causing evacuations within a radius of 700 metres, while traffic on the national road was blocked, according the government’s emergency response unit (IGSU).
A second explosion took place at the LPG station on Saturday evening injuring 26 firefighters, Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat who is in charge of the emergency response unit told reporters.
Biggest Loch Ness monster search in decades gets under way
The biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in five decades got under way in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday, as researchers and enthusiasts from around the world braved pelting rain to try to track down the elusive Nessie.
The expedition deployed drones with thermal scanners, boats with infrared cameras and an underwater hydrophone to try to unravel a mystery that has captivated the world for generations.
“There’s not a corner of the globe you can go to where people haven’t heard of Nessie, but it is still one of our biggest questions – what is the Loch Ness Monster,” Mr Paul Nixon, general manager of the Loch Ness Centre, told AFP.
Fernandes inspires United comeback win, West Ham go top
AFP
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes inspired a magnificent comeback and scored the winner in a thrilling 3-2 defeat of Nottingham Forest, Arsenal were held at home by Fulham and Everton’s woes continued in the Premier League on Saturday.
West Ham United top the table on goal difference with seven points after a 3-1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion to stand ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, who maintained their impressive start with a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth, and third-placed Arsenal.
James Ward-Prowse opened the scoring for the Hammers and Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio netted in the second half as West Ham clipped the wings of the Seagulls, who had led the standings after two games with six points.
