5 min read

⏳ Wednesday Fix: Bye Bye, Boris?

⏳ Wednesday Fix: Bye Bye, Boris?

Morning all,

Is Boris facing the end of the road? Could Ukraine really be facing invasion? Is the end of the pandemic really in sight? The truth is, we don't know.

What do we know? That you really should care about what's happening to the Uyghurs.

Until tomorrow,

Your Fixers


GOOD LISTENER?

Click the screenshot below to access our podcast version of today's NewsFix.


KEEPING A CLOSE EYE...

There are reports in UK media that the number of Conservative MPs submitting their vote of no confidence in the prime minister could be about to reach 54 - the critical number required to trigger a leadership battle.

Remember: Paul Brand below is the journalist who recently broke the story about the 'BYOB' event at Downing Street in May 2020 - the one Boris Johnson ultimately apologised for.

Worth noting: While BBC News is only aware of seven MPs submitting letters of no confidence, they also had an MP tell them "they thought the threshold could be reached shortly".

Bigger picture: These votes are secret, so it is not clear how many have or will be sent to the 1922 committee. Also, as many political analysts have pointed out, if the 54 votes were reached, it would be an extraordinary fall from grace for Boris Johnson who just two years ago won the election with an 80-seat majority. Let's see, PMQs at noon should be interesting...  


ON TODAY'S AGENDA...

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is in Europe and will today meet with the president of Ukraine in Kyiv amid mounting concerns of a possible Russian invasion.

What else? Blinken will also meet his French, German and British counterparts later today, and Russia's Foreign Minister in Geneva on Friday.

Remember: CNN's latest reporting on this suggests Russia has "almost completed" its build-up of forces - more than 127,000 troops - near the border with Ukraine. Many Western analysts have in recent weeks questioned whether the talks were being used by Russia as a pretext, "to claim that diplomacy cannot work".

"It would be an extraordinary irony if Ukraine were to lose its independence as a state over the unfillable principle that it has the right to join an alliance [NATO] that does not really want it." - Interesting context from Christopher S Chivvis

Here is an incredibly helpful article for anyone trying to wrap their head around this story.


A general election in Barbados will occur today, the first since the island became a republic in November by removing the Queen as their head of state.

The country's current prime minister, Mia Mottley, is hoping to win a second term in the snap election. For context, her party holds 29 out of the legislature's 30 seats. Opposition members have criticised the fact roughly 5,000 people currently isolating will not be able to cast a vote.  


TUESDAY'S OTHER TOP LINES

In Ireland, a man has been arrested for the murder of Ashling Murphy. The man arrested for questioning is the same man who was hospitalised last Thursday with unexplained injuries, some of them said to be self-inflicted. He can be questioned for up to 24 hours without being charged, and the questioning can occur over a number of days.

What do we know about the man being questioned? Multiple media reports say he is 31, with a partner and young children.

Today... the Dáil (lower house of parliament) returns today, so you can expect statements from TDs on violence against women.


An American billionaire has been widely criticised for saying "nobody cares" about what is happening to Uyghurs, a majority Muslim ethnic minority who are predominantly based in China.

Why should you care? The Trump administration described the treatment of Uyghurs in China as genocide in January 2021. There have been multiple reports of mass detentions, forced labour and re-education programmes for the Uyghur population in the north western region of Xinjiang.

For anyone wanting to know more, read our recent piece - China and the Uyghurs.


CLIMATE COVERAGE

The island of Tonga is facing an "unprecedented disaster" in the wake of a tsunami triggered by a huge volcanic eruption over the weekend.

On one of Tonga's islands, every single home is said to have been destroyed. The eruption was so big it was heard in Fiji, which is more than 750km away.


PANDEMIC

  • In England, Prime Minister Johnson is expected to announce the easing of Plan B restrictions today. BBC noted measures including face masks and Covid passes are expected to expire on January 26.  
  • In Ireland, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar expressed his hope that almost all coronavirus measures would have lapsed by the end of March.

ANDRÉ LEON TALLEY

Vogue's former editor-at-large and one of the most recognisable faces in the fashion industry, André Leon Talley, has died at the age of 73.

According to TMZ, he died in hospital Tuesday "of an unknown illness".

Here is a link to a really interesting tribute about Talley, which includes the famous fallout with Anna Wintour, the sexual abuse he endured as a child, and his fluid sexuality and fear of relationships.


MOST READ


TWITTER THREADS

Click below for a really cool thread of celebrities tweeting about their goals years before they found fame and success.

If you see a tweet from us later about having a million subscribers, don't @ us ✌🏽😎


ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

Just some wholesome pandemic-related content ✌🏽