Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson advances on Britain's top job; 5 surviving candidates take part in TV debate
Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson advanced on the prize of Britain's top political job on Tuesday (June 18), winning 40 per cent of votes in the second round of a contest to replace Prime Minister Theresa May.
Johnson, the face of the official Brexit campaign in the 2016 referendum, won 126 out of 313 votes and so goes through to a third ballot between 1400 GMT (10pm Singapore time) and 1600 GMT on Wednesday with four other candidates who won 33 votes or more.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt won 46 votes, Environment Secretary Michael Gove won 41, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart 37 and Home Secretary Sajid Javid 33.
While Johnson won by far the most votes, he added just 12 from the first round. Stewart, 46, was the biggest gainer from the first round, adding 18 votes. Dominic Raab, a former Brexit minister, was eliminated from the contest as he won just 30 votes.
Shanahan withdraws as US Defence Secretary nominee
President Donald Trump on Tuesday (June 18) pulled the nomination of Patrick M. Shanahan to be the permanent Defence Secretary, saying on Twitter that Shanahan would devote more time to his family.
Trump named Mark Esper, the secretary of the Army and a former Raytheon executive, to take over as acting secretary of defence.
Iran's ballistic missiles capable of hitting 'carriers in the sea', says its chief commander
The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Tuesday (June 18) that Iran's ballistic missiles were capable of hitting "carriers in the sea" with great precision.
"These missiles can hit with great precision carriers in the sea ... These missiles are domestically produced and are difficult to intercept and hit with other missiles," Brigadier General Hossein Salami said in a televised speech.
Strong quake strikes north-west Japan, triggers small tsunami and power cuts
A strong and shallow earthquake struck Japan's north-west coast around Niigata prefecture on Tuesday night (June 18), triggering a small tsunami, shaking buildings and cutting power to around 9,000 buildings.
The magnitude 6.4 quake, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), lasted for as long as 20 seconds and damage included a landslide that struck a road, according to public broadcaster NHK. There were no initial reports of fatalities or fires.
NHK said tsunamis of several centimetres struck parts of the Niigata coast. Authorities issued a 0.2-1.0 metre tsunami warning for the region. The warning was lifted after 1am local time (midnight Singapore time).
Many in Hong Kong, fearful of China's grasp, flee to Taiwan
For Hong Kong resident Yung Xiu Kwan, 67, a proposed extradition law that would allow people in the former British colony to be sent to mainland China for trial was the final straw.
Yung is packing her bags and leaving the Chinese-ruled city to set up a new life in proudly democratic Taiwan, fed up with what she sees as Beijing's ever encroaching grip over the city that has led to an erosion of civil liberties.
"Without freedom and democracy, it's like being put in jail, like living in a concentration camp ... without freedom, (I) would rather die," said Yung, as she waved a Taiwan flag at a massive protest in Hong Kong on Sunday (June 16). "Taiwan can offer that because Taiwan has democratic elections and a constitution that safeguards democracy."
