Andy Burnham on track to be British PM
Veteran politician Andy Burnham was on track on July 9 to become Britain’s next prime minister as hundreds of Labour lawmakers formally nominated him to succeed Keir Starmer as party leader.
The 56-year-old is the only member of parliament from the UK’s ruling party to publicly declare themselves a candidate to replace Starmer, who announced he was quitting in June.
Burnham appeared on course to be crowned Labour leader unchallenged after the party announced that 322 of its 403 MPs had backed him on the first day of nominations on July 9.
“It is all starting to feel very real,” Burnham said in a social media video posted shortly after the process opened.
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Two thirds of EU faced harmful ozone levels during heatwave
PHOTO: AFP
Two thirds of the European Union’s population may have been exposed to harmful levels of ozone pollution during June’s record-breaking heatwave, a report exclusively shared with AFP warned on July 9.
Nearly 300 million people, including 100 million children and elderly people, faced higher-than-recommended levels of the toxic pollutant during the punishing heat in late June, according to the report from the NGO Global Witness.
Ground-level ozone is different from the ozone layer in the atmosphere. On the ground, ozone is the main ingredient in smog and can cause breathing problems, damage lung tissue, trigger asthma attacks and lead to other health issues.
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Russian strikes killed at least 265 civilians in Ukraine in June
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Russian strikes killed at least 265 civilians in Ukraine and injured 1,816 in June, the highest combined casualty count since the first months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, a top UN official told the Security Council on July 9.
UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said the number of civilians killed and injured in Ukraine in May had been the highest since April 2022, but data from the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) pointed to an even higher toll in June, and possibly July.
Final data for June will be released in late July, a UN spokesperson said.
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India’s Modi inks uranium and defence deals in Australia
PHOTO: AFP
Australia agreed on July 9 to sell India uranium, with the leaders of both countries committing to closer defence and energy cooperation in the face of shared concerns about China’s military rise.
After signing the uranium deal during a meeting in Melbourne, visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Australia presented “historic opportunities” to aid his country’s transition towards clean energy, while meeting its growing energy needs.
Australia, which has the world’s largest uranium reserves, could help India boost its nuclear energy output as it develops power-intensive data centres.
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Mbappe, Dembele fire France into World Cup semi-finals
PHOTO: REUTERS
Hot favourites France marched into the World Cup semi-finals after a 2-0 last-eight win over Morocco on July 9.
Captain Kylian Mbappe gave Les Bleus the lead at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in the 60th minute to make up for a fluffed penalty in the first half.
In the process, the 27-year-old also went level with Argentina captain Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring charts with eight goals.
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