| | | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, January 19, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Boris Johnson faces a 'pork pie' plot to oust him, airlines scramble to rejig their schedules on 5G worries, and Sony is up against deep-pocketed rivals in a war over the future of gaming | | | Today's biggest stories Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures during a visit to Finchley Memorial Hospital in London, January 18, 2022 WORLD British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fighting to shore up his premiership amid a revolt by his own lawmakers who are angry over a series of lockdown parties in Downing Street. The latest attempt to remove him was cast as the 'pork pie plot' because one alleged rebel lawmaker was from Melton, the home of the Melton Mowbray pork pie. Pork pie is also London slang for a lie. Here's how Johnson could be ousted.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv in a whistle-stop diplomatic push to defuse tensions with Moscow over Ukraine, warning that Russia could launch a new attack at "very short notice".
Two New Zealand navy vessels will arrive in Tonga on Friday carrying critical water supplies for the Pacific island nation reeling from a volcanic eruption and tsunami and largely cut off from the outside world. Hundreds of homes in Tonga's smaller outer islands have been destroyed.
Australia threw out an invitation to backpackers, seeking reinforcements for a workforce crippled by an Omicron COVID-19 outbreak as the country's health system creaks under the pandemic's strain with more deaths predicted in weeks ahead. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government was waiving the visa application fee for any backpacker or student who arrives within the next 12 weeks, and encouraged them to seek work as they tour the country.
Hong Kong kung fu master and film producer Checkley Sin Kwok Lam said he intended to run in the city's leadership race, a surprise move that comes as incumbent leader Carrie Lam has yet to confirm whether she will run for a second term.
| An American Airlines plane flies past a cell phone tower as it approaches John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, January 18, 2022 U.S. Major international airlines rushed to rejig or cancel flights to the United States ahead of a 5G wireless rollout tomorrow that has triggered safety concerns, despite two wireless carriers saying they will delay parts of the deployment.
The latest conservative attack on a major campaign finance law goes before the U.S. Supreme Court today in Senator Ted Cruz's bid to undo a provision limiting the amount of money candidates can be reimbursed for personal loans to their own campaigns - a cap proponents call an anti-corruption measure.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said that former President Donald J. Trump's family organization used "fraudulent or misleading" asset valuations to obtain economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions. James also took legal action to compel Trump and his children Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump to appear for sworn testimony.
The congressional committee probing the attack on the Capitol issued subpoenas to three lawyers who joined Trump's unsuccessful attempt to overturn his election defeat: Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis.
Texas election officials have rejected hundreds of mail-in ballot applications, abiding by a new Republican-backed law just weeks before a March 1 primary kicks off this year's U.S. election cycle.
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