The head of the opposition in the United Kingdom, Labour Keir Starmer, urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday to immediately call general elections that allow the country to “sturn the page,” after the collapse of the conservative vote in the by-elections held yesterday.

In an intervention in Blackpool (northwest), where Labour snatched the seat of that constituency from the ‘tories’, Starmer described that result as “historic” and considered that he sends a direct message – since a deputy was chosen in the House of Commons – to Sunak.

The opposition leader stressed that the transfer of vote from conservatives to Labour has exceeded 20% for the fifth time in the last by-elections to choose seats that have been left vacant due to the resignation of their occupants during this legislature.

For his part, the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, called the first results declared so far of the municipal elections “disappointing” although he warned that there are still “many to be announced.”

However, the British conservatives scored a relevant victory that will alleviate their lousy result in the municipal elections, by managing to keep Ben Houchen as mayor of the metropolitan area of Tees Valley, in the northeast of England.

According to the provisional results, Houchen, one of the most popular ‘tories’ councilors, obtained 53.6% of the votes, compared to 41.3% of his Labour opponent, Chris Mcean, and 5% of the Liberal Democrats.

In a slow count, which will continue throughout the weekend, the triumph in Tees Valley is presented as one of the few bright moments for the conservatives of the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who faces a historic collapse in these partial local elections.

Despite everything, the percentage of Houchen, mayor since 2017 of that metropolitan area that includes cities such as Middlesbrough, Darlington or Hartlepool, plummets compared to the 72.8% support he obtained in the elections in 2021.

For his part, the president of the Conservative Party, Richard Holden, said that “there is no doubt” that the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, will lead that formation in the next general elections, scheduled for this year, although he predicted “a few hard days” before the first results of the municipal elections in England.

Citizens elected their representatives in 107 out of a total of 318 consistories in England, the most populous region of the United Kingdom, which were last chosen in 2021. There were also elections for the mayor of London and 9 other mayor’s offices and 37 police commissioners were elected.

The final results are not expected to be known until tomorrow, Saturday.

One of the most painful for the ‘tories’ was the result achieved in the by-election that was held in the constituency of Blackpool South (northeast England) to elect the new deputy to occupy that seat in the House of Commons after the resignation of conservative Scott Benton due to accusations of alleged influence peddling.

In it, Labour deputy Chris Webb prevailed, who snatched the seat from the ‘tories’ with 10,825 votes – a majority of 7,607 -, above the conservative David Jones, with 3,218 votes.

The ‘tories’ barely avoided falling to third position in that constituency, with only 117 votes above the candidate of the nationalist Reform UK party, Mark Butcher.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, called the triumph in that consistory “really historic” for his formation.

For his part, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson forgot to carry a document with an identification photo when going to vote in the municipal elections, a mandatory requirement that, ironically, introduced by his Government in 2022.

At least 20 people died and another 21 were injured this Friday after a passenger bus deviated from the road and fell down a deep ravine in a remote area in northeastern Pakistan.

“The driver of the vehicle lost control, he probably fell asleep and the bus fell into a ravine,” Tahir Shah, spokesman for the rescue services of the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) region, in northeastern Pakistan, where the event took place, told Efe.

As a result, “the death of 20 people has been confirmed and another 21 were injured,” although the death toll could increase in the coming hours, Shah added.

The accident took place around 5:15 a.m. crazy time (00:15 GMT) on the Karakoram highway, located in the mountainous and remote region of GB, while making a route to the Hunza valley from the city of Rawalpindi, in the province of Punjab, the official said.

Images released by the Pakistani news channel Geo show the bus completely destroyed on the bank of a river and surrounded by a steep skirt of stones, where it is presumed that it slipped.

Emergency teams are in the area to help the victims of the incident and transfer the injured to the nearest medical center.

Pakistan has one of the highest traffic accident rates in the world due to the poor condition of its roads, the deficiencies of vehicles and the fact that public transport tends to circulate overloaded with passengers.

About 30,000 people die annually in traffic accidents in the country, according to data from the Pakistani Government.

On April 11, at least 17 people died and 40 were injured when a truck, in which dozens of pilgrims were traveling, crashed through a ravine in southern Pakistan.

The U.S. State Department determined that Russia has used chemical weapons against Ukraine with agents that constitute a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CAQ) and will impose sanctions on those responsible.

The United States determined that Russia has used chloropicrin, a pesticide used as a suffocating gas in World War I and banned internationally. He has used it in Ukraine to force the departure of troops from fortified positions.

For this reason, the United States has imposed new sanctions on individuals and organizations related to this use of chemical weapons.

“We make this determination, in addition to our conclusion that Russia has used riot control agents as a method of war in Ukraine, also a violation of the CAQ,” the State Department said.

The United States considers that the use of this chemical armament is not isolated and “is probably driven by the desire of the Russian forces to expel Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical advances on the battlefield.”

The Treasury and State Departments sanctioned two people, six Russian entities and four companies. All associated with Russia’s chemical and biological weapons programs.

Chloropicrin is used as a tear agent, but it is prohibited in armed conflicts. In a trench war you can’t escape its effects and you can suffocate.