Are Washington Post layoffs an attempt to pander to Trump?

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is getting some serious heat over his knowledge of Labour Lord Peter Mandelson's connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Guardian says that Keir Starmer's days as prime minister could be numbered, according to opposition MPs and some of his own Labour MPs. The scrutiny centres on Starmer's appointment of Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US in 2024. Files pertaining to Epstein revealed this week that Mandelson leaked confidential financial information to Epstein as minister during the financial crisis of 2009-10. He also maintained a friendship with the disgraced paedophile even after his conviction. On Wednesday, Starmer admitted to knowing about Mandelson's relationship with Epstein when he appointed him to the plum diplomatic post, but maintained that Mandelson lied about how close the pair were. Nonetheless, the Financial Times calls it a torrid day for Starmer – painting it as the beginning of the end for the British prime minister. 

The conservative press focus on a revolt led by Angela Rayner, the former Labour deputy prime minister, against Starmer in parliament. The Daily Mail reveals that Rayner essentially forced the prime minister into allowing a parliamentary committee to decide which documents pertaining to Mandelson's appointment would be released, in order to abate fears of what some fear is a "cover-up." The Daily Mail notes the fact that Rayner is widely seen as a successor to Starmer and that her revolt could indicate that the PM's end may be close. The conservative Daily Telegraph is also focusing on Rayner's showdown with Starmer in parliament, wondering what possessed him to make the Mandelson appointment. Meanwhile, the editors at the Times of London say that Starmer can't absolve himself of this crisis. It adds that "there's blood in the water" and someone is going pay – not only Mandelson.

Over in the US, The Washington Post has laid off a third of its staff, a decision that was a long time coming but has nonetheless sent shockwaves through the paper's newsroom. There is very little mention of this in The Washington Post's Thursday edition. More than 300 people have been laid off, including all Middle East correspondents and editors but also the sports department and literary section. It's a sad ending for a paper whose reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein made history for their coverage of the Watergate scandal. The reactions are muted in the Post but elsewhere, The Atlantic calls it the "murder" of the Washington Post. The New Yorker blames owner Jeff Bezos, who was brought in to save the paper but instead contributed to its decline, it says. Some staff at the Post reportedly feel "betrayed" by Bezos's lack of communication and silence around the layoffs, the International Business Times reports. One former staff member accused Bezos of focusing on "surviving Trump" rather than protecting the paper's independence. 

Finally, an insurgent political party in Armenia wants to create a ministry of sex. The Daily Telegraph reports that Sargis Karapetyan from the Strong Armenia party suggested creating the ministry to ensure all women are sexually satisfied in the country. But it's not coming from the kindness of his heart or concerns about female pleasure. Rather, he appeared to refer to previous comments by a sociologist that the rise in activism among middle-aged, White women is because they are not sexually satisfied. Women's rights groups have rightly taken issue with Karapetyan, with one even lodging a criminal complaint, according to the pan-Caucasus website Jam News. Is it perhaps just a ploy to get people talking about the party ahead of June elections?

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