VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — The Molinari brothers are back in tandem for Europe's defense of the Ryder Cup.
Francesco Molinari was named Wednesday as an assistant to European captain Luke Donald for next year's matches at Adare Manor in Ireland, joining older brother Edoardo in the backroom team.
The Italian siblings have been Donald's assistants for Team Europe's wins outside Rome in 2023 and at Bethpage Black in 2025, with Edoardo having a key role in providing important statistical analysis. They also played together for the win in the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.
Francesco said it was an “easy, straightforward decision” to accept Donald's request.
“I was very pleased when Luke asked me," he said. “I’ve had two great experiences in Rome and New York, two very different ones, but both of them memorable, and some of the best weeks of my life.”
In 2018, Francesco became the first European player to win all five of his matches in a Ryder Cup during the team's victory at Le Golf National outside Paris. He won the British Open that year, too.
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FILE - Francesco Molinari of Italy plays his second shot on the first hole during the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, file)
LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham took a step closer to becoming Britain’s next prime minister without a contest on Wednesday when Cabinet minister Darren Jones, touted as a possible rival, said he would not run.
Meanwhile Keir Starmer, seeking to secure a legacy before he leaves office, faces the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in Parliament before flying to Berlin to meet European allies for talks on Ukraine and the Middle East.
Starmer announced his plan to resign on Monday and will be out of office within weeks once the governing Labour Party picks a new leader.
Jones, a Starmer ally, had been encouraged to run so that Burnham faces a test of his ideas and policies in front of Labour lawmakers and members. Others argue that a leadership contest will only focus attention on the party’s internal divisions and extend a period of political uncertainty.
Jones told Sky News that running for the leadership is “not something that I’m going to do.”
But he cautioned Burnham against veering too far to the left in economic policy, a concern of some in the business and financial worlds. Burnham is expected to choose a new Treasury chief to replace Starmer appointee Rachel Reeves. Jones said it must be someone “that can reassure the markets, reassure the trade unions and reassure the parliamentary Labour Party, and by extension the public.”
Burnham is expected to make a speech next week outlining some of his economic plans.
Starmer is leaving after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.
Burnham, a former Cabinet minister who served since 2017 as mayor of Greater Manchester, won a special election last week for a seat in Parliament with the express aim of challenging Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party and the country.
So far, he faces no challengers. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was considered his main rival, says he will back Burnham.
Nominations for the Labour leadership will open on July 9 and close a week later. If Burnham is the only contender, he could be prime minister by July 17. If there is a contest, the winner should be in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer break on Sept. 1.
Starmer told the weekly meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday that he will try to oversee an “orderly transition” to his successor.
He is also keeping up a busy schedule, trying to cement a legacy for his shortened term in office. However, he is not allowed to make new major policy announcements or spending commitments during what remains of his premiership.
Starmer’s trip to Berlin for a meeting of the “E5” – Germany, France, Italy, Poland and the U.K. – for talks on European defense, the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, underscores the role he has played on the world stage. He has appeared more sure-footed in working with allies to support Kyiv and deal with fallout from the Iran war than he has on the home front.
The British government is expected to publish a long-awaited defense investment plan — which sparked the resignation of Defense Secretary John Healey on June 11 — before a NATO summit in Turkey on July 7 and 8 that Starmer is likely to attend.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media to announce his resignation outside 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, June 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Andy Burnham arrives at Portcullis House in Westminster, central London, Monday June 22, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
