Deserting Blair
The week's news at a glance.
London
One of Tony Blair’s top Cabinet ministers resigned this week in protest over the prime minister’s support for war in Iraq. Robin Cook, a former foreign minister and current parliamentary leader of the Labor Party, said he could not accept responsibility for committing Britain to a war “without international agreement or domestic support.” Two other ministers followed suit. As many as half of the Labor members of Parliament are opposed to the war, but the opposition Conservative Party is on Blair’s side.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How China is battling the chikungunya virus
Under The Radar Thousands of cases of the debilitating disease have been found in the country
-
Deep thoughts: AI shows its math chops
Feature Google's Gemini is the first AI system to win gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad
-
Book reviews: 'Face With Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji' and 'Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story'
Feature The surprising history of emojis and the brother duo who changed pop music