What happened
Divisions inside the Labour Party have intensified after former health secretary Wes Streeting said Britain should eventually return to the EU. The intervention has complicated the by-election campaign in Makerfield, a constituency that backed Brexit in 2016, and increased scrutiny on Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is considering a return to Westminster.

Who said what
In what The Independent’s Kate Devlin called his “opening pitch to replace the prime minister”, Streeting urged Labour to admit that Brexit had been a “catastrophic mistake” and Britain’s future ultimately lies “back in the European Union”. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described Streeting’s proposal as “odd” and accused him of “reopening the Brexit wars”.

Burnham, who has previously backed rejoining the bloc, appeared to soften his language, saying he was “not advocating that in this by-election”. But Reform leader Nigel Farage accused him of supporting “open borders”. Burnham’s task of winning the by-election in Makerfield has been “made harder” by Streeting’s comments, said Kiran Stacey in The Guardian. His EU stance is a “transparent” bid to derail Burnham, allies of the Manchester mayor told The Times. 

What next?
Once parliament starts the process, a by-election must take place between 21 and 27 working days, usually on a Thursday. This means that the vote could be held as early as Thursday, 18 June or 25 June.

What happened
Several Swatch stores across the UK remained closed for a second day yesterday after large crowds gathered to buy the company’s new “Royal Pop” pocket watch, created with luxury brand Audemars Piguet. Shops in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow, Cardiff and London were shut after queues continued to grow following Saturday’s launch.

The watches retail for about £335, but have reportedly appeared online for resale at prices reaching £16,000. Police were called to incidents in several countries, including France and Switzerland, and an event in Dubai was cancelled. In Cardiff, one person was arrested, and officers in Liverpool responded to reports of threats outside a store.

Who said what
Swatch said the store closures were necessary “to ensure the safety of both our customers and our staff”.

Critics argued that the release of the watch should have been handled online, saying the in-store launch had unnecessarily drawn police attention. The launch was “not exactly fine-tuned”, said Lauren Edmonds in Business Insider.

What next?
Swatch said the watches would remain on sale for “several months”, suggesting further releases are planned once crowds subside.

As the Iran war continues, food and vital medicines are becoming increasingly scarce in the country, according to The Australian. The costs of some medicines “have risen by 400%” and antidepressants and sleeping pills are reportedly being “dispensed without prescriptions”.

This is not unique to the Middle East, as many other countries around the world face the threat of conflict or suffer under the pressures of economic and political repression. As mental health crises continue to stretch resources, many fear that the consequences could echo the fallout from the Covid pandemic.

Some pharmacists in Iran have called the boom in antidepressants a form of “mass sedation”, added The Australian. These healthcare professionals believe that relaxing the strictness of distribution policy keeps the public in a “state of artificial calm” designed to “delay any popular uprising while the war continues”.

Like Iran, Lebanon has been struck by the ongoing conflict and has appeared to follow a similar pattern of “pushing anxious residents towards sedatives and sleeping pills”, said Y Net News. And in Cuba, economic and political crises present an “outlook that feels bleaker than the collapse of the Soviet Union”, said The Guardian. As a growing mental health crisis “envelops the island”, many citizens are “turning to prescription drugs” to cope with the US-imposed oil blockade on a nation still reeling from years of economic decline.

In its ongoing campaign against Ukraine, Russia is experiencing a “spiral” of antidepressant use, according to El País. It appears the war, with its subsequent health crises, has had a “larger emotional impact on its population” than the Covid pandemic.