The partygate: I will survive, says Johnson promises team reset

Boris Johnson sang Gloria Gaynor’s classic disco anthem I will survive, in a bid to reassure his new director of communications that he wasn’t going to be forced out of office.

Guto Harri, who started work Monday after a string of resignations from Johnson’s office last week, also described his new boss as “not a complete clown,” in an interview with Welsh language website golwg360, according to a BBC translation.

Harri told the Welsh website he’d asked Johnson “Are you going to survive, Boris?” and said the premier had started to sing as he used the line from the Gaynor song in his reply.

Johnson will recruit more new staff to his Downing Street team, his spokesman said, following a series of scandals that have left him fighting to shore up his authority.  He has faced growing anger over a series of reported parties in Downing Street during Covid-19 lockdowns and questions about often chaotic style of leadership.

"In the coming days, I don't have specific dates, I think certainly you'll see further changes," his spokesman said, referring to new appointments that had been made over the weekend. "There will be additional recruitment into Number 10.”

After 2 years, Australia reopens to foreigners (Bloomberg)

Australia will allow international travelers to enter the country once again, ending around two years of some of the world’s toughest border controls that were introduced to stem the spread of Covid-19. Tourists and visa holders that have been vaccinated at least twice will be allowed to enter the country from February 21, the government announced Monday. Australia’s borders have been almost entirely closed since after the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, with only citizens able to return. “The condition is you must be double vaccinated to come to Australia,” PM Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra.