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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was clinging to power Tuesday after two of his most senior Cabinet ministers quit, saying they had lost confidence in Johnson’s leadership amid shifting explanations about his handling of a sexual misconduct scandal, Associated Press reported.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned within minutes of each other, costing Johnson the support of the men responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain — the cost-of-living crisis and surging COVID-19 infections.

Both cited Johnson’s credibility after a day in which the prime minister was forced to backtrack on earlier statements about the scandal that has rattled his government for the past six days.

The debacle is only the latest to hit Johnson, who last month narrowly survived a vote of no confidence triggered by similarly shifting stories about lockdown-breaking parties in government offices.

In his letter of resignation, Javid said the confidence vote showed a large number of Conservative Party lawmakers had lost trust in Johnson.

“It was a moment for humility, grip and a new direction,” Javid said. “I regret to say, however, that it is clear this situation will not change under your leadership — and you have therefore lost my confidence too.”

A few minutes later, Sunak echoed those sentiments.

“The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,” Sunak said. “I realize that this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

Both Sunak and Javid are seen as possible contenders to replace Johnson if he is forced out.

While the resignations heaped pressure on the prime minister, Johnson has in the past proven to be an adept politician, fighting off criticism to prolong his career, according to Associated Press.

Johnson quickly named two loyalists to the positions: Steve Barclay got Javid’s old job, while Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi replaces Sunak as Treasury chief, Downing Street said.

At the same time, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss swiftly threw her support behind Johnson. Other Cabinet members, including Culture Secretary Nadine Dories, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel, were also in his corner.

But Scott Lucas, an emeritus professor at the University of Birmingham and a longtime political observer, said it would be difficult for Johnson to ultimately survive the departure of two such senior members of his Cabinet. 

“He’s not going to go without a fight,” Lucas said. “I just don’t know how many people are left to fight alongside him.”

The latest scandal began Thursday, when Chris Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip amid complaints that he groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations leveled against Pincher and questions about why Johnson promoted him to a senior job enforcing party discipline. 

Pincher denies the allegations.

Johnson’s office initially said he wasn’t aware of the previous accusations when he promoted Pincher in February. By Monday, a spokesman said Johnson knew of allegations that were “either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint.”

That account didn’t sit well with Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant at the U.K. Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020. In a highly unusual move, McDonald went public with claims that the prime minister’s office wasn’t telling the truth.

McDonald said in a letter to the parliamentary commissioner for standards that he received complaints about Pincher’s behavior in the summer of 2019, shortly after Pincher became a Foreign Office minister. An investigation upheld the complaint, and Pincher apologized for his actions, McDonald said, Associated Press reported.

“Mr. Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation,” McDonald wrote.

Hours after McDonald’s comments were published, Johnson’s office changed its story again, saying the prime minister had forgotten that Pincher was the subject of an official complaint.

Then minutes before Javid and Sunak announced their resignations, Johnson told reporters that Pincher should have been fired from the government after a previous 2019 incident.

Asked if it was an error to appoint Pincher to the government, Johnson said, “I think it was a mistake, and I apologize for it. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do.”

The shifting explanation from Johnson fueled discontent within the Cabinet after ministers were forced to publicly deliver the prime minister’s denials, only to have the explanation shift the next day.

Johnson’s authority had already been shaken by last month’s confidence vote. Although he survived, 41% of Conservatives voted to remove him from office. But until Tuesday his Cabinet had largely stayed put and loyal.

Concerns about Johnson’s leadership were fueled by his responses to months of allegations about lockdown-breaking parties in government offices that ultimately resulted in 126 fines, including one levied against Johnson, according to Associated Press.

Two weeks later, Conservative candidates were badly beaten in two special elections to fill vacant seats in Parliament, adding to the discontent within Johnson’s party and suggesting the ongoing accusations were finding a toehold with the public. 

When Pincher resigned last week as deputy chief whip he told Johnson that he “drank far too much” the previous night and had “embarrassed myself and other people.”

Johnson initially refused to suspend Pincher from the Conservative Party, but he relented after a formal complaint about the groping allegations was filed with parliamentary authorities.

Ministers representing the Nepali Congress in the government have demanded resignation of Finance Minister Janardan Sharma.

During a Cabinet meeting held at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Tuesday, the ministers urged Finance Minister Sharma to resign from his post.

Sharma is accused of inviting two unauthorized persons to change tax rates on the eve of the budget presentation for the next fiscal year 2022-23.

The ministers said that the Finance Minister should resign on moral grounds as questions have been raised against him in public quarters.

Death toll in the Ramechhap bus accident has reached 13.

The District Police Office, Ramechhap said that the incident occurred when the bus (Ba 2 Kha 8396) heading towards Kathmandu from Dogma, Ramechhap fell some 300 meters down the road on Tuesday.

Police said that 20 persons were injured in the accident. They have been taken to the Dhulikhel Hospital and Kathmandu for treatment.

Among the injured, four are in critical condition, Raj Kumar Thing, Chief at the District Police Office, said.

Police said that nine died on the spot and four breathed their last while undergoing treatment at the Dhulikhel Hospital.

The deceased have been identified as Thula Tamang (40), Khadga Bahadur BK (36) of Khaniyapani, Sunapati Rural Municipality-5, Samrita Tamang of Bethan, Sunapati Rural Municipality-4, Kamal Tamang (25), Sudeep Bajagain (18) of Panchkhal Municipality-8, Bipana Tamang (22) of Sunapati Rural Municipality-5, Shiva Laxmi Manandhar of Mandandeupur Rural Municipality-9, Kavre, Sanju Ale Magar (36) of Sunapati Rural Municipality-5, and Tul Bahadur BK (40) of Panchkhal Rural Municipality-8, Kavre.

Police said that all of them died on the spot.

Similarly, Ram Bahadur Shrestha (45), Briddha Tamang (24) and Nema Tamang (60) of Sunapati Rural Municipality-5 breathed their last during the course of treatment. The identity of a person who died in the hospital is yet to be established.

Police suspect that the incident might have occurred due to brake failure.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 46. 08 points to close at 2,030.59 points on Tuesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 8. 71 points to close at 387. 23 points.

A total of 8,613,489 units of the shares of 229 companies were traded for Rs 2. 96 billion.

Meanwhile, CYC Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10 percent. Likewise, Ghalem Hydro Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 6. 60 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalisation stood at Rs 2. 89 trillion.

Nepal reported 90 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 944 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 73 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 168 people underwent antigen tests, of which 17 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 20  infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 401 active cases in the country.

Two women were found dead in different places of Kathmandu on Monday.

Parbati Pariyar (50) was found dead at her room in Gwaldaha, Dakshinkali Municipality-2.

Similarly, Sabita Khadka (64) of Morang was found dead at her rented room in Kapan, Budhanilkantha Municipality-10.

Police said that they are looking into both cases.

A person died when a bus hit a motorbike in Bhaktapur on Tuesday.

The identity of deceased has not been ascertained yet.  But, he was riding pillion.

The District Police Office, Bhaktapur spokesperson Raju Pandey said that the incident occurred when the bus (Ba 4 Kha 2212) rammed the bike from behind at around 2 pm today.

The bike rider is undergoing treatment at the Bhaktapur International Hospital.

Police said that they have impounded the bus and arrested its driver for investigation.

The Sankhuwasabha District Court has slapped imprisonment to those involved in murdering six members of a family at Khola Gaun in Umling of Madi Municipality-1, Sankhuwasabha.

A single bench of Justice Shanti Prasad Acharya on Monday announced the verdict of life imprisonment against four of the five persons for their involvement in the murder of six persons, registrar Keshav Prasad Gautam said.

He said that one of them was underage and minor.

The case was filed against Rana Bahadur Karki (49), his sons Lok Bahadur Karki (28) and Naresh Karki (17) and Khadak Bahadur Karki (47) and his son Hasta Bahadur Karki (28).

Among them, Rana Bahadur, Lok Bahadur, Khadak Bahadur and Hasta Bahadur have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

According to the verdict, Naresh has to spend 16 years and eight months in prison.

Tej Bahadur Karki (55)), his mother Parbati Karki, wife Kamala, daughter-in-law Ranjana Karki (32), grandson Bipin (8) and grand daughter Goma (5) were brutally murdered on September 6, 2021.