King Charles officially appoints Rishi Sunak as PM of UK
London (PTI): Rishi Sunak on Tuesday scripted history when he was appointed by King Charles III as Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party on Diwali.
The 42-year-old former Chancellor of Exchequer, a devout Hindu, is the youngest British prime minister in 210 years. He is also the first Hindu Prime Minister of Indian heritage in the UK.
In his first address as Tory leader soon after the result was declared on Monday, Sunak said his priority would be to bring the country together and said he was "humbled and honoured" to get the greatest privilege of his life to give back to the country I owe so much .
"The UK is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge," said Sunak, with reference to the economic turmoil he is inheriting following former prime minister Liz Truss' disastrous tax-cutting mini-budget last month.
Sunak, the second prime minister in as many months and the third this year in Britain, will be moving into 10, Downing Street at a time when Britain's economy is facing a triple whammy of slowing growth, high inflation triggered by spiralling energy prices in the wake of the Ukraine war and a budget shortfall that has eroded its financial credibility internationally.
His first task will be to restore Britain's international financial credibility after outgoing leader Truss's plan for unfunded tax cuts and a costly energy price guarantee spooked the bond market.
He will have no option but to raise tax rates and make spending cuts that will be unpopular and may have unforeseen political consequences.
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Prague (PTI): World champion D Gukesh survived some anxious moments in the early middle game before finally drawing with Hans Moke Niemann of the United States in the first round of the masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival here.
The Berlin defense that went wrong for white could be a perfect heading for the encounter between the world champion and Niemann, who is walking his way to the elite chess circles after being indirectly accused of foul play.
It may be recalled that the American infamously won a game against world number one Magnus Carlsen, which will now be documented in a forthcoming Netflix series.
ALSO READ: Cheating made bigger than it actually is: Gukesh
Niemann came all guns blazing and sacrificed a piece with black piece as early as on move 13 to put Gukesh on the back foot despite having the white pieces.
The Indian was down but not out which he proved as the game progressed, and even though, black seemed like pushing for more with his extra pawns in exchange for the sacrificed knight, Gukesh ensured that he stayed in the game.
The eventual outcome was a draw, the lone one in the 10-player, nine round tournament that saw everyone with white pieces triumph in contrasting styles.
Defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram of India turned out to be on the wrong side of a position against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
The Philidor defense by the Indian generated enough evidence that every opening could be playable only till he walked into a deft manoeuvre.
Aravindh lost in the rook and minor piece endgame after losing one of his pawn, and if that was not enough top seeded Vincent Keymer of Germany was blown away by a resurgent Jorden van Foreest of The Netherlands.
It was another Berlin defense wherein Foreest came out with a new idea that perplexed Keymer. As the opening concluded, the Dutchman had an advantage and he picked up a handful of pawns to register a comprehensive victory.
Also ending on a winning note was Abdusattorov's name sake and teammate Nodirbek Yakubboev who put it across David Anton Gujjaro of Spain, while in the other encounter of the day local favourite Navara David proved stronger against Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo.
In the challengers section, women's world cup winner Divya Deshmukh drew with top seeded Benjamin Gledura of Hungary from a position of strength but Surya Shekhar Ganguly ended on the receiving end against Thomas Beerdsen of The Netherlands.
Results after round 1 Masters: D Gukesh (IND) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (USA); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) beat Aravindh Chithambaram (IND); Jorden van Foreest (NED) beat Vincent Keymer (GER); David Navara (CZE) beat Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI); Nodirbek Yakubboev beat David Anton Guijarro (ESP).
Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (IND) drew with Benjamin Gledura (HUN); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND) lost to Thomas Beersden (NED); Zhu Jiner (CHN) lost to Jachym Nemec (CZE); Daniel Yuffa (ESP) lost to Stepen Hrbek (CZE); Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) drew with Vaclav Finek (CZE).
