Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s big plans for the United Kingdom, a searing heat wave in Ukraine, and cyanide poisonings in Thailand.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s big plans for the United Kingdom, a searing heat wave in Ukraine, and cyanide poisonings in Thailand.
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New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s vision for the United Kingdom’s future was presented on Wednesday, with a raft of proposals that signal a marked break from the Conservative Party’s 14-year reign.
Following British tradition, these plans were laid out not by Starmer himself but by King Charles III. On Wednesday, the king donned ceremonial garb to deliver a speech—written by Starmer’s government—formally opening Parliament and detailing the prime minister’s proposals.
To kick-start what Starmer has called a “national renewal,” the prime minister—the first from the Labour Party in more than a decade—put forth a 40-bill agenda that tackles issues including economic growth, public spending, workers’ rights, housing reform, transportation, LGBT conversion therapy, and smoking.
Anand Menon, a politics professor at King’s College London, told the Washington Post that the sheer number of bills reflects the “level of ambition” in Starmer’s government. (Rishi Sunak, Starmer’s predecessor, proposed just 21 bills last time, in comparison.)
One of Starmer’s proposed bills aims to build more housing each year; another border security bill would empower law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal immigration. Starmer also aims to bring private railways under government authority, and he pledged to create a new energy company, GB Energy, which would be central to the government’s green ambitions and would “own, manage and operate clean power projects” in the U.K. Legislation to ban conversion therapy—programs, all of which have been scientifically discredited and deemed unethical and potentially harmful, that aim to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity—was also introduced.
Still, Starmer stressed that any changes would likely be slow to happen. “Rebuilding our country will not happen overnight. The challenges we face require determined, patient work and serious solutions,” Starmer wrote in an introduction to the proposed legislation.
Scorched system. Russian attacks aren’t the only threat to Ukraine’s energy grid. A record heat wave sweeping the country has exacerbated strains on Kyiv’s already embattled energy infrastructure, which has weathered months of Russian missile and drone strikes. As temperatures have risen this week, Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo has ordered emergency shutdowns across seven regions, the company said on Tuesday.
These new challenges come as Russia and Ukraine each swapped 95 prisoners of war on Wednesday, the result of United Arab Emirates-brokered negotiations. Wednesday’s exchange represents the fifth such UAE-facilitated prisoner swap between the two countries this year. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has recorded the return of more than 3,400 people who were held in Russian captivity, according to the Ukrainian Coordinating Committee on Dealing With Prisoners of War.
Crackdown on crime. Interpol has concluded a major crackdown on organized crime groups and financial fraud in West Africa, resulting in around 300 arrests and authorities’ seizure of some $3 million in illegal assets, the agency announced on Tuesday. The effort, known as Operation Jackal III, took place between April 10 and July 3 and spanned five continents. Interpol was also able to identify more than 400 other suspects and 720 bank accounts.
“The volume of financial fraud stemming from West Africa is alarming and increasing,” Isaac Oginni, the director of Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said in a statement. “By identifying suspects, recovering illicit funds and putting some of West Africa’s most dangerous organized crime leaders behind bars, we are able to weaken their influence and reduce their capacity to harm communities around the world.”
Deadly poisonings. Thai authorities investigating the mysterious deaths of six people found dead in a five-star hotel in Bangkok have detected traces of cyanide in the room, officials announced on Wednesday. Four of the individuals were Vietnamese citizens, and two were Americans, although all were of Vietnamese descent. The individuals were last seen alive on Monday, when they ordered room service; they were found dead on Tuesday after they failed to check out of the hotel on time.
Following preliminary tests, officials believe that one of the six individuals planned the poisonings in a murder-suicide, after traces of cyanide were discovered in the blood of one of the victims and on teacups and thermos bottles in the room. The group also had business ties: Two of the individuals had reportedly given approximately $280,000 in investments to a third individual and had met in Bangkok for an update on the investment plan.
French authorities have long prohibited swimming in the Seine, but Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is on a mission to prove that it’s no longer a major health risk after a more than $1.5 billion effort to decontaminate the body of water ahead of the Paris Olympics. Donning a wetsuit and goggles, Hidalgo plunged into the river’s murky green waters on Wednesday to demonstrate that the Seine is clean enough for several events of the Olympic Games, which kick off later this month, to be held in the river. “It’s pure happiness,” she said as she climbed out. She’s certainly braver than I am.
The post Keir Starmer Unveils Vision for Britain’s Future appeared first on Foreign Policy.
