International

Priest, 15 police killed in gumnen attacks on Russia’s city

Published

2 years ago

June 24, 2024

An area sealed off by police after the Dagestan attacks [RIA Novosti via AFP]

Priest, 15 police killed in gumnen attacks on Russia’s city

Gunmen have attacked churches, a synagogue and a police post in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Dagestan, killing at least 15 police and National Guard officers, several civilians and an Orthodox priest, according to authorities.

At least 12 people were injured in the attacks, which took place in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on Sunday, the festival of Pentecost for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Videos posted on social media and shown on Russian TV showed the skies of Derbent, which is home to an ancient Jewish community in the mainly Muslim region, filled with smoke and flames after the synagogue was set on fire.

Places of worship were also attacked in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan and its largest city, approximately 125km (78 miles) away, where the police post also came under attack.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened criminal investigations over “acts of terror” in Dagestan, which neighbours Chechnya and is one of the poorest areas of Russia.

“This evening in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala armed attacks were carried out on two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police checkpoint,” the National Anti-terrorism Committee said in a statement to the RIA Novosti news agency.

“As a result of the terrorist attacks, according to preliminary information, a priest from the Russian Orthodox Church and police officers were killed.”

The Russian Orthodox Church said its archpriest Nikolai Kotelnikov had been “brutally killed” in Derbent.

‘International terrorist organisation’

The attack on the Derbent synagogue took place about 40 minutes before evening prayers were due to start.

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“The synagogue in Derbent is on fire,” the chairman of the public council of Russia’s Federation of Jewish Communities, Boruch Gorin, wrote on Telegram. “The synagogue in Makhachkala has also been set on fire and burned down.”

The rabbi of Makhachkala, Rami Davidov, later told the state-run RIA Novosti that no one was killed or injured there.

Dagestan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said 19 people took shelter inside a church in the city before they were led to safety.

Sergei Melikov, the head of the Republic of Dagestan, said the six attackers had been “liquidated”.

The Russian news agency TASS, citing law enforcement agencies, reported that the gunmen were members of “an international terrorist organisation”.

The attackers have not yet been identified.

“Tonight in Derbent and Makhachkala, unknown people made attempts to destabilise the public situation,” Melikov said.

“Dagestan police officers stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are casualties among them. All services are acting in accordance with the instruction … The identities of the attackers are being established.”

The attacks come three months after some 133 people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a rock concert in the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow. Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), based in Afghanistan, said it was behind that attack, although Moscow claimed without evidence that Ukraine had a role.

Russia’s FSB security service in April said it had arrested four people in Dagestan on suspicion of involvement in plotting the Crocus City Hall attack.

In an update on the events of June 23, the Washington, DC-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), noted that the Russian branch of ISKP’s Al-Azaim Media had praised “their brothers from the Caucasus” for demonstrating their capabilities in Dagestan.

“Al-Azaim did not claim credit for the attack itself, notably, and the reference to the Caucasus strongly suggests that Wilayat Kavkaz [ISIL’s northern Caucasus branch] is responsible for the attack,” ISW said.

Daniel Hawkins, reporting for Al Jazeera from Moscow, noted that Dagestan had seen unrest in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“Violence there, as the years have gone on, has died down,” Hawkins said, explaining that the region never saw the kind of conflict that engulfed the neighbouring Russian republic of Chechnya, where Russian forces fought two brutal wars during the same period.

“This sort of attack that’s coordinated and has targeted civilian religious infrastructure is very unusual and will no doubt be shocking to Russians across the country,” Hawkins said.

In October last year, hundreds of people stormed the airport in Makhachkala over a flight from Israel landing there. At least 60 people were arrested after they broke through security to the runway and inundated the area around the aircraft shouting anti-Jewish slogans.

Priest, 15 police killed in gumnen attacks on Russia’s city

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

International

‘Britain Is Not Ungovernable’ — Badenoch Attacks Starmer Following Resignation

Published

1 day ago

June 23, 2026

Trends Admin

‘Britain Is Not Ungovernable’ — Badenoch Attacks Starmer Following Resignation

Leader of the UK Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has launched a blistering attack on outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, describing him as “a terrible Prime Minister” following his shock resignation after less than two years in office. Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, June 22, after months of mounting political pressure, poor electoral performances, and growing public dissatisfaction. The announcement came after Labour suffered heavy losses in local council elections in May, shedding more than 1,000 seats, and following intense pressure from senior cabinet ministers urging him to set out an exit timetable. Starmer’s departure makes him the sixth UK prime minister in a decade to announce a premature departure from office.

Reacting in a post on X, Badenoch blamed Starmer’s administration for what she described as a series of policy failures, insisting Britain was “not ungovernable.” She accused the Labour government of hiking National Insurance contributions, introducing what she called the “Family Farm Tax,” abandoning meaningful welfare reforms, underfunding defence, failing to expand domestic oil and gas production, and appointing Peter Mandelson before allegedly misleading the public about the circumstances. “Hiking national insurance. The Family Farm Tax. Giving up on real welfare reform. Not funding our defence. Not drilling our own oil and gas. Appointing Peter Mandelson… then lying about what had happened,” she wrote. “Britain is not ungovernable. Keir Starmer is a terrible Prime Minister,” she declared.

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The Conservative leader argued that the problem extended beyond Starmer personally, accusing Labour lawmakers of prioritising higher taxes to fund increased welfare spending. “But the problem isn’t just Starmer. Labour MPs only want higher taxes to hand out more benefits, as the Welfare Secretary has pointed out. These are Labour’s choices and their values, regardless of who is running the party,” Badenoch added. She called for a return to Conservative leadership, saying, “We need to get Britain working again. We need the Conservatives.”

In his resignation speech outside 10 Downing Street, the outgoing prime minister said every decision he took had been motivated by putting Britain first and pledged to remain in office until Labour elects a new leader. He became emotional and broke down in tears as he finished his speech, thanking his wife, Vic, for her support and expressing his desire to spend more time with his family. “The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.” He revealed that nominations for the Labour leadership would open on July 9 and close before Parliament’s summer recess on July 16, with the transition expected to be completed by September.

Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who was sworn in as MP for Makerfield hours after Starmer’s resignation, has already announced he will put himself forward for the leadership. His main rival, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, has withdrawn from the race and endorsed Burnham, clearing his path to become the next Prime Minister. Burnham, 56, has pledged to focus on economic growth, the cost-of-living crisis, public services, housing, and opportunities for younger generations. If elected, he would have to resign as mayor of Greater Manchester, a post he has held since 2017, triggering an early election for that office. Britain is set to have its seventh prime minister in a decade, underlining the political instability that has characterised the country since the Brexit referendum in 2016.

‘Britain Is Not Ungovernable’ — Badenoch Attacks Starmer Following Resignation

International

Andy Burnham Declares Bid to Succeed Keir Starmer as UK Prime Minister

Published

2 days ago

June 22, 2026

Trends Admin

Andy Burnham Declares Bid to Succeed Keir Starmer as UK Prime Minister

Former Greater Manchester mayor launches leadership bid after Starmer’s resignation, with Wes Streeting backing him and a radical plan to reverse privatisation.

Andy Burnham has formally declared his candidacy to succeed Keir Starmer as Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, hours after being sworn into the House of Commons on Monday. In a post on X, Burnham thanked Starmer for his service and said his resignation “marks the beginning of a transition and it is important that this process is conducted in an orderly and responsible way. I will put myself forward as part of this process.” He further stated that “the country expects stability, seriousness and a continued focus on the issues that matter most,” specifically citing progress on economic growth, the cost of living, public services, housing, and opportunities for the next generation. He emphasised that political change should never distract from the responsibility to improve people’s lives.

The path to a coronation appeared to clear further on Monday after former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, until recently considered a leading contender for the leadership, announced he would back Burnham rather than mount a rival challenge. Streeting said he was convinced that Burnham “is committed to building an inclusive party that draws on the best of our political traditions and that he can win the fight of our lives against the force of nationalism.” Calling for unity, Streeting urged the party to avoid spending the summer exaggerating small differences and instead roll up their sleeves to help Burnham deliver the change the party and the country need.

Burnham, 56, secured his return to Parliament last Thursday after decisively winning the Makerfield by-election in north-western England, a seat he needed to mount a formal leadership bid. He had signalled his intentions in his victory speech, warning that Labour had a “final chance to change” and pledging to “lay out a new path for Britain.” Under Labour rules, Starmer will remain caretaker Prime Minister until the new leader is chosen, with the leadership process expected to launch in July and a successor in place by September ahead of the party’s annual autumn conference. Should Burnham prevail, he would become the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit vote in 2016.

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At the heart of Burnham’s political platform is “Manchesterism,” an approach centred on local delivery, integrated public services, and a more active state. Drawing on his record as Mayor of Greater Manchester—where he introduced the Bee Network to re-regulate buses and standardise fares—Burnham argues that reasserting public control over essential services can deliver better outcomes for less money. A policy paper titled The Productive State, released on Monday by the Labour group Mainstream, provides a detailed blueprint for this agenda. It argues for a framework to reverse 40 years of privatisation, particularly in failing utilities, through measures such as special administration regimes, where the government steps in when companies like Thames Water face financial distress; bond-for-share exchanges, which would allow the state to bring healthy utility companies into public control without a massive upfront cash expense (though this would require legislation and likely face legal challenges); and establishing state competitors by setting up public corporations to compete with private providers. The essay argues that privatisation has led to a “privatisation premium”—a regressive hidden tax embedded in everyday bills that transfers wealth from households to investors. The state is then forced to subsidise inflated costs with welfare transfers, such as housing benefit or energy bill support. The paper contends that for millions of households, the basic non-negotiable expenses of life—rent, energy bills, water charges, transport fares, the cost of care—now consume so large a share of their income that insecurity has become a permanent condition. The ultimate goal, the paper states, is “an economy … in which the essentials of life are treated as rights rather than revenue streams”.

The Labour leadership contest appears increasingly likely to be uncontested, with Streeting’s endorsement removing Burnham’s most prominent rival. Reports indicate Burnham has secured the backing of over 200 MPs, with some allies suggesting the number could be closer to 300. Under Labour Party rules, a challenger needs nominations from at least 20% of the parliamentary party (currently 81 MPs) to force a contest. With Streeting withdrawing and Burnham’s support surging, a “coronation”-style transfer of power is now the most probable outcome. However, some MPs have expressed a desire for Burnham’s ideas to face “scrutiny” through a contested race.

Burnham’s policy platform can be broken down across several key areas. On utilities and privatisation, he proposes reversing 40 years of privatisation through bond-for-share exchanges and special administration regimes to bring failing utilities under public control, arguing that privatisation has created a “privatisation premium” that makes essentials unaffordable and drains public finances. On housing, he advocates a massive expansion of social housing and reform of the housing market to tackle the housing crisis and reduce the cost of housing benefit. On the economy and taxation, he proposes exploring a wealth tax, offering tax cuts for small businesses, and borrowing for investment, seeking to stimulate economic growth while addressing inequality. On devolution and governance, he champions radical devolution of powers to local governments and reform of the first-past-the-post voting system, aiming to address resentment towards the “London-centric” establishment and give more power to communities.

Looking ahead, the Labour Party’s leadership contest is expected to be formally triggered in July, with a new leader in place by September. If Burnham is the sole candidate, he could potentially take over sooner. However, the political climate remains turbulent, with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party posing a significant challenge, particularly in the “Red Wall” seats that Labour needs to retain. Burnham’s ability to navigate the fiscal constraints of the Treasury, market concerns, and the threat from the right will be crucial to his success if he enters No 10. For now, his “Manchesterism” pitch has put him firmly in the driver’s seat to become the UK’s next Prime Minister.

Andy Burnham Declares Bid to Succeed Keir Starmer as UK Prime Minister

International

Trump Predicts Starmer’s Resignation, Blames UK PM’s Immigration, Energy Policies

Published

3 days ago

June 21, 2026

Trends Admin

United States President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Trump Predicts Starmer’s Resignation, Blames UK PM’s Immigration, Energy Policies

United States President Donald Trump has sparked fresh political debate in Britain after predicting that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will eventually resign from office, citing what he described as failures in tackling two of the country’s most pressing challenges — immigration and energy policy.

Trump made the remarks in a post published on his Truth Social platform, where he criticised Starmer’s handling of border control and the British government’s approach to energy production.

“Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He failed badly on two very important subjects – immigration and energy (open North Sea oil!). I wish him well!” Trump wrote.

The statement marks the latest in a series of public criticisms directed by the American president at the British leader and comes at a time when Starmer is facing growing political scrutiny at home.

Trump has repeatedly argued that Britain should increase oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, insisting that greater domestic energy production would strengthen the economy, improve energy security and reduce dependence on external energy sources.

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The US president has also been vocal in his criticism of policies aimed at accelerating the transition to renewable energy, warning that excessive reliance on green energy initiatives could weaken industrial competitiveness and drive up costs for consumers and businesses.

His latest comments reflect a broader disagreement between Washington and London over energy priorities. While the Starmer government has maintained its commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions and expanding clean energy infrastructure, Trump has consistently advocated for increased fossil fuel production and energy independence.

The American leader’s intervention comes as political pressure continues to mount on the Labour government.

In recent weeks, reports from British media have pointed to increasing concerns within the ruling Labour Party over the government’s performance, electoral standing and long-term political direction.

Several ministers have reportedly stepped down from government positions in recent months, while growing calls have emerged from within Labour ranks for greater clarity regarding Starmer’s future leadership plans.

The pressure intensified following a strong by-election performance by Labour figure Andy Burnham, whose political success has fuelled speculation about possible leadership changes within the party.

Supporters of Burnham argue that his electoral appeal demonstrates an ability to reconnect with voters and challenge the growing influence of rival political movements, particularly Reform UK, which has continued to gain traction among disaffected voters.

Reports in the British press have suggested that some Labour lawmakers have privately encouraged discussions about a future leadership transition, while others have urged Starmer to provide assurances regarding his political intentions ahead of future elections.

Despite the speculation, there has been no official indication from Downing Street that the Prime Minister intends to resign.

Starmer has publicly maintained that he remains committed to leading the government and continuing the implementation of Labour’s policy agenda.

Political analysts note that Trump’s remarks are unusual because they go beyond criticism of government policy and directly predict the departure of a sitting foreign leader.

The comments have also reignited debate about the future of Britain’s energy strategy, immigration policies and the political challenges facing the Labour government as it seeks to maintain public support amid economic and social pressures.

Observers say the Prime Minister’s ability to manage internal party concerns, address voter dissatisfaction and deliver on key policy promises could prove crucial in determining the stability of his leadership in the months ahead.

For now, Starmer remains in office, but Trump’s intervention has added a new international dimension to an already intense political debate over the future direction of British politics.

As discussions over immigration, energy security and economic growth continue to dominate public discourse, the exchange between the two leaders is likely to remain a major talking point on both sides of the Atlantic.