- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
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- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
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- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
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- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
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- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
UK's Johnson faces test as MPs mull 'partygate' probe
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a test of Conservative party loyalty Thursday when MPs vote on whether he should be investigated for misleading them over the "partygate" scandal.
Johnson repeatedly denied in the House of Commons that he or his Downing Street staff had breached Covid-19 lockdown laws, after allegations of widespread rule-breaking emerged late last year.
But last week he became the first UK leader to be fined for breaking the law, as police confirmed they had issued dozens of penalty notices to his staff as part of an ongoing investigation.
Johnson's single fine is related to an office gathering for his birthday in June 2020, when Britain was under a pandemic lockdown.
But penalties for other events could follow, and opposition parties are now demanding parliament's cross-party "privileges committee" investigate Johnson.
It has the power to sanction lawmakers if they are found guilty of offences, including suspending them from the Commons.
However, the committee can only launch an investigation if a majority in the Commons votes for a referral.
The main opposition Labour party has urged Conservatives to back its call for the committee to assess whether Johnson's denials amounted to "contempt of the House".
It would need a sizeable rebellion among the 359 lawmakers from Johnson's ruling Conservatives to pass, which is seen as unlikely.
But with an eye on local elections next month, Labour is pressing ahead with a bid to name and shame Tory MPs supporting Johnson, and hopes at least to force many of them to abstain.
- Not 'worthy' -
Labour leader Keir Starmer Tuesday recounted to a hushed Commons the experience of one voter who, out of respect for the rules then in place, was unable to hold his dying wife's hand in hospital.
He said the vote was "an important step towards restoring honesty and integrity into our politics".
"I am urging all Conservative MPs to do the right thing -- to respect the sacrifices their constituents made, and to vote in the national interest."
Johnson himself will be far away, starting a two-day visit to India.
He has apologised over the scandal but remains adamant he never knowingly misled parliament, and has vowed to press on with issues including the war in Ukraine.
But one junior minister resigned last week following the police fine, while senior Tory backbencher Mark Harper told parliament on Tuesday that Johnson was "no longer... worthy" of being prime minister.
A drubbing for the Conservatives in the local elections on May 5 could significantly add to his woes, if more Tory MPs join the likes of Harper in demanding a leadership vote.
One national survey this week found around two-thirds of the public spoke negatively about Johnson, compared to just 16 percent positively, with the word "liar" the most commonly shared response.
Business minister Paul Scully conceded that the government "didn't handle it particularly well at that point, communication-wise", when media reports of the Downing Street parties first emerged.
"Nonetheless, the prime minister has gripped it, he has apologised, he's accepted the fine, he has accepted the finding of the police and he does want to move on," Scully told BBC television.
X.M.Francisco--PC