Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Keir Starmer said he would step down as Britain’s prime minister, marking a precipitous fall from favor two years after leading the Labour Party back to power with a landslide majority. Starmer’s departure paves the way for Andy Burnham to attempt to take over as successor, after the long-time mayor of Manchester won a parliamentary seat last week in order to mount a challenge. Starmer’s exit opens the door to Britain’s fifth premier since 2022: a jarring milestone for a political system which once prized itself on its stability.
2) Iran said there had been “major progress” in all-night discussions with the US as the warring sides try to reach a peace deal within two months. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the mediators, Qatar and Pakistan, had managed to ease some of the tensions over Lebanon, and Iran was beginning to see financial benefits from last week’s memorandum of understanding. Negotiations are set to continue throughout this week, with lower-level delegates discussing technical matters, and a resolution to the fighting in Lebanon will be decisive for the success of the US-Iran talks.
3) Colombia elected conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella president, heralding a swing back to business-friendly and pro-US policies after four years of leftist rule. De la Espriella had 49.7% of the vote to Senator Iván Cepeda’s 48.7%, with 99.9% of polling stations reporting, in one of the closest results in the nation’s history. The final, confirmed result is expected toward the end of the week, after a review process that begins at the municipal level and moves to regional commissions and the national stage.