Allies

• Bronnen beweren dat de minister van Volksgezondheid van plan is om al aanstaande donderdag een leiderschapsverkiezing uit te lokken • UK politics live – laatste updates • Wie zijn de belangrijkste bedreigingen voor het leiderschap van Starmer?

Exclusief: Marie Rimmer steunt Keir Starmer en brengt een slag toe aan de hoop van de burgemeester van Greater Manchester op een bijverkiezing UK politics live – laatste updates De hoop van Andy Burnham om terug te keren naar Westminster kreeg dinsdag een klap toen het Merseyside-lid van het parlement wiens zetel door belangrijke bondgenoten was aangewezen voor een potentiële bijverkiezing, zei dat ze niet zou aftreden en Keir Starmer steunde om in functie te blijven. Marie Rimmer, het parlementslid voor St Helens South and Whiston, zei dat de burgemeester van Greater Manchester haar al "jaren" niet had gesproken – en dat haar prioriteit was om de chaos van een strijd om het leiderschap te vermijden. Lees verder...

• DMK allies including IUML, VCK, and Left parties met Chief Minister MK Stalin amid TVK chief Vijay's ongoing bid to form the Tamil Nadu government following recent elections. • Sources indicate IUML is open to supporting TVK externally but only with Stalin's approval, reflecting delicate coalition dynamics. • The meetings highlight persistent uncertainty two days post-polls, as DMK maneuvers to counter TVK's majority claim.

PM’s attendance at European Political Community meeting in Yerevan signals effort to build new ties after US ruptureCanada is to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community when the prime minister, Mark Carney, joins Monday’s summit of the 48-plus nation grouping in Yerevan, Armenia.Carney has said he is determined to build a new network of trade and diplomatic alliances after the loss of US markets under Donald Trump. His presence will also represent a show of western support for Armenia in its efforts to distance itself from Russia at a time when the US’s approach to Moscow’s opponents, such as Ukraine, is at best ambiguous. Canadian diplomats have rejected suggestions Ottawa might seek EU membership. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration unveiled a new slate of nominees to lead several federal boards and trust funds, including one that will oversee a major cultural award ceremony this year, according to announcements from the White House. • The selections include close political allies and conservative commentators, reinforcing Trump’s pattern of placing loyalists in oversight roles that manage grants, endowments, and public‑facing institutions. • Democrats and some good‑government watchdogs have raised concerns that the appointments could inject partisan criteria into traditionally nonpartisan programs.

Exclusive: Greater Manchester mayor said to have identified seats where MPs would step aside to allow leadership bidAndy Burnham has a credible plan to return to Westminster “within weeks”, his allies have said, with the Greater Manchester mayor expected to use a byelection fight to set out a new agenda for government.Burnham, who was blocked by Labour’s ruling body from running in February’s Gorton and Denton byelection, has identified several seats where MPs are prepared to step aside for his leadership bid. Continue reading...

US president’s threat comes after Germany’s Friedrich Merz suggests Trump team is being outplayed in its negotiations with IranThe US may reduce its number of troops deployed in Germany, Donald Trump has announced, days after the country’s chancellor said America was being “humiliated” by Iran.In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president said his administration was “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time”. Continue reading...