World
UK PM Keir Starmer in hot water for accepting freebies, insists he’s done nothing wrong
Despite being in office less than three months, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already raised eyebrows for accepting donations in the form of clothes and other gifts from a wealthy businessman.
The Labour Party leader, who won power in a landslide victory on a promise to restore trust in politics, has denied any wrongdoing over thousands of pounds worth of clothes and eyeglasses paid for by Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and longtime donor to the party.
The headache for Starmer was compounded after a BBC report disclosed his chief of staff, Sue Gray, is paid 170,000 pounds, or $225,000, a year, which is about 3,000 pounds more than the prime minister’s salary.
A former senior civil servant, Gray is best known for leading an investigation into lockdown-breaching parties in government buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer listens to the speech of Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, England, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Gray’s findings helped take down Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and her subsequent move to work for Starmer led the Conservatives to claim the “partygate” probe was politically biased – something Gray has denied.
The Labour Party, meanwhile, has accused the Conservatives of whipping up a controversy to tarnish the government.
Lawmakers can accept gifts but must declare donations and extra-parliamentary income within 28 days — a deadline Starmer missed. He blamed the delay on his staff seeking advice on exactly what needed to be declared.
“I’m very consistent with following the rules,” Starmer said this week, rejecting suggestions that prime ministers should get a wardrobe budget.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers’ Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Starmer dismissed claims of dissent among his staff about Gray and her salary, insisting he’s “completely in control.”
“I’m focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver,” he told the BBC on Thursday. “We were elected on a big mandate to deliver change, I am determined that we are going to do that.”
The scale of the freebies accepted by Starmer and his wife, Victoria, has perplexed even his supporters. Sky News reported that Starmer has declared “gifts, benefits and hospitality” worth more than 100,000 pounds since December 2019, more than any other lawmaker.
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The donations include thousands of pounds’ worth of tickets for Premier League games involving the prime minister’s beloved soccer team, Arsenal.
After controversy erupted, the Labour Party said Starmer won’t accept any more free outfits.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, second right, during a meeting with President Biden, centre left, in the Blue Room at the White House in Washington, Friday Sept. 13, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who also accepted donations to pay for clothing, told the BBC: “I get that people are angry [but] donations for gifts and hospitality and monetary donations have been a feature of our politics for a very long time.”
“People can look it up and see what people have had donations for, and the transparency is really important,” Rayner said.
Labour leaders are hoping that an annual four-day conference, which started on Sunday, will inject some badly needed morale for the party.
Fox News Digital has reached out to 10 Downing St. and Alli for further comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane Present Ravi Muppa’s ‘Incognito’ as New YouTube Shorts Channel Launches (EXCLUSIVE)
Indian auteurs Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane have joined forces again to spotlight writer-director Ravi Muppa’s short film “Incognito,” the debut release on shorts-only YouTube channel titled Oh Flip Shorts that is launching July 15.
The channel arrives courtesy of producer Ranjan Singh, with Kashyap serving as curator. The plan calls for a fresh short to premiere on the platform each month, with the goal of building an audience and community around independent short-form work.
“Incognito” stars Vikram Singh, Ayushi Nema and Dev Chauhan. The story follows a motel receptionist short on money who makes extra income selling hidden-camera footage of guests, then finds himself torn between self-preservation and intervening after filming a woman who appears to be a trafficking victim.
The short has already made the festival rounds, screening at more than 20 international events, among them the Oscar-qualifying Palm Springs International ShortFest.
“I’ve always loved short films as they are the first stepping stone for a director to test their storytelling style and give an actual practice to them of shooting a story,” Kashyap said. “Continuing the same, this is our effort to showcase some excellent short films, curated by me and presented by filmmakers whose work I look up to. We’re glad to begin with ‘Incognito’ by Ravi Muppa, and very hopefully that it’ll be liked by the audience.”
“‘Incognito’ is gripping and beautifully atmospheric, a true blue genre short with an out of the box ending. Congratulations to Ravi and his team and I’m so happy that we can present this to the audience,” Motwane added.
As revealed by Variety, plans for a feature-length version of “Incognito” are already underway, with Invention Studios joining Flip Films and Campfire Studios as co-producers. Kashyap, Nicholas Weinstock, Divya Souza and Singh are attached to produce.
Muppa, whose earlier development credits include “Stree” (2018), “Bala” (2019) and “The Family Man” (2019), said: “The film has been an incredibly special journey, and I’m deeply grateful to the producers, collaborators, and champions who believed in it and helped carry it forward. I’m especially excited that this is just the beginning, as we now look ahead to expanding ‘Incognito’ into a feature,” Muppa said.
Singh, who produced the short through his Flip Films banner, added: “We are thankful to Anurag for the curation, and Vikram and other directors to lend their support to the same. Every month we’ll be premiering one new short on the channel and hope that we’ll be able to make a community very soon.”
World
Four Americans caught in horrific Mexico highway pileup that killed at least 10
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Four Americans were reportedly caught in a fiery multi-vehicle crash in Mexico that left at least 10 people dead and about 10 others injured.
The massive pileup happened Sunday after a tractor-trailer crashed into multiple vehicles on a highway in the western state of Jalisco, according to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit.
While the agency reported 10 deaths, Mexico’s Army, Air Force and National Guard said nine people were killed.
Jalisco Civil Protection told Reuters that four Americans suffered minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital.
EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE
A vehicle was left charred and mangled following a massive multi-vehicle pileup in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)
“Four patients in minor condition, all U.S. citizens, were transferred to the Arboledas Hospital in Guadalajara by a private ambulance from the highway,” Jalisco Civil Protection said.
Reuters reported that two of those killed were minors.
Another two of the injured were identified as National Guard members who suffered serious injuries and were taken to a hospital in Guadalajara, according to Reuters.
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show several vehicles engulfed in flames along the highway connecting Guadalajara and Tepic, sending multiple plumes of black smoke into the air.
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A firefighter works to douse the smoking engine of a destroyed vehicle after a devastating highway collision in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)
According to Mexican officials, the crash happened when a tractor-trailer apparently suffered a brake failure and slammed into a line of vehicles that had stopped because of an earlier accident.
“According to initial reports, a trailer reportedly suffered a failure in its braking system and ended up crashing into several vehicles that were stopped due to a prior incident,” Mexico’s Army, Air Force and National Guard said in a post on X.
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The initial accident reportedly involved a rear-end collision between two tractor-trailers. As emergency crews responded, a third tractor-trailer crashed into the scene, according to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit.
“As a result of this second impact, three private vehicles and two tractor-trailer trucks were completely destroyed by the fire,” the authorities said. “Additionally, two other private vehicles and an official Dodge Charger unit belonging to the National Guard sustained material damage. “
Mexican authorities inspect the incinerated frame of a tractor-trailer on a highway connecting Guadalajara and Tepic in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)
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Firefighters later extinguished the blaze, officials said.
Local outlet El Financiero reported that the driver of the tractor-trailer was detained by the National Guard.
Reuters contributed to this report.
World
At least 27 dead as fire engulfs popular Bangkok pub near Chatuchak market
At least 27 people were killed and 63 injured, many critically, after a fire ripped through a popular pub in Bangkok. Authorities are investigating whether the pub, located near the iconic Chatuchak Weekend Market, had adequate escape routes.
Published On 13 Jul 2026
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