- New Caledonia tourists 'ecstatic' as rescue planes arrive
- Atalanta's Gasperini stands in way of Alonso's rise in Europa League final
- Funerary procession to be held for late president in Iran's northwest
- Taliban poets sing praise of new Afghan order
- Asian markets slump as traders take profits, eye commodities' spike
- Japan wrestles with legacy of graft-stained Games in Paris warning
- In Darwin's footsteps: scientists recreate historic 1830s expedition
- Parent company of Trump's Truth Social posts $328 mln loss
- Australia's Sam Kerr ruled out of Paris Olympics
- Sick of tourists, Japan town blocks view of Mt Fuji
- Sick of tourists, Japan town to put up barrier blocking Mt Fuji
- Amal Clooney helped ICC weigh Gaza war crimes evidence
- Biden says Israel's Gaza offensive 'not genocide'
- Trump trial prosecution rests, closing arguments likely next week
- Police officers killed as Colombia rebels launch gun, bomb attacks
- Top US banking regulator offers resignation after toxic workplace report
- Airport reopens in Port-au-Prince after 11 week closure
- Colombia replaces scandal-plagued army chief
- Nasdaq and gold hit record highs
- Youth movement: NBA's 20-something stars set to battle in conference finals
- Top-ranked golfer Scheffler's court date postponed until June
- Brazil mayor's mammoth task: rebuild from floods, prevent more
- Microsoft unveils 'AI-ready' PCs
- Trump trial prosecution rests, closing arguments next week
- New Liverpool boss Slot admits he could not resist lure of club
- OpenAI to 'pause' voice linked to Scarlett Johansson
- Women's tennis signs 'multi-year partnership' with Saudi investment fund
- Two policemen killed as Colombia rebels launch gun, bomb attacks
- Murray on the brink in Geneva comeback
- ICC prosecutor seeks Gaza 'war crimes' arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Hamas leaders
- 'Incognito Market' founder arrested in New York
- Cate Blanchett urges film industry to include refugee voices
- Sargent returns to US squad for pre-COPA friendlies
- Microsoft unveils 'Copilot Plus' PC amped with AI
- Biden slams 'outrageous' ICC bid to arrest Israeli leaders
- Five things to know about incoming Anfield boss Arne Slot
- Changing climate influences London's Chelsea Flower Show
- UK PM sorry for institutional cover-up in infected blood scandal
- G7 push to use Russian assets for Ukraine 'vital and urgent': Yellen
- Trump trial closing arguments set for next week
- US Supreme Court rejects ex-Guantanamo detainee's appeal
- Japan's Studio Ghibli receives honorary Palme d'Or in Cannes
- Liverpool confirm Slot will replace Klopp as manager
- Pogacar 'good enough' to win Giro d'Italia and Tour de France
- Cargo ship that destroyed Baltimore bridge towed to port
- 'God works slowly': NGO ship rescues 35 Bangladeshis off Malta
- Dominican Republic's President Abinader wins resounding re-election
- England relish 'fear factor' of returning paceman Archer
- Israel, Hamas reject bid before ICC to arrest leaders for war crimes
- Explosive Trump biopic hits Cannes Film Festival
Former England cricketer Panesar to stand for election
Former England cricketer Monty Panesar is to stand at the next UK general election for the fringe Workers Party of Britain, its leader George Galloway said on Tuesday.
Galloway, a left-wing firebrand who was re-elected to parliament in March after tapping into anger over the Israel-Hamas war, said Panesar was one of 200 candidates the party is putting up for the vote.
Left-arm spinner Panesar, 42, played 50 tests for England, taking 167 wickets between 2006 and 2013.
Born Mudhsuden Singh Panesar in Luton, north of London, to Sikh parents who emigrated from the Indian Punjab, he became a firm fan favourite and a distinctive figure in the field in his black patka.
He will stand in the Ealing Southall constituency in west London at the vote, which is expected to be held later this year.
To be elected, he will have to overturn a 16,084 majority set by Virendra Sharma, from the main opposition Labour party, at the last national poll in 2019.
Galloway told LBC radio that Panesar "will be our candidate in Southall", which is a majority Sikh area.
"Monty, of course, was a great left-arm spinner so we could do with him," he added.
Galloway, a former Labour lawmaker, is hoping to tap into what he sees as disaffection with not only the Conservative government but the Labour opposition under Keir Starmer.
Starmer is widely expected to win the election, but Galloway has condemned him for his stance on Israel's military action against Hamas in Gaza and is hoping to exploit Labour divisions on the issue.
At Galloway's own election, the Labour candidate withdrew after touting a conspiracy theory that Israel allowed Hamas to carry out its deadly attack on October 7 last year.
Galloway said voters were rejecting the "Tweedledee, Tweedledum politics" of the Tories and Labour, as well as "culture war" issues over "race and gender, wokery and greenery and quackery".
"We stand up for the working people. Our country is falling apart at the seams.... Not since 1941 have we been in such trouble," he added.
"And there's no Mr Churchill to step into the breach."
K.Brown--BTB