British Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on Monday announced his resignation, bringing an abrupt end to a premiership that began with Labour’s landslide general election victory in July 2024.

Starmer made the announcement in a statement outside 10 Downing Street, where he reflected on his time in office and defended his record in government.

“Every decision I have made has been about putting the country I love first,” Starmer said as he confirmed he would step down as both prime minister and leader of the governing Labour Party.

The resignation marks a dramatic political development in the United Kingdom, coming barely two years after Starmer led Labour back to power following more than a decade in opposition.

His departure is expected to trigger a swift leadership transition within the party at a time of heightened political uncertainty.

Addressing supporters gathered outside Downing Street, Starmer described entering No. 10 in 2024 as “the proudest moment” of his life, saying he entered politics with the goal of improving the lives of millions of people.

The outgoing prime minister also highlighted what he considered some of his key achievements, including rebuilding the Labour Party after years of internal divisions and restoring public confidence in the party’s economic and national security credentials.

Starmer said he inherited a Labour Party that was “politically, financially and morally bankrupt” and faced repeated predictions that it was finished as a political force.

He argued that his leadership helped transform the party, including efforts to tackle anti-Semitism and reposition Labour as a credible alternative government.

His resignation has immediately intensified speculation over his successor. Attention has turned to Andy Burnham, who recently won the Makerfield by-election and is due to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament.

Political observers and Labour insiders believe Burnham could emerge as the overwhelming favourite to take over the party leadership. Some party members are already discussing the possibility of a “coronation” process in which Burnham becomes the sole candidate, avoiding a prolonged leadership contest.

If that scenario unfolds, Labour could have a new leader and prime minister in place by September, around the time of the party’s annual conference.

Former Beninese finance minister, Romuald Wadagni, has been officially sworn in as president of Benin on Sunday, succeeding his predecessor and former boss, Patrice Talon.

Wadagni, a 49-year-old economist widely regarded as a technocrat and continuity candidate for Talon’s administration, won the April 12 presidential election with 94 per cent of the vote.

His only challenger, Paul Hounkpe, was overwhelmingly defeated, while Hounkpe’s party later aligned with Wadagni’s political camp in parliament.

“I will serve Benin with integrity, courage and commitment.

“I will serve with the constant knowledge that power is never a personal privilege,” he said.

Wadagni assumes office at a time when Benin has recorded strong economic growth over the last decade but continues to grapple with inequality and insecurity in its northern region due to attacks linked to jihadist groups.

His inauguration also marks the beginning of a seven-year presidential term following a constitutional amendment last year that extended the tenure from five years. Presidents remain limited to a maximum of two terms.

During his decade-long tenure as finance minister, Wadagni oversaw fiscal reforms that reduced Benin’s budget deficit to three per cent of GDP.

He also pledged to confront security threats in northern Benin, particularly attacks attributed to the al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).

“Benin will not give in to fear nor complacency. The government will be firm against all those who threaten our unity and security,” he said.

The new president is also expected to work toward improving relations with neighbouring junta-led states, including Niger and Burkina Faso.

In a sign of warming ties, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine attended the inauguration ceremony and received applause from attendees.

The Guardian

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal” with Iran, amid anticipation — and mounting criticism — of an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.

“The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”

The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports since April 13 after Tehran virtually halted traffic through the economically vital Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began February 28.

“Both sides must take their time and get it right,” Trump wrote in the same Truth Social post, while slamming the 2015 nuclear deal that former president Barack Obama agreed with Iran.

“Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump wrote.

While the White House has not released aspects of the deal, Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Saturday on state television that the two sides were nearing a “a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” in “a trend toward rapprochement.”

Several voices, notably among Republican lawmakers close to Trump, expressed fears of an agreement favorable to Iran as supposed aspects of the deal that began to leak.

According to news outlet Axios, a possible agreement would extend the current ceasefire by 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, Iran would freely sell oil, and negotiations would be held on Iran’s nuclear program.

The top Republican senator overseeing defense policy, Roger Wicker, said that agreeing to a “rumored 60-day ceasefire” with Iran would mean, “everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!”

Fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham also voiced opposition to Iran soon gaining benefits such as the ability to sell its oil freely.

“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz, a Republican from Texas, wrote on X.

Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, said the deal “doesn’t make sense to me.”

“We were told about 11 weeks ago by (Secretary of Defense Pete) Hegseth and the Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran’s defenses, and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material. Now we’re talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at all?” Tillis said on CNN’s “State of the Union” morning program.

AFP