UK’s Starmer tries to save his bacon
After the Labour Party’s disastrous performance in the local elections last Thursday, one that was fully expected, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is clinging onto his position by a thread. In a bid to shore up support, the PM delivered a “relaunch speech” in London on Monday morning, acknowledging voters’ desire for quicker change while reiterating that he won’t stand down. Yet the wolves are out to get him. Labour MP Catherine West on Sunday briefly threatened to challenge Starmer if no Cabinet minister does so. Former Deputy PM Angela Rayner, who resigned from Starmer’s team amid a tax scandal last year, criticized his premiership on social media. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has been one of Starmer’s top allies, reportedly told the PM that he’s ready to lead should the PM step down. However, given that the process for ousting a Labour leader is notoriously difficult, Starmer could live to fight another day.
For more on whether Starmer can survive, watch this video from GZERO’s Carl Bildt, Sweden’s former prime minister.
Hantavirus arrives in US – but poses little threat
Seventeen Americans who were aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship, including one who tested positive for the virus, have now returned to the US mainland. To mitigate the threat of further spread, the passengers have been quarantined in a specialist high-risk unit in the sparsely populated Midwest state of Nebraska. Any headline that references both a cruise ship and a virus may immediately prompt people to fearfully cast their minds back to the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when health was the top concern worldwide. However, hantavirus – a fatal virus that is typically transmitted via rodent droppings – doesn’t pose a major risk to the wider public, according to the World Health Organization. Assuming things stay this way, health will likely remain a minor political issue in the near term.
The red and the black: is Thailand’s military draft legal?
The nation’s top court will rule on Tuesday in a case that could upend a military conscription system that has been in place for decades. Currently, upon turning 18, all men must either volunteer for military service or present themselves at a draft center, where they draw cards at random from a small jar — a black card sends you home, a red one puts you in the military for two years. Volunteers have surged by more than 20% over the past year, reflecting a nationalistic mood amid tensions with neighboring Cambodia and a sluggish economy, which has boosted the appeal of the military’s regular pay and board. But the draft’s critics say it creates disruption and uncertainty for young people and their families. In addition, hazing and abuse of conscripts is reportedly widespread. In the case before the court, an activist has argued that conscription violates the constitution’s protections for freedom of belief.
