LONDON (AP) — Nominations open Thursday in a Labour Party election to replace Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister, a contest in which there is expected to be just one candidate.
Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham will be collecting signatures from Labour lawmakers, and needs at least 80 to run – a target he’s likely to well exceed.
Other potential contenders have all ruled themselves out. Former Defense Minister Al Carns, who had been pondering a run, confirmed late Wednesday that he will not challenge Burnham.
“I’d hoped a leadership contest would give us the opportunity for a proper debate,” Carns said in a statement. “But months of internal Labour politics isn’t what the country needs right now. We’ve got to get on with the job. Andy Burnham’s earned this and he’s got my full backing.”
Nominations remain open until July 16. Burnham is highly likely to be announced as the new Labour leader the following day, and to become prime minister after a meeting with King Charles III on July 20.
Starmer announced last month that he would resign as soon as his center-left party chose a successor. He was elected in a landslide in July 2024, but quit after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.
Burnham spent almost a decade running Manchester in northwest England before returning to Parliament by winning a special election last month. He’s promising sweeping change, vowing to reverse almost two decades of low growth since the 2008 financial crisis through an approach dubbed “Manchesterism” — harnessing private and public money to invest in areas like transport, housing and infrastructure.
But he will face many of the same political and economic challenges as Starmer, including a sluggish economy, tattered public services and a cost-of-living squeeze.
He also promised continuity in foreign policy, writing in The Times of London that the government’s “commitment to NATO and the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent will remain absolute.” He said Britain will remain a firm ally of the United States and a strong supporter of Ukraine.
Labour Party's Andy Burnham reacts as he delivers a speech at the People's History Museum in Manchester, England, Monday, June 29, 2026.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Authorities in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh used loudspeakers and a network of volunteers and community leaders to relocate people from risky areas to safety Thursday after landslides killed at least 13 refugees in the past few days.
At least five children died Wednesday when a landslide caused by monsoon rains swept through an Islamic school at a camp in Cox's Bazar, where more than 1 million Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar live.
A teacher at the Islamic school described the scene from the landslide as chaotic, saying girls at the school were preparing for lessons when part of the building collapsed. “Those of us who were on the western side managed to get out, but everyone on the eastern side was buried under the debris,” said Begum Jahan, who teaches the Quran, Islam’s holy book.
“Some suffered broken arms, and some of the girls lost their lives,” she said.
People in the refugee camp started rescue operations before emergency services reached the scene, Dollar Tripura, head of the local fire service and civil defense, said Thursday. He added that emergency personnel later rescued the injured and recovered the bodies. The rescue operation was called off Wednesday evening.
Jamal Hossain, a Rohingya volunteer who helped in the rescue effort, said people rescued at the scene were sent to hospital and those that died were all women.
“However, we do not know whether there are any more bodies buried underneath,” he said.
Authorities in Cox’s Bazar said they were relocating refugees from at-risk hilly areas and that more than 1,000 people were already evacuated. They said the refugees are often reluctant to leave their makeshift homes despite warnings.
The Bangladesh weather office is forecasting more rain in the coming days.
Sunday night into Monday, landslides killed at least eight people at Rohingya camps in the area.
Local media reported at least 22 people died in the delta nation of 170 million people in landslides and wall collapses over the last three days. The death toll included the casualties at Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, the country’s leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo daily reported.
Bangladesh has urged the international community for years to help the country begin repatriation of the refugees to Myanmar, but the process is stalled.
A child plays in heavy rain at a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Shamimul Islam Faisal)
People walk through rain at a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Shamimul Islam Faisal)
Rescuers work at the site of a landslide at a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Shamimul Islam Faisal)
Rescuers work at the site of a landslide at a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Shamimul Islam Faisal)
