London, June 7 (IANS) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a confidence vote of Conservative lawmakers by 211 to 148. The win comes despite a substantial rebellion by his own Tory party's MPs.
The confidence vote follows "anger" over senior civil servant Sue Gray's report detailing lockdown "rule-breaking" in Downing Street.
As Johnson survived the confidence vote, he will now stay in his job as Prime Minister.
The result was announced by chairman of the 1922 Committee Graham Brady. "I can announce that the parliamentary party does have confidence in the Prime minister," Brady said on Monday night.
Reacting to the development, Johnson said that the result is "decisive", adding: "What it means is as a government we can move on and focus on the stuff that I think really matters to people."
"I'm grateful to colleagues and the support they've given me... What we need to do now is, come together as a government and a party," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by the BBC.
He asserted that "this is a moment and an opportunity to put behind us" the ongoing arguments within the Conservative party from recent months over his leadership.
Johnson received 58.8 per cent of support from the Conservative Party, with 41.2 per cent being against the current leadership. Every single Conservative MP voted.
Under current rules, Tory MPs will not be allowed to hold another confidence vote for a year.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hosted the summit, and France's Emmanuel Macron were among those calling for an extension in order to more fully evacuate all foreign nationals and vulnerable Afghans who helped the Americans and the NATO allies before the country's recent fall to the Taliban.
The Pentagon promptly announced it will press ahead with plans to require members of the military to get vaccinated amid the battle against the extra-contagious delta variant. Louisiana State University likewise said it will demand its students get the shot.
The situation at the Kabul airport has remained tense ever since the Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours on August 15.
Barrons, a Dow Jones & Company publication, said that tensions in the "Middle East have the potential to lift prices." It noted that earlier JP Morgan had predicted that oil prices could touch $80 a barrel with rising demand and constraint supply.
While Biden has previously blamed Afghans for the U.S. failure to get out more allies ahead of this month's sudden Taliban takeover, U.S. officials told The Associated Press that American diplomats had formally urged weeks ago that the administration ramp up evacuation efforts.
In a statement on Friday, the U.N. health agency said the new scientific group would provide the WHO with an independent analysis of the work done to date to pinpoint the origins of COVID-19 and to advise the agency on necessary next steps. The experts will also provide guidance on critical issues regarding the potential emergence of other viruses capable of triggering outbreaks, such as MERS and Ebola.
