Andy Burnham has opened the door to a fresh Labour leadership battle, saying he would take on Prime Minister Keir Starmer if he secures victory in the Makerfield bye-election later this month. The Greater Manchester mayor said Labour, despite being in government, requires a fundamental reset as it struggles in the opinion polls. Burnham made the remarks during a BBC debate alongside other candidates contesting the parliamentary seat in northern England. Starmer, whose approval ratings rank among the weakest for a British…

A deadly New Year’s fire that tore through a Swiss ski-resort bar and left 41 people dead is back at the center of the investigation, with the venue’s owners set to face another round of questioning. French owners Jacques and Jessica Moretti were due to be cross-examined by public prosecutors and lawyers representing civil parties over the blaze that swept through Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana in the early hours of 1 January. The disaster claimed 41 lives, most of them teenagers, and left 115 others injured. "The…

A transatlantic political row has erupted over the killing of a student in England, after the US State Department stepped into the debate and denounced what it described as “ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing” as evidence of a broader civilisational decline. The controversy centres on the death of Henry Nowak, who was 18 when he was fatally stabbed last year. As he lay wounded, police handcuffed the white teenager after his attacker falsely claimed he had carried out a racist assault. On Monday, his killer,…

Mogadishu — Former president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Friday agreed to vacate the compound where he had been staying in the Mirinaayo area of Abdiaziz district, a move that came as international actors urged calm and a return to talks. The convoy escorting the former president included the Commander of the Somali National Army, the Chief of the Somali Military Court and several traditional elders. At one point, officers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) set up a roadblock and demanded the…

Europe has thrown its weight behind Volodymyr Zelensky’s dramatic appeal to Vladimir Putin, with EU officials endorsing the Ukrainian president’s push for face-to-face talks as a possible way to halt a war now grinding through its fifth year. Mr Zelensky set out that offer in an open letter to the Russian leader, proposing a direct meeting to negotiate an end to the conflict while making clear that, failing that, Kyiv was prepared to continue the fight. "We welcome President Zelensky's call for direct negotiations and also…

Against the odds on the slopes of Mount Everest, a Nepali climbing guide missing for six days and feared dead has been found alive after dragging himself alone down toward Base Camp, officials said. By the time he was discovered, his wife said, she had already started last rite prayers. Speaking from a hospital in the capital Kathmandu, where he is now recovering, she described a family swinging from grief to disbelief. Mountaineer Dawa Sherpa - who is in his 50s, and is better known as "Hillary" after famed climber Edmund…

A long-running dispute over peat extraction in Ireland has reached a new flashpoint, with the European Commission hauling the State before Europe’s highest court over what it says is a failure to properly police the industry. After years of tensions between Dublin and Brussels, the EU executive said today it is referring Ireland to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), arguing the State has not met its obligations under EU rules governing environmental impact assessments. In a statement, the Commission said Ireland had…

As leading AI systems grow more capable, Anthropic is urging the world to consider a coordinated pause on the development of the most advanced models, arguing that early warning signs suggest the technology could eventually slip beyond human control. The San Francisco-based company behind the Claude family of AI models said in a new report that a global slowdown in frontier AI work would "likely be a good thing". But it also stressed that a unilateral move would accomplish little, because competitors would almost certainly…

President Donald Trump says Washington will host a massive rally on 24 June to mark America’s 250th anniversary, after planned concerts were scrapped when several performers withdrew. "In celebration of our Country's 250 Year History, we will be bringing you, LIVE, the Greatest Rally, EVER! It will be special at every level - A Rally to end all Rallies!" Mr Trump said on his Truth Social network. "We don't want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we've told them all to stay home," added the 79-year-old…

Donald Trump said a face-to-face meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin would be “great,” throwing his weight behind the prospect of direct talks while insisting that any breakthrough would require concessions from both Ukraine and Russia. “I’m glad that they’re maybe talking about meeting. I think we had a lot to do with it,” Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think it would be great if they met. They should - get it done,” he added. Mr Trump, who has drawn criticism for berating Mr Zelensky in…