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A30 WORLD NEWS
Diaranson 7 september 2022

Liz Truss becomes Britain's new prime minister

(AP) — Liz Truss became
U.K. prime minister on
Tuesday and immediately
confronted the enormous
task ahead of her amid in-
creasing pressure to curb
soaring prices, ease labor
unrest and fix a health
care system burdened by
long waiting lists and staff
shortages.

At the top of her inbox is
the energy crisis triggered by
Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
which threatens to push en-
ergy bills to unaffordable lev- Johnson, who announced the party's 172,000 dues-pay-
els, shuttering businesses and his intention to step down ing members were the only
leaving the nation's poorest two months ago, formally re- voters. As party leader, Truss Critics say that will fuel fur- ident Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
people shivering in icy homes signed during his own audi- automatically became prime ther inflation while failing
this winter. ence with the queen a short minister without the need for to address the cost-of-living Truss has also pledged to in-
time earlier. a general election because the crisis. The uncertainty has crease U.K. defense spend-
Truss, who refused to spell Conservatives still have a ma- rattled money markets, driv- ing to 3% of gross domestic
out her energy strategy dur- It was the first time in the jority in the House of Com- ing the pound below $1.14 product from just over 2% —
ing the two-month campaign queen's 70-year reign that mons. on Monday, its weakest since another expensive promise.
to succeed Boris Johnson, the handover of power took the 1980s.
now plans to cap energy bills place at Balmoral, rather But as a national leader se- But she's likely to have much
at a cost to taxpayers of as than Buckingham Palace in lected by less than 0.5% of In theory, Truss has time to cooler conversations with
much as 100 billion pounds London. The ceremony was British adults, Truss is under make her mark: She doesn't EU leaders, who were an-
($116 billion), British news moved to Scotland to provide pressure to show quick re- have to call a national elec- noyed by her uncompro-
media reported Tuesday. She certainty about the sched- sults. tion until late 2024. But mising stance as foreign
is expected to unveil her plan ule, because the 96-year-old opinion polls already give secretary in talks over trade
on Thursday. queen has experienced prob- Many people in Britain are the main opposition Labour rules for Northern Ireland,
lems getting around that have still learning about their new Party a steady lead, and the an unresolved Brexit issue
Truss, 47, took office Tuesday forced palace officials to make leader. worse the economy gets, the that has soured relations be-
afternoon at Balmoral Castle decisions about her travel on more pressure will grow. tween London and Brussels.
in Scotland, when Queen a day-to-day basis. Truss, a low-tax, small-gov- With the U.K. threatening
Elizabeth II formally asked ernment conservative who Truss, as foreign secretary, was to breach the legally binding
her to form a new govern- Truss became prime minister admires Margaret Thatcher, a firm supporter of Ukraine's divorce treaty, and the EU
ment in a carefully choreo- a day after the ruling Conser- says her priority is cutting resistance to Russia. She has launching legal action in re-
graphed ceremony dictated vative Party chose her as its taxes and slashing regulations said her first phone call with sponse, the dispute could es-
by centuries of tradition. leader in an election where to fuel economic growth. a world leader will be to Pres- calate into a trade war.

US: Russia to buy rockets, artillery shells from North Korea

(AP) — The Russian Min- to the isolated state of North Times. The White House said last east.
istry of Defense is in the Korea demonstrates that "the week that Russia has faced
process of purchasing mil- Russian military continues The U.S. official did not technical problems with Ira- The North's arms export to
lions of rockets and artil- to suffer from severe supply detail how much weaponry nian-made drones acquired Russia would be a violation
lery shells from North shortages in Ukraine, due in Russia intends to purchase from Tehran in August for of U.N. resolutions that ban
Korea for its ongoing fight part to export controls and from North Korea. use in its war with Ukraine. the country from export-
in Ukraine, according to sanctions." ing to or importing weapons
a newly downgraded U.S. The finding comes after the Russia picked up Mohajer-6 from other countries. Its pos-
intelligence finding. U.S. intelligence officials Biden administration recent- and Shahed-series unmanned sible dispatch of laborers to
believe that the Russians ly confirmed that the Russian aerial vehicles over several the Russian-held territories
A U.S. official, who spoke could look to purchase addi- military in August took deliv- days last month as part what in Ukraine would also breach
on the condition of anonym- tional North Korean military ery of Iranian-manufactured the Biden administration says a U.N. resolution that re-
ity to discuss the intelligence equipment in the future. The drones for use on the battle- is likely part of a Russian plan quired all member states to
determination, said Monday intelligence finding was first field in Ukraine. to acquire hundreds of Irani- repatriate all North Korean
that the fact Russia is turning reported by The New York an UAVs for use in Ukraine. workers from their soil by
2019.
North Korea has sought to
tighten relations with Russia There have been suspicions
as much of Europe and the that China and Russia haven't
West has pulled away, blam- fully enforced U.N. sanc-
ing the United States for the tions on North Korea, com-
Ukraine crisis and decrying plicating a U.S.-led attempt
the West's "hegemonic poli- to deprive North Korea of its
cy" as justifying military ac- nuclear weapons.
tion by Russia in Ukraine to
protect itself. The provocative move by
North Korea comes as the
The North Koreans have Biden administration has be-
hinted interest in sending come increasingly concerned
construction workers to help about stepped-up activity by
rebuild Russian-occupied North Korea in pursuit of
territories in the country's nuclear weapons.