Keir Starmer will give his final speech from Downing Street before Burnham arrives and is appointed as new PMGood morning. Today we are getting a new PM. It is the sixth time this has happened in just over a decade (Theresa May replaced David Cameron on 13 July 2016), and so in some respects there is nothing very new or surprising about this. Yet the process has been unusual. In the past, when parties in power have replaced a PM, generally they have opted for someone popular with their own MPs, but less popular than their predecessor with the public at large (Liz Truss, Theresa May, Gordon Brown), or for someone more popular with the public, but less liked by their own activists (John Major, Rishi Sunak).
At the start of the year, anyone looking at polling would have concluded that the logical choice for Labour would have been to replace Keir Starmer with Andy Burnham. Labour is not always noted for taking decisions that will be electorally beneficial, but in this case that is what it has achieved. That may not be the case by the end of the day, after Burnham has named his cabinet. We’ll have to see. This week [Burnham] will tell us of his “ten-year plan for the country”.
Perhaps his premiership won’t last that long, he conceded. “I’m not saying that means I’m setting out to say I’m going to be here for ten years … it’s more that we’re not in the right place structurally, we’re not in the right place as a country. They’re just characterising me as a tax raiser. Well, again, it’s never that simplistic, is it? Continue reading...
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• An internal power struggle is unfolding within Iran as factions debate how to handle the ongoing 47-year conflict with the United States. • Pragmatists within the government argue that the window to settle the conflict from a position of strength is rapidly closing.
Read original · edition.cnn.comDozens evacuated after flash-flood event near Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch, officials sayAt least 15 people may be missing or unaccounted for after a major flash flood swept through the Grand Canyon national park in Arizona on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Park Service.The flash-flood event occurred in the area of Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch, where park staff and the Arizona department of public safety have evacuated more than 60 people as of Sunday morning. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comUS says attack was response to Revolutionary Guards preparing rockets to launch sea mines into strait US forces have struck two Iranian launchers on Iran’s Larak island on Sunday, a US official said, marking the first known American strikes since late July.“I can confirm that earlier today US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak island. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait of Hormuz,” the official said. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comTrump officials shuttering three projects on foodborne parasite, two defunded by Congress, Politico reportsThe Trump administration is shuttering two of the three US Department of Agriculture research projects studying cyclospora after the foodborne parasite has sickened tens of thousands of Americans during the summer, Politico reported on Sunday.The two projects were defunded by Congress earlier in the year, while the third is due to be moved in coming months from Maryland to Iowa as part of a broader USDA reorganization, according to the report. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comNepali and Chinese authorities confirmed an updated death toll of at least 810 on Sunday. Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe government will send $3 million in additional aid to Nepal, the foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has announced, bringing the total package to $8 million.Of this additional aid, the Australian defence force will coordinate $2m worth of hygiene kits, solar lighting and other emergency supplies following a request from Nepal’s government.The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will transport the first of these supplies from Queensland in the coming days. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comLos Angeles were already Super Bowl favoritesDefensive tackle was 10-time Pro Bowler with Rams35-year-old aiming to win second Super Bowl in LAAaron Donald, one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, is coming out of retirement to rejoin his only professional team, the Los Angeles Rams.During a 10-season career with the Rams, who drafted him with the 13th overall pick in 2014, Donald was a three-time defensive player of the year and an eight-time first team All-Pro. He won a Super Bowl with the Rams at the end of the 2021 season before announcing his retirement in March 2024 at the age of 32. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comFather of former boxer and NRL star Anthony Mundine succumbed to a heart attack on SundayWarning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have diedIndigenous Australian boxing great Tony Mundine has died, aged 75.The father of former boxer and NRL star Anthony Mundine succumbed to a heart attack on Sunday. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comTom Homan says rightwing influencer overstayed visitor visa after receiving final order of removalThe White House “border czar,” Tom Homan, denied on Sunday that the British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos was deported just a day after being arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for political reasons.Homan said it was his understanding that Yiannopoulos, 41, had overstayed what he believed to be a visitor visa, had not appeared at an immigration hearing and was issued a final order of removal on 22 July. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comCritics say the move, which will keep PC Harper’s killers in jail, leaves number of prison spaces ‘too close to the bone’PC Andrew Harper’s killers will remain behind bars after a critical intervention by Andy Burnham, but the move has led to warnings that overcrowded prisons will be left “one major event away from disaster”.Announcing a U-turn on the early release scheme after weeks of intense pressure, Burnham said he understood “how strongly people feel about this issue”. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comRobert Guanco, 41, a pastor at Jesus Living Water church in Eastbourne, described as having ‘touched many lives’A 41-year-old man who died after a large wooden sign fell at a Christian festival on Friday has been named as Robert Guanco, a pastor at a church in Eastbourne, East Sussex.A tribute from his church on Sunday described him as a respected pastor who was a “loving husband” and “a devoted and caring father”. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comThe ‘alt-right’ agitator and former Trump backer deported from US is said to be too extreme for GB News and ReformAs he arrives back in the UK after being deported from the US by the Trump administration, the far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos may be wondering what lies ahead for him in his native country.The “alt-right” agitator, 41, made his name in the US by promoting Donald Trump and associating with his allies before the 2016 election. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comRajendra Dawadi ordered students to higher ground with moments to spare after receiving warnings from upstreamA headteacher in Nepal evacuated 900 children from a school moments before a deadly wall of water struck their town amid the devastating flash floods that have killed almost 800 people and left thousands missing.Rajendra Dawadi decided to halt classes and order children to higher ground after receiving warnings about the scale of the flooding heading their way. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com