The Trump administration may, for now, keep transgender people from newly joining the US military, a federal appeals court ruled, while also drawing a firm line against removing those already in uniform as the legal fight continues. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the 2025 policy was unlawfully driven "by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group". At the same time, the court said the Pentagon retains sweeping authority to decide who can enlist,…

An independent watchdog is expected to report within three months on why British police handcuffed murder victim Henry Nowak as he lay fatally wounded, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said, as pressure mounted for answers in a case that has shocked the country. Nowak, an 18-year-old student, was restrained by officers after he was stabbed by a Sikh man wielding a ceremonial knife. When police arrived at the scene in Southampton on 3 December 2025, his attacker, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, claimed he had been targeted in a…

Yvette Cooper has said Peter Mandelson should "never have been appointed" ambassador to the United States, while sidestepping a direct question over whether Keir Starmer is a strong and effective leader. Speaking during a visit to Beijing, the British foreign secretary called the release of messages linked to Mandelson's appointment an "unedifying process", after the government published a second batch of documents running to more than 1,000 pages. Among the disclosures were messages awkward for ministers, including for Mr…

Warm waters spreading across the tropical Pacific are driving the buildup of a major El Niño, the World Meteorological Organisation has confirmed, sharpening fears of higher global temperatures and a fresh surge in extreme weather and heavy rainfall in the months ahead. The agency said its forecasting models show an 80% chance that above-average temperatures will be recorded across almost the entire globe from June to August. It also said there is a 90% probability that El Niño’s warming influence will persist and strengthen…

A humanitarian convoy carrying Irish-donated ambulances to Uganda has drawn a midlands garda sergeant into a mission aimed at easing suffering for some of east Africa’s most vulnerable patients. Organised by Hope on Wheels, the effort has brought together more than 20 volunteers to drive 11 ambulances 1,200km from Mombasa in Kenya to Kampala in Uganda. Among them is Sergeant Paul McNally, a Co Offaly native who has been based in Athlone since 2018. "When I heard about this opportunity I didn't hesitate," he said. "Thousands…

Europe is moving to sharpen its deportation powers after EU lawmakers and member states struck a deal on rules that would let countries send migrants ordered to leave the bloc to centres in third countries. The agreement marks part of a wider hardening of EU migration policy as right‑wing parties intensify pressure across the continent, despite a 26% drop in irregular arrivals last year to the lowest level recorded since 2021. The legislation, which still needs formal sign‑off from EU governments and the European Parliament,…

The Trump administration can, for now, keep transgender people from joining the US military, a federal appeals court has ruled, while stopping the government from removing those already in uniform as the legal fight continues. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the 2025 policy was unlawfully driven "by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group". Still, the court said the Pentagon holds sweeping authority to decide who may enlist, allowing the military…

Confusion deepened around US-Iran diplomacy after President Donald Trump insisted negotiations were still moving ahead, even as an Iranian state-linked report said Tehran had put indirect talks with Washington on hold. "Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post. Earlier, Iran's state news agency Tasnim reported that Tehran was suspending indirect negotiations with the US after Israel ordered its forces to advance further ‌into Lebanon. Speaking by…

Russia unleashed air attacks on several of Ukraine’s biggest cities, including Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 60, officials said, after days of warnings that Moscow was preparing a large-scale assault. The strikes came as the war, now more than four years old, continues to batter critical infrastructure on both sides. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power network and other vital facilities, while Ukraine has intensified attacks this year on Russian oil sites. Both sides…

Even before he arrived in Washington, Peter Mandelson was making a personal pledge: appoint him as Britain’s ambassador to the US, he wrote, and the government would “never regret” it. That assurance has now surfaced in a fresh cache of official papers released alongside thousands of documents about the controversial posting. The government published the second batch of records this afternoon, shedding more light on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to hand the high-profile Washington role to Mr Mandelson…