5 Big News Stories Overnight - Thursday, May 7, 2026

United Kingdom: Keir Starmer's leadership to be tested as polls open in UK local elections

France 24 reports:

Millions of Britons vote Thursday in local elections set to heap more pressure on beleaguered Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and showcase the rise of hard-right and left-wing populists.

Voters across Scotland, England and Wales head to the ballot box in Starmer's biggest electoral test since his July 2024 general election landslide victory ended 14 years of Conservative rule.

Opinion polls predict grim results for Labour, which could amplify calls for Starmer, 63, to resign or finally face a long-rumoured party leadership challenge.

Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK and the left-wing Greens, led by self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, are expected to be the main beneficiaries of widespread disillusionment.

"It's a huge barometer for how the country is feeling about this political establishment," said Melanie Garson, associate professor of politics at University College London.

PHOTO: Simon Dawson, OGL

"Fertilizer shortages will have ‘dramatic’ effect on global food prices, warns farming boss"

Guardian reports:

Fertiliser shortages caused by the Iran war have driven up costs for UK farmers by up to 70% and will have a “dramatic” impact on food prices globally next year, according to one of Britain’s most powerful property and farming companies.

Mark Preston, executive trustee of the 349-year-old Grosvenor Group, controlled by the Duke of Westminster, said fertiliser “was already quite expensive” before the 50% to 70% surge in prices since the start of the Iran war in late February.

The effective closure of the strait of Hormuz – which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday could soon reopen – has throttled global supplies of fertiliser, crucial to growing food crops.

Preston said that, although UK crops were unlikely to be affected this year as most fertiliser had already been used, the knock-on effect could arrive next year. “Farmers are not buying that fertiliser, they’re sitting on their hands and hoping things will improve, which they probably won’t,” he said.

PHOTO: Scott Goodwill, Unspash

Ireland will import nuclear energy when interconnector with France opens, Taoiseach says

Irish Times reports:

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has acknowledged Ireland will be “importing nuclear” energy once the interconnector with France is up and running.

He said when the connection is in place, “we will be, to all intents and purposes, supporting energy generated through France’s nuclear capacity”.

Pointing to recently-tabled legislation by Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor that would end a ban on developing nuclear power, Martin said the Government will examine it and the “question of a legislative response in respect of nuclear” energy.

He was responding in the Dáil to Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn, who called for the lifting of the 1999 ban on the development of nuclear power and the reversal of the 2021 ban on gas and oil exploration.

Middle East: Israel bombs Beirut’s southern suburb as it targets Hezbollah commander

Al Jazeera reports:

Israeli forces have bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs and claim to have assassinated Malek Balou, a commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.

“Israeli warplanes launched an attack, targeting Ghobeiri” in the southern suburbs, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported, as a loud explosion and extensive damage were reported from the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the attack, saying he and Defence Minister Israel Katz had instructed the army to carry out the attack.

“Radwan terrorists are responsible for shooting at Israeli settlements and harming [Israeli army] soldiers. No terrorist has immunity – Israel’s long hand will catch every enemy and murderer,” Netanyahu said in a post on Telegram.

Washington: Lutnick Says He Was Surprised by Invite to Visit Epstein’s Island

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he was on a family vacation in the Caribbean and was surprised when he received an invitation to visit Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012, saying he didn’t know how Epstein’s assistants knew he was in the area and found it unsettling.

Lutnick made the remarks Wednesday during a closed-door interview with a congressional panel, according to people familiar with the meeting. The House Oversight Committee asked Lutnick to testify as part of its investigation into the Epstein case and questioning of some of his high-profile associates.

Lutnick told the panel he had no personal or professional relationship with the late sex offender. He said he met Epstein three times and maintained his prior view that he wanted no relationship with Epstein after a tour of his house in 2005. 

Democrats criticized Lutnick after the session. “Howard Lutnick should resign,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D., Va.). “He was clearly being dishonest, he was clearly being evasive.”