Unite or Die: Rishi Sunak tells Conservatives before becoming new UK PM
London: Rishi Sunak, who is to take oath as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Tuesday, told his colleagues in the Conservative party on Monday to ‘unite or die’, reported The Guardian.
Sunak was elected leader of the Conservative Party on Monday. During a confidential meeting with the party leaders, Sunak is learned to have said that he would give priority to policies over personalities. The Cabinet would reshuffled on Tuesday, he said.
Stating before his party colleagues that they were fighting an economic as well as political crisis, Sunak is reported to have reminded that they would all be held accountable for it by the citizens. He also stated that they were capable of fixing it as they had time till the next election. “We have got the talent, the energy and the ideas,” and also reminded his colleagues, “But we got one shot, no second chances.”
Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss chairs her final Cabinet meeting and also meets King Charles at the Buckingham Palace. Sunak will then meet the King and deliver a speech outside the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at 10, Downing Street.
The first British Asian to become prime minister of the United Kingdom and the second person to become prime minister in less than two months, Sunak is also the youngest British Prime Minister at 42 years.
Each candidate in the contest for the post of the prime minister was required to get the support of at least 100 MPs to remain in the contest. Sunak got the support of 193 MPs, while his Conservative Party rival Penny Mordaunt was supported by 26 MPs only, after which she withdrew from the contest.
Labour party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said that Sunak clearly had no mandate and again called for a general election in the United Kingdom.
“Sunak has been crowned prime minister without him uttering a single word on his plans to run the country and without anyone having the chance to vote,” she added.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
