Author: staff

LONDON — Keir Starmer leads a Labour Party that appears too big to fail. But nine months after it stormed to victory with an overwhelming majority, dividing lines in his army are beginning to emerge.  First apparent was a clash between upstart new MPs and longer-serving stalwarts, both of whom thought they were entitled to a bigger stake in Starmer’s government. Then his most loyal MPs, who are fully signed up to Labour decisions on cutting foreign aid and welfare payments, began coming up against the “soft left,” which had deep misgivings about the moves. Now another layer of tension…

Trzaskowski mostly held firm, but faltered when Hołownia — whose party is part of Tusk’s ruling coalition — criticized his offer to meet Nawrocki one-on-one. In a clumsy stunt, Nawrocki handed Trzaskowski a rainbow flag, suggesting it was closer to Trzaskowski’s heart than Poland’s white-and-red banner. Trzaskowski’s awkward decision to tuck the flag away gave the Left’s Magdalena Biejat an opening. “I’m not ashamed of it,” she said, getting the flag and displaying it in front of her. A poll taken after the debate showed Trzaskowski in first place, followed by Nawrocki, Hołownia and Biejat. The debate format — with…

The Dhaka court issued arrest warrants for 50 individuals including Hasina, Siddiq’s mother and other family members, Bangladesh’s state news agency reported. The BBC reported that court documents seen by the broadcaster show Siddiq is accused of helping to broker a deal with Russia in 2013 that overinflated the price of a new nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. A spokesperson for Siddiq said that the claims are “completely false” and “politically motivated.” Separately, Siddiq has been questioned by the United Kingdom Cabinet Office’s ethics committee over allegations of embezzlement in a multibillion-pound deal for a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.…

The Ukrainian leader accused Russia of ignoring the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, adding that Moscow is “convinced they can keep killing with impunity.”  Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, said the Russian attack on civilian targets “crosses any line of decency.” “As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong. It is why President Trump is working hard to end this war,” Kellogg said in a post on X. European leaders rushed to Ukraine’s defense. France’s Emmanuel Macron said in an X post that “it is clear that only Russia is choosing…

The U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy should “seek answers” from Beijing, Hobhouse said. Lammy called the news “deeply concerning” and said the U.K. government will “urgently raise this with the authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing to demand an explanation,” according to the Guardian. Lammy said it is “unacceptable” that an MP is “denied entry for simply expressing their views,” connecting Hobhouse’s treatment with her work on China. Hobhouse is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a group of MPs from countries ranging from Japan to Canada coordinating to monitor and scrutinize Beijing. She has been vocal…

The British government claims the initiative will save U.K. businesses £17 million, which could be passed on to consumers. The U.K. was slammed with 10 percent U.S. tariffs across the board on April 2, on top of 25 percent duties on aluminum, steel, vehicles and car parts. On Saturday, the House of Lords approved emergency legislation giving the government the power to bring the last remaining source of virgin steel in the U.K., British Steel, under state control. The U.S. is the second-most important export market for British steel after the European Union. Starmer has said the U.K. will “keep…

The tariff regime announced by Trump has sent markets reeling in the last 10 days over widespread fears of a looming recession. Trump eventually paused part of the measures and then on Friday exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from his reciprocal duties.   Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union struck a deal with the center-left Social Democratic Party for a coalition government last week, setting their sights on starting their work on May 6 as pressure from the U.S. is mounting. Merz’s goal is a new transatlantic free trade agreement with zero tariffs; but he also wants to negotiate trade…

Iceland’s largest whaling company – Hvalur hf. – will not be hunting this season. This marks the second consecutive year that the company has opted out of whaling during the summer season.Although Hvalur is not the only whaling company in Iceland, it is by far the largest, holding a permit for the hunting of 200 fin whales this season. Its CEO, Kristján Loftsson, says his staff have been informed of the decision, which was made due to the global economic situation.“Given the current economic situation, Hvalur HF sees no other option but to stay docked and wait for better days.…

The biggest demonstrations ever against the amendment of the law on assembly were held in Budapest on Saturday. The Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party’s peace march was apparently against diversity and for uniformity, with participants dressed in grey. But the real message was that the government’s policies are exclusionary and harmful.Participants marched along the route of the peace march behind a banner reading Illiberal Pride, which, when viewed on a map, looked peculiarly like male genitalia. One participant told Euronews why he had come to the event:”I feel that our rights are being taken away and I think we have to…

The legislation now heads to the House of Lords, where it is expected to be voted through later Saturday. The proposals will give the government the power to purchase the raw materials needed to keep the U.K.’s last blast furnaces burning as it seeks a partner to co-invest in the site. Despite multiple government offers to purchase the necessary materials, the company resisted, saying the two blast furnaces were “no longer financially sustainable,” and citing six-figure daily financial losses from keeping them open. The government was already under pressure to support the sector after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a…