Reuters World News - UK's next PM, Iran sanctions waiver, Serena and Messi

Episode Date: June 23, 2026

Andy Burnham is on his way to becoming the UK’s next prime minister. The U.S. lifts sanctions on Iran for 60 days, but the waiver comes with a threat from President Donald Trump. Serena Williams will make a stunning return to singles at Wimbledon after landing the final wildcard. And Lionel Messi is the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.  Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool. It's Tuesday, June 23rd, today. From sidelines to frontrunner, Andy Burnham is on course to be the UK's next Prime Minister. The US waive sanctions for Iran for 60 days, but the waiver comes with a threat. Washington's reflecting pool will be drained again. And Messi sets a World Cup scoring record and sends Argentina to the knockout state. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, 7 days a week. In the wake of Kea Stama's resignation, attention has turned to his would-be replacement as Labour Party leader and the UK's Prime Minister. The man who looks set to do that, Andy Burnham, was only sworn in as a member of Parliament yesterday.

At this stage, he's running unopposed to be Labour leader. after 10 years as the mayor of a northern Greater Manchester region. Burnham supporters gave him the nickname King of a North, inspired by Game of Thrones, of course, and what they see as his defence of the area during the COVID-19 pandemic. But UK correspondent Andy Bruce says there are many unknowns about what style of global leader he might be.

Andy Burnham is widely seen to be a kind of more left-wing alternative to Kirstarmer, but what that translates to in practice as, you know, running a government is less clear. He's very big on things like devolving power away from London to the regions, but on things like tax and, you know, spending. It's not so clear exactly what he's going to do. In terms of foreign policy, again, that's kind of not very clear. He's been kind of critical of Donald Trump in the past, but as mayor of Great Manchester, he tried to like go to the United States quite a lot and do kind of trade deals over there.

Nigel Farage, who leads the Reform UK party, which is ahead in the polls, has tried to paint him as this kind of leftist outsider who will run Britain into a kind of socialist pathway of ruin. I think those things are kind of maybe overstated because Andy Burnham is undoubtedly on the left of centre, but he's also very pragmatic about the things he wants to achieve. Burnham has ruled out calling a general election, but he inherits a troubled party. The problem, I think, with the Labour Party, it is now deeply unpopular. Andy Burnham could come in as a breath of fresh air, but I think the patience that voters will have for any kind of missteps or a slow start will be very limited because I think people

have kind of had enough of the Labour government under Kirstama. And they've been losing lots of votes to people like the Greens, some to the... kind of anti-immigration reform party. So, you know, I think those kind of voters will be looking for signs that he might have something that could tempt them back. Newsless Dahmer is stepping down is big news for markets too. And here's morning bid podcast host, Mike Dolan, with more. Kier's Darmor's resignation on Monday was something of a surprise only in how quickly it happened. But financial markets were relatively unperturbed by the event because they've long expected Andy Burnham, the possible challenger for, likely challenger for Starmer's position as new prime

minister, has been expected for some time. The immediate focus will be whether he has someone to contest that position or whether he's effectively pointed, whether it's a coronation, as people call. So if it's uncontested and there doesn't appear to be any well to has the requisite number of MPs to back him, then he could be in position within a month. And that takes a certain amount of uncertainty out of the whole process, which could have gone on during an election campaign for about three months. So relatively calm for UK markets at the moment, waiting to see who he points as finance minister and what his budget policy may be like primarily.

And one final piece of UK news is 10 years to the day since the UK voted to leave the European Union. A decade on, our Econ World podcast host, Carmel Krim, takes a look at Brexit, along with UK bureau chief Kate Holton and Eurick news editor Rachel Armstrong. There's a link to that live podcast show in the show notes. United States has waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days, allowing Tehran to sell oil and receive payment, the first major economic benefit under the nascent peace deal. We actually set up the right mechanism to ensure the regional ceasefire to manage the inevitable conflicts that will come up.

We feel great about that. Move comes after Vice President J.D. Vance met with Iranian officials in Switzerland, where both sides agreed to a roadmap for a permanent agreement and mechanisms to end fighting in Lebanon. But there's already a gulf emerging. Vance says Iran agreed to nuclear inspections, while Tehran denies it's even discussed the nuclear program yet. If Iran doesn't live up to their agreement or if they're not behaving, I will do what I have to do. U.S. President Donald Trump,

implying the U.S. would resume military strikes if he felt Iran wasn't living up to their side of the bargain. Alan Greenspan, the man who steered the U.S. economy for nearly two decades as the U.S. Fed's maestro, has died at 100 years old. For more on his time in the role, check out our coverage. We'll drop a link to the story in the show notes.

An intense early summer heat wave is causing record-breaking temperatures across Europe. At least 18 people have died in France as temperatures topped 107 degrees Fahrenheit. And in San Sebastian in Spain's north, the temperature there is set to be double the city's historic average for this time of year. Check out our new Reuters Climate Monitor in the show notes, which compares today's temperatures with historic norms across the globe. To Washington now, where Trump's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool continues to unravel. Algae and peeling paint mean the pool is being drained once again for repairs.

Concerns are mounting about the no-bid $14 million-plus contract to recote the pool before the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations next month. Trump is blaming vandals without providing evidence for removing the country. the paint at the pool's bottom, even threatening 10-year prison sentences. At least five people have been arrested, including a former Olympian who denies the charges. The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the murder conviction of a man in one of America's most notorious missing child cases, the 1979 disappearance of six-year-old eaten Patz. Pats vanished on his way to a school bus stop in Manhattan and became one of the first children whose face appeared on milk cartons.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court's conservative majority reversed a lower court decision that had thrown out Pedro Hernandez's 2017 conviction, ruling the judge had incorrectly instructed the jury. Serena Williams is coming back to Wimbledon singles after four years away. The seven-time Wimbledon champion and 23-time Grands, slam winner, has received a late wildcard from tournament organizers. Williams already had a spot to play doubles with her sister Venus after easing back into competition this month.

Sports reporter Amy Tennery says Williams may have been inspired by Venus competing at the US Open in doubles last year. Serena Williams was, of course, the fiercest competitor in all of tennis for her entire career, but in this comeback, she said she's kind of, returning out of a love for the game. She doesn't feel pressure to win. We actually don't quite know yet who she's going to play. The women's main draw for Wimbledon will be announced on Friday,

but all of the pundits have been saying about her performances through doubles. She looks fit. She's moving around the court very well. We might see some flashes of her old brilliance. She is 44 years old, so she would be significantly older than virtually anyone. who attempts to play singles, or has attempted to play singles, but she is the goat. She has the inherent skills to put up a good fight again. And speaking of greatest of all-time status, Sokker's ultimate goat has rewritten the history

books again. Lionel Messi is now the World Cup's all-time leading scorer. Late in the first half against Austria, the Argentina legend. found the back of a net at a World Cup for the 17th time to break the men's record, previously held by German striker Miroslav Kloza. But he wasn't done, scoring again near the end of a game for his 18th goal and his fifth at the 2026 tournament so far. With the 2-0 win, Argentina advances to the knockout stage,

keeping their dreams of a second straight world title alive. For more on any of the story, stories from today. Check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters, seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.