Politics 20 July 2026

Andy Burnham is the UK's new prime minister — the seventh in ten years

Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as UK prime minister on 20 July, becoming the seventh in a decade. Who the former Manchester mayor is and what he has promised.

Downing Street has a new tenant. Andy Burnham became the United Kingdom’s prime minister on Monday, after Keir Starmer travelled to Buckingham Palace to hand his resignation to King Charles III. Shortly afterwards Burnham made the same journey in reverse and was invited by the monarch to form a government, as British ritual demands.

One number sums up the moment: Burnham is the seventh British prime minister in ten years, ever since the country voted for Brexit in 2016. Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak, Starmer — and now the man long nicknamed the “King of the North”. His first speech leaned straight into it, promising to end the carousel and give the country some stability.

Who is Andy Burnham?

Andy Burnham is the former mayor of Greater Manchester, a job he had held since 2017 and one that turned him into Labour’s most popular voice outside London. Before that he spent 16 years as an MP and served as a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and he ran for the party leadership twice — once, curiously, with a nomination from Starmer himself. Third time was the charm.

How does the UK change prime minister without an election?

In Britain’s parliamentary system, the party with a majority in the House of Commons governs — and when that party changes leader, it changes prime minister too, with no trip to the ballot box. It happened with May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak, and it has happened again with Burnham, who inherits the majority Starmer won in 2024.

He also inherits the heavy files: the cost of living, sluggish growth and support for Ukraine, in a country that has already committed to building its first ballistic missile in half a century for Kyiv. Among his first announced decisions is scrapping his predecessor’s controversial digital ID scheme. The shape of the new cabinet can be followed on Downing Street’s official page.

Starmer said goodbye to MPs with a pledge to back his successor. Britain now gets to find out whether number seven is the one who stays.

By Tomás Vasconcelos

Image: Number 10 / Wikimedia Commons (OGL 3)

Politics 20 July 2026

Trump is threatening Canada with tariffs over wildfire smoke — yes, really

With nearly 1,000 wildfires burning in Canada and US cities under hazardous air alerts, Trump says new tariffs on Ottawa could be the answer.

Trump threatened Canada with new tariffs on Friday — not over steel, cars or dairy, but over smoke. With nearly 1,000 wildfires burning across Canada, millions of people in North America have spent days breathing air rated hazardous, and the US president has decided Ottawa should get the bill. Bad. Hazardous air quality alerts were back in force on Monday for Chicago, Detroit, Columbus and Minneapolis. New York finally caught a break after what officials…

Politics 20 July 2026

Portugal's Socialists gather today with the cost of living at the top of the pile

The PS meets its National Commission this Monday and opens parliamentary days on the cost of living, with leader Carneiro asking for more time on university applications.

A working Monday for Portugal's Socialists. The PS gathers its National Commission in Lisbon today and simultaneously kicks off parliamentary days devoted to the rising cost of living in the Lisbon metropolitan area — the theme José Luís Carneiro's leadership has picked to set the summer's political agenda. Opposition strategy, essentially. Carneiro has been hammering the line that only the Socialists are a real alternative to the PSD/CDS-PP government,…

Portrait of Serhii Koretskyi, Ukraine's new prime minister

Politics 19 July 2026

Ukraine has a new prime minister — and Koretskyi takes office with Kyiv still in the streets

Ukraine's parliament confirmed Serhii Koretskyi, the former Naftogaz chief, as prime minister with 289 votes. He takes office amid rare wartime protests over the sacking of defence minister Fedorov.

Ukraine's most turbulent wartime reshuffle now has a face at the top of government. Parliament this week confirmed Serhii Koretskyi as prime minister with 289 votes — comfortably above the 226 needed — and approved almost the entire new cabinet in one sweep. It is only the second change of prime minister since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Koretskyi replacing Yulia Svyrydenko, pushed out in the reshuffle Zelensky set in motion a week…

Politics 19 July 2026

Trump, Sheinbaum and Carney share a World Cup final box — and it doubles as a summit

Trump invited Sheinbaum and Carney to watch the World Cup 2026 final at MetLife Stadium, their first in-person meeting since December — two days before USMCA talks resume in Mexico City.

Today's World Cup final has a second match happening off the pitch. Donald Trump invited Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, to watch Argentina-Spain with him at MetLife Stadium — and both said yes. The leaders of the tournament's three host countries will share a box in New Jersey, in their first in-person gathering since December. Because the neighbourhood has been anything but calm. Tariffs, cartels and…

Luís Montenegro speaking at a podium with the Portuguese Republic emblem

Politics 19 July 2026

Montenegro says immigration is 'solved' — a report called it an 'obsession' the same day

In the State of the Nation debate, PM Luís Montenegro claimed his government 'solved Portugal's immigration problem'. An ISCTE report answered with 'obsession'.

It was the most quoted line of the State of the Nation debate: "This government solved Portugal's immigration problem." Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said it in parliament, claiming a "policy of regulation" that, in his words, dignifies the lives of those who arrive — and accusing the Socialists of "hiding" the reality his government inherited. The prime minister presented the file as closed: tighter borders, backlogs being processed, and new rules for…

Politics 18 July 2026

Portugal's new childbirth law drops the term 'obstetric violence' — here's what it says instead

Portugal's parliament approved a new law on pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum rights that removes the term obstetric violence, adds mental-health support and creates a national oversight council.

The phrase that named years of debate has been written out of the law. Portugal's parliament approved on Friday a replacement text that substantially rewrites the law on rights in preconception, medically assisted reproduction, pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period — and the most talked-about change is one of vocabulary: "obstetric violence" becomes "inadequate, disrespectful or non-consensual interventions". More than the name, the package of…

André Ventura speaking in the Portuguese Parliament

Politics 18 July 2026

Ventura wants Luís Neves out of government — and has now put it in writing

Chega leader André Ventura sent Portugal's PM a letter arguing interior minister Luís Neves compromises trust in institutions, as police open a new probe touching the minister's contractor.

André Ventura has moved from speeches to headed paper. The Chega leader sent Prime Minister Luís Montenegro a letter arguing that keeping Luís Neves at the interior ministry "compromises trust in institutions", and accusing the government of failing to act on the gravity of the suspicions piling up around the minister. In parallel, he publicly urged Neves to walk "on his own two feet" — and, failing that, for the prime minister to show "political…

Politics 18 July 2026

Russia sanctions are moving again in Washington — and Trump says he's on board

The US Senate reached a deal with the White House on the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, with tariffs of up to 100% on the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas.

After months stuck in the mud, the Russia sanctions package is moving again in Washington — and this time with the White House on board. A bipartisan group of senators reached agreement with the administration on a revised version of the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, and Trump confirmed this week that he supports the bill. The heart of the text is so-called secondary sanctions: rather than punishing only Moscow, the bill authorises the president to slap…

Politics 17 July 2026

Portugal's fiscal watchdog is getting more teeth — and the budget will follow Brussels' new playbook

The Government approved two bills revising the budget framework law and strengthening the independence of the Public Finance Council, aligning Portugal's budget process with the EU's new economic governance rules.

The referee of Portugal's public accounts is getting a louder whistle. The cabinet approved two bills on Friday, now headed to parliament: one revises the Budget Framework Law — the rulebook for how the state budget is drawn up — and the other rewrites the statutes of the Public Finance Council (CFP), strengthening the powers and independence of the body that audits the country's numbers. The core goal is to align the Portuguese budget process with the…

Politics 17 July 2026

Portugal's single social benefit just cleared its second-to-last hurdle — the President signed off

President Seguro has promulgated the legislative authorisation for the PSU, the reform merging 13 social benefits including the RSI into one payment. A decree-law is all that's missing.

Portugal's Single Social Benefit cleared its second-to-last hurdle on Friday. President António José Seguro promulgated the legislative authorisation parliament granted the Government to create the PSU, announcing it in a short note on the Presidency's website with no comment on the diploma's content. With the President's signature, the ball is back with the Council of Ministers. It's the reform that merges 13 non-contributory social benefits — including…

Politics 17 July 2026

The Corgo railway line could come back — Portugal's parliament wants trains again between Régua and Chaves

Portugal's parliament approved resolutions from Chega, Livre, BE and PCP recommending the full reopening of the Corgo line to Vila Real and Chaves. Not binding — but nobody voted against.

The Corgo railway line is back on Portugal's political map: parliament this Friday approved a set of resolutions recommending that the government fully reopen the railway that once linked Régua to Vila Real and Chaves, closed for more than fifteen years. The initiatives came from parties that rarely vote together — Chega, Livre, the Left Bloc and the Communists — and passed with differing tallies, but with one telling detail: not a single party voted…

Politics 17 July 2026

Zelensky sacked Fedorov and Kyiv took to the streets demanding him back

Mykhailo Fedorov's removal as defence minister drew more than a thousand protesters to Kyiv's central square and prompted an air force deputy commander to resign. Zelensky defends the reshuffle.

Some cabinet reshuffles slip by unnoticed. This one did not. When Volodymyr Zelensky removed Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister, more than a thousand people filled Kyiv's central square waving Ukrainian and EU flags, chanting "shame" and calling for the minister's return. Fedorov is the young face of Ukraine's digital transformation — the man who moved state services into an app and made drones central to the war effort. Lawmakers, soldiers and civil…

Politics 17 July 2026

New polls in Portugal keep PS ahead — while AD and Chega fight over second by decimals

Two polls published on 16 July put PS in front: Intercampus has 23.3% against AD's 20% and Chega's 19.4%, while the Catholic University has PS and AD tied at 29%. Housing, health and education weigh on the government's ratings.

Two polls on the same day, two different photographs of the country — and one thing in common: PS stays in front. Intercampus, with fieldwork from 9 to 14 July, gives the Socialists 23.3% of voting intentions, down a point from June. The news is behind them: AD reclaims second place with 20% and Chega slips to third with 19.4% — a statistical tie where the podium order changes with the week. That the race is tighter than it looks. The Catholic…

Politics 16 July 2026

The UK is building its first ballistic missile in half a century — and Ukraine gets it first, in 2027

London has signed contracts to develop Britain's first ballistic missile in over 50 years, with pared-down specifications so it can reach Ukraine as early as 2027, part of a wider European deep-strike push.

Britain has not built a ballistic missile in half a century. That is about to change: London has signed contracts with several companies to develop a new long-range weapon — and the first customer in line is not the British Army, it is Ukraine, which is set to receive it in 2027. The hurry explains the design. As Bloomberg reported, the UK Ministry of Defence deliberately pared down the missile's specifications to speed up development and get it into…