Robert Firth

"It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election"

British Prime Minister Keir #Starmer was fighting for his political survival on Thursday after Health Secretary Wes #Streeting resigned, saying he had “lost confidence” in Starmer’s leadership. Read more as it happens below )))) anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

Metropolitan #Shio elected 142nd Catholicos-Patriarch of #Georgia at a meeting of clergy in #Tbilisi following the death of following the death of long-time Patriarch Ilia II. He will be known as Shio III. anewz.tv/region/south-c…

UK Local Elections: Is it over for Keir Starmer? anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

IMO, we don't always talk enough about the impact of policy on local elections. Housing is a key issue - both affordability and housebuilding. Have been looking at places where Labour lost seats to Reform, as well as losing votes to the Green Party. In Wandsworth, for instance, where the Labour-controlled council had been building council homes, the Conservatives gained control after the Greens split the left-wing vote. Here, Greens talked up rent controls. Similarly, in Hackney, the Greens gained their first mayor and deputy mayor after years of Labour rule. In this part of the Capital, they also campaigned on rent control, which is not currently a national Labour Party policy, even though London’s Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has called for the power to implement city-wide controls on rent. In Labour Mayor Andy Burnham’s patch of Greater Manchester, the party of government lost a decades-long majority in Tameside, where one third of seats were up for election, with Reform winning 18 out of 19 seats. In Wigan, Reform won 24 of the 25 seats available, and 13 of the 21 in Salford, but Labour held on to its majority. In both places, the Greens secured hundreds of votes after attacking Britain’s Labour government’s plans to build new homes on green belt land (which can now be reclassified as ‘grey belt’ under certain circumstances). The Liberal Democrats secured a majority in Stockport for the first time in 15 years after picking up two extra seats. The local Lib Dem party here criticised the new housing targets imposed on the area by Britain’s national Labour government.

At least two killed in #Leipzig, #Germany after car drives into crowd. Emergency services have declared "mass casualty incident," police say. anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

#Armenia and #Georgia will co-host the 2029 #FIFA U-20 World Cup, the sport’s global governing body announced on Wednesday (29 April), bringing the youth tournament to the South Caucasus for the second consecutive edition after the 2027 event. anewz.tv/region/south-c…

The Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church met yesterday to pick the candidates to succeed Ilia II as the new Patriarch. A conservative who supports closer ties to the Russian Orthodox Church emerged as the frontrunner. anewz.tv/region/south-c…

Militants have staged coordinated attacks in #Mali’s capital, #Bamako, and several locations across the country, the army said on Saturday (25 April), in an assault apparently involving jihadist and Tuareg-led groups. anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

#Argentina has reiterated its interest in resuming talks with the #UK over the #Falkland Islands, after an internal Pentagon email reportedly suggested reviewing Washington’s support for the UK’s claim. anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

The future economy

The Trump Organization, a real estate conglomerate owned by U.S. President Donald #Trump and managed by his sons, has announced plans to build #Georgia’s tallest building in the capital, #Tbilisi. anewz.tv/region/south-c…

A coalition led by pro-Russian Eurosceptic Rumen #Radev was on track to form #Bulgaria’s next government preliminary results from the Balkan nation’s parliamentary elections showed on Monday (20 April). anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

At least five people have been killed after a man opened fire in a supermarket in #Kyiv #Ukraine, President #Zelenskyy has said. The attacker has been shot dead by police. anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

#Bulgaria heads to the polls on Sunday (19 April) for its eighth election in five years, amid mounting public anger over corruption and instability. A three-party coalition led by former president Rumen Radev is currently ahead in the polls. anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

#Russia published addresses of firms allegedly producing #drones or components for #Ukraine on Wednesday (15 April), warning European countries against plans to step up UAV supplies to Kyiv. Sites in Britain, Germany & Türkiye were named, among others. anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

Nine people were arrested on Saturday (11 April) in connection with a suspected #ISIS terror attack targeting a police post near #Israel's Consulate in #Istanbul. anewz.tv/region/middle-…

At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede at #Haiti’s #Laferrière Citadel World Heritage Site, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise. anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

#Hungary votes in elections on Sunday that could see the end of hard right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor #Orbán’s more than 15 year rule. Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing 45-year-old Péter #Magyar’s centre-right opposition Tisza party. anewz.tv/world/world-ne…

Six people now confirmed dead in #Dagestan flooding. anewz.tv/region/north-c…