‘Why are we even doing this?’ The week that left Britain’s PM looking like an interim leader

Week of leadership jostling has left Keir Starmer looking vulnerable and short of time – even though no challenger has officially come forward

It was a minute or so into his BBC interview on Friday morning, after being asked about “moves” to remove Keir Starmer, that Steve Reed ran out of patience. “There is no contest,” he interrupted. “‘Moves’ mean nothing. People need 81 nominations to stand against the prime minister.”

The housing secretary, a close ally of Starmer and a founding member of the Labour Together thinktank that catapulted him to power, was right, of course: no one has formally challenged the prime minister, let alone ousted him.

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Teenager Isla Bell’s body was found in a Melbourne tip 18 months ago. Today friends and family demanded ‘justice’

Supporters at the Victorian state library protested against prosecutors dropping a manslaughter charge against the man accused of killing her

Isla Bell, the 19-year-old whose body was found in a Melbourne tip 18 months ago, has been remembered as a loving, courageous and open-hearted young woman with a green thumb and an “exquisitely beautiful soul”.

Friends, family and supporters gathered outside the Victorian state library on Saturday to honour the teenager and protest against prosecutors dropping a manslaughter charge against the man who had been accused of killing her.

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‘An hour of abuse’: Jeremy Corbyn on Labour coups, and whether he feels sorry for Starmer

As Keir Starmer endures a slow ousting as PM, former Labour leader Corbyn recalls his own expulsion and looks at the runners and riders

“Yeah, I do feel [sorry for him],” said Jeremy Corbyn, with only a little hesitation. “On a personal level it must be devastating. It is a horrible feeling. You suddenly realise that this person doesn’t trust you at all and really doesn’t wish you well at all, and you suddenly realise that any trust that was there actually disappears.”

There are few in politics who have had the experience of being the subject of a Labour party-style coup, the British equivalent of being dragged from your office to be put up against a wall. Letters of resignations from so-called political friends, condemnatory statements on social media, all dripped out for maximum effect with the end goal of pushing the target, once the subject of standing ovations and gushing plaudits, out on their tail.

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British Palestinians feel ‘gaslit’ and unable to speak out, says leading activist

Ahead of Nakba march, Sara Husseini says many feel they are being treated as suspects rather than victims of mass suffering

British Palestinians feel unable to speak openly about Israel’s war on Gaza, the director of the British Palestinian Committee has said, amid what campaigners believe is a growing climate of hostility around Palestinian identity and activism in the UK.

Some were afraid to wear Palestinian symbols at work or display Arabic jewellery and keffiyehs in public, Sara Husseini said.

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Down and then out in Paris and London? Why Starmer isn’t the only one with a popularity problem

As continent faces tough headwinds, leaders are bearing brunt of delivering bad news to frustrated electorates

“People hate you,” the adviser informed his leader. A think-piece in a daily newspaper noted that “almost everyone agrees on one thing: they don’t like him”.

The recent disastrous set of local election results in the UK built on Keir Starmer’s longstanding reputational problem: only 11% of Britons believe he has been a good or great prime minister, and nearly 60% believe he has been poor or terrible, according to polling by YouGov.

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Trump says Islamic State ‘second in command’ killed by US and Nigerian forces

US president calls Abu-Bilal al-Minuki ‘most active terrorist in the world’ and says he was eliminated in ‘very complex mission’

Donald Trump has said US and Nigerian forces killed the “second in command” global leader of the Islamic State.

“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” the US president said on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

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Stafford byelection tipped to swing towards LNP as danger looms for Steven Miles’ leadership of Queensland Labor

Voters in northern Brisbane electorate go to polls after sudden death of former independent MP Jimmy Sullivan

A byelection in the Brisbane seat of Stafford is expected to swing towards the sitting LNP Queensland government in a result experts say would likely be fatal to former premier Steven Miles’ leadership of the Labor party.

Voters in the northern Brisbane electorate of Stafford have gone to the polls after the sudden death of former independent MP Jimmy Sullivan in April.

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FDA turmoil deepens as top drug chief departs claiming she was fired

Dr Tracy Beth Høeg, the Food and Drug Administration’s top drug regulator, says she was fired from agency after declining to resign

In a major shake-up at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), top regulators left on Friday – including Tracy Beth Høeg, the acting drug chief, who says she was fired, and Katherine Szarama, the acting vaccines chief who has only been in the position for days. Jim Traficant, the chief of staff, has also been ousted.

The FDA now has no permanent commissioner or deputy commissioner and no permanent leaders of two major centers, after the resignation of Marty Makary on Tuesday and other high-profile departures.

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Donald Trump does ‘not feel optimistic’ for Jimmy Lai after speaking with Xi Jinping

Family and supporters had hoped the US president could help free the 78-year-old British citizen during summit talks in Beijing

Donald Trump raised the case of jailed Hong Kong democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping but was told it “is a tough one”.

Family and supporters of the 78-year-old British citizen had hoped the US president could help secure his release.

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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 15, 2026 – Institute for the Study of War

  1. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 15, 2026  Institute for the Study of War
  2. Russia’s Wartime Economy Shrinks for First Time Since 2023  Bloomberg.com
  3. Putin Hails ‘Positive’ Economic Growth in March Despite Sharp Downgrade in Annual Forecast  The Moscow Times
  4. Russia downgrades 2026 economic growth forecast to 0.4% from 1.3%, deputy PM says  Reuters
  5. Meeting on economic issues  Президент России
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POV: you’re Jim Chalmers using social media to sell the most ambitious budget of your life

Politicians still care about traditional media, but winning over people spending more of their lives online is the challenge for modern MPs

He’s up before sunrise, pounding the pavement in a cap and running shorts. He’s still up late into the night, having slipped into a comfortable sweater while he checks figures in a darkened office by lamplight, fuelled by sugar-free Red Bull.

It’s “decision week”, Jim Chalmers declares of the annual federal budget in a video that pinged around political group chats this week. The treasurer was keen to take people behind the scenes on social media.

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Burnham cleared to run for selection in pivotal by-election – BBC

  1. Burnham cleared to run for selection in pivotal by-election  BBC
  2. It’s Been a Wild Week in British Politics. What Happens Next?  The New York Times
  3. Some see ‘King of the North’ as UK government’s savior. First he needs a seat in Parliament  The Hill
  4. Labour tries to unite — so Farage can’t wreck their leadership fight  politico.eu
  5. Greens suggest they will properly contest byelection, in blow to Burnham  The Guardian
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Supreme court rejects Virginia Democrats’ bid to restore congressional map

Order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition

The supreme court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.

The court’s order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition . It was kicked off last year by Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent supreme court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the Republican party.

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Nearly 60 children reportedly killed or injured in Lebanon in the past week – Vatican News

  1. Nearly 60 children reportedly killed or injured in Lebanon in the past week  Vatican News
  2. Israel kills, injures average of 4 children daily amid Lebanon ‘ceasefire’  Al Jazeera
  3. At least 59 children reportedly killed or injured in Lebanon in the past week despite ceasefire  Unicef
  4. Middle East: Deadly weekend in Lebanon, continued violence in Gaza  UN News
  5. Israeli attacks kill 200 children in Lebanon since March 2: UNICEF  Anadolu Ajansı
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Swarm of Angry Bees Sparks Chaos on White House Lawn – The Daily Beast

  1. Swarm of Angry Bees Sparks Chaos on White House Lawn  The Daily Beast
  2. White House gets an unexpected buzz as thousands of bees swarm the executive mansion's North Lawn  Fox News
  3. ‘Bee tornado’ spotted near White House: ‘Is this a biblical curse 2.0?’  Hindustan Times
  4. White House under attack by massive bee invasion as viewers fear 'plague has started'  The Mirror US
  5. White House Bees Swarm North Lawn Weeks After New Colonies Added  mogazmasr.com
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