Global wars, a depleted military and stubborn Labour MPs: Healey exposes Starmer’s perfect storm

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed a Security Council open debate in New York, urging member states to utilize the UN Charter to settle Middle East disputes peacefully. • Guterres highlighted how restrictions on navigational rights in the Strait of Hormuz are destabilizing global energy prices and disrupting critical supply chains.

• Tensions in the Middle East are escalating as warring parties resume hostilities and diplomatic relations deteriorate. • Iran remains defiant, demanding that the United States take accountability for ceasefire violations involving military strikes.

• The UK, Australia, and Canada have launched a major new international fund designed to scale civil society initiatives and address the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. • The fund will invest in grassroots projects aimed at rebuilding trust and reducing community divisions, integrating civil society efforts directly into broader diplomatic strategies.

• India's Secretary (East) Rudrendra Tandon advocated for a rules-based order and strengthened diplomacy during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting held in Manila. • The ARF operates as a "track-one" diplomatic forum, focusing on a gradual evolutionary process to move from confidence-building measures toward full conflict resolution.

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk announced that investigators will probe potential breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law by all parties involved in the Lebanon conflict. • The escalation, featuring Hezbollah attacks and an extensive Israeli air and ground campaign, has resulted in over 3,660 deaths and the displacement of more than one million people.

Live webcam footage from atop the Washington Monument shows a highly visible ‘8’, while the others appears fainterUS federal authorities are investigating what appears to be a massive etching of “8647” into the grass of the National Mall.Live webcam footage from atop the Washington Monument as of Thursday afternoon shows the markings, with a highly visible “8,” along with less visible “6”, “4” and “7”. Continue reading...

John Healey’s complaint is that Starmer sat on this problem for months before making a derisory offerUK politics live – latest updatesJohn Healey’s resignation as defence secretary on Thursday was a long time brewing, though in the end the denouement was swift. It leaves an already weak Keir Starmer without a defence strategy less than a month before a Nato summit and an unresolved row about spending as Donald Trump threatens to restart the bombing of Iran.On Monday, No 10 finally told Healey how much more money it was prepared to give the Ministry of Defence to fund major projects as part of the defence investment plan (Dip). Its programmes include the £41bn Dreadnought submarine replacement for Trident – and a mooted investment in drones, ready for a future Ukraine-style war. Continue reading...

President steered no-bid contract for project that he said would cost $1.8m to company that worked on his golf resortThe final drops of water have been added, and the nanobubbler switched on. Donald Trump’s “beautiful” makeover of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, one of Washington DC’s most historically symbolic attractions, is officially complete, and the public is getting its first glimpse of how the project’s $14.2m was spent.Contrary to the president’s predictable assertion that it was receiving “rave reviews”, however, early impressions are decidedly mixed. Some of the first visitors declared themselves underwhelmed by the 2,000ft pool’s somewhat dull color – American flag blue, according to the specifications. Continue reading...

US president urges congressional Republicans to use budget reconciliation procedure to enact his priorities Donald Trump has demanded that congressional Republicans get to work on a party line measure that would ensure defense spending reaches its highest level in decades and also make a likely fruitless attempt to impose a host of new restrictions on voters nationwide.In a post on Truth Social Wednesday, the president said he was “calling on Republicans in Congress to IMMEDIATELY advance and pass the forthcoming $350 Billion Reconciliation Bill”, which would also include the Save America Act, a rightwing makeover of elections that his allies in Congress have sought to pass for months, without success. Continue reading...

US president had faced widespread criticism of his decision to install a controversial ally, Bill PulteDonald Trump has nominated Jay Clayton, former head of the top US markets watchdog, to be the country’s leading intelligence official.The US president faced widespread criticism of his decision to install a controversial ally, Bill Pulte, as acting director of National Intelligence while searching for a permanent candidate. Continue reading...

Washington claims their vessel was violating its blockade of Iranian ports and failed to comply with instructionsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe Indian government has voiced a “strong protest” after three Indian seafarers were killed in US military strikes against oil tankers travelling through the strait of Hormuz.US Central Command confirmed that its aircraft had fired two Hellfire missiles at the engine room of the MT Settebello as it sailed through the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Suit filed in US alleges chatbot told Alice Carrier, 24, ‘maybe this is just the end’ as she struggled with suicidal thoughtsA Canadian mother sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, in US court on Thursday, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged her daughter to commit suicide. The lawsuit is the latest in a slew accusing the company of failing to address dangerous conversations between users and the company’s chatbot.Kristie Carrier said in a lawsuit filed in San Francisco state court that her daughter, Alice, told ChatGPT about her suicidal ideations more than a dozen times leading up to her death but that OpenAI’s safety systems never flagged the conversations for human review or terminated them. Continue reading...