Andy Burnham speaks after being confirmed as the new leader of the Labor Party and next Prime Minister at the Labor Party Special Conference in central London on July 17, 2026.
Henry Nichols AFP | Getty Images
Hello, this is Leonie Kidd from London.
Football may not have come home this time, but Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has a new home.
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What you need to know today
Andy Burnham will appear in Downing Street today as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
He is expected to announce a number of policy changes, ranging from devolution of powers from London to an overhaul of the Treasury. But it may be his approach to North Sea oil that is most controversial.
Last weekend, President Donald Trump appeared on Truth Social and hailed Burnham’s approach to “opening up” North Sea oil, saying it would take Britain “from a poverty-stricken disaster to one of the richest countries in the world.”
The devil will be in the details, after Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell told the BBC that Burnham’s party had no intention of reversing its manifesto pledge to abolish new exploration licences.
He is expected to travel to Aberdeen, Scotland, to promote further drilling in existing fields ahead of future decisions on the offshore Jackdaw and Rosebank fields.
oil promotes rise
Meanwhile, oil prices rose in early trading on Monday after U.S. military casualties sparked a new wave of attacks on Iran.
A third service member was confirmed killed in the recent operation. In a statement on X, U.S. Central Command said it had completed nine consecutive nights of strikes against targets inside Iran and “further degraded Iran’s military capabilities.”
Sirens continued to sound in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan early Monday as Iran launched drone attacks against targets in its Gulf neighbourhood.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is also escalating. Moscow launched its largest ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, while Ukrainian drones carried out the deadliest attack on Russia in more than two years.
boeing is back
Spain’s success, FIFA’s victory
Rodri of Spain celebrates by lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy with his teammates after the match between Spain and Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Alex Livesey – Dane House | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
Another winner was FIFA itself. The world’s soccer governing body is poised to earn more than $9 billion in revenue in 2026.
Meanwhile, another one to emerge on top is prediction market Kalshi, which added 3 million new users during the World Cup.
Kalsi’s contract, which asks traders to predict the World Cup winner, has traded more than $1.2 billion, a record for a unique market.
— Leonie Kidd
And finally…
Universal and Christopher Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’ opens to $124.5 million
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is off to a great start.
The Universal film adaptation grossed an estimated $124.5 million in its opening weekend, with audiences flocking to premium large-format screenings, especially IMAX theaters.
“Death, taxes, and Christopher Nolan,” said Sean Robbins, Fandango’s director of analysis and founder of Box Office Theory. “He reinvented the superhero genre, captured the zeitgeist with multiple thought-provoking original works, and turned a three-hour biopic into a global blockbuster. He’s done it again, retelling a 2,700-year-old poem that serves as the foundation for what we know as modern storytelling.”
— Sarah Witten
