Britain’s political strains burst into the open when Defence Secretary John Healey resigned after a fierce row over military funding, charging that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had failed to back the country’s security needs at a moment of growing danger. The surprise departure, delivered alongside a sharply critical public letter, adds to the pressure bearing down on Mr Starmer as he confronts the prospect of a leadership challenge. It also lays bare the government’s central dilemma: how to increase defence spending when the…

People tend to drift left without even realizing it, according to an international study that found a consistent human habit of turning anti-clockwise while walking. Researchers say the pattern shows up in enclosed settings including supermarkets, museums and empty rooms, where people appear to favor moving leftward as they navigate space. The first round of research took place in Spain, where the behavior was initially suspected to reflect a cultural trait. But when researchers in Japan repeated the experiment, they arrived…

With inflation climbing past 4% and political pressure mounting, US President Donald Trump struck a strikingly defiant note, telling reporters he “loved” inflation while again insisting prices would fall once the Iran war comes to an end. Pressed on fresh US government figures showing consumer inflation in May rose at its fastest rate in three years — and asked whether that surge could hurt his fellow Republicans only months before November’s midterm election — Mr Trump replied: “I love the inflation.” The president went on…

A late-night assault ripped through an informal settlement near Johannesburg, where gunmen opened fire and killed 12 people, South African police said. The attack unfolded shortly before midnight in a poor community of corrugated-metal shacks near an area occupied by illegal miners, according to police. Police spokeswoman said about 10 assailants were driven to the Jumpers settlement, dropped off, and then swept into the area. "The suspects allegedly entered the informal settlement through both entrances and moved through…

A startling discovery from the depths of the Indian Ocean has uncovered what scientists say is the world’s largest whale graveyard, where a sweeping field of both recent and ancient carcasses is nourishing dense communities of deep-sea life. The site is also believed to be the deepest and oldest whale graveyard ever identified, according to research published in Nature, with some fossils traced to 5.3 million years ago. Peering out from a cramped submersible, the Chinese team encountered a cast of unusual creatures — many…

A new wave of US strikes hit multiple sites in Iran overnight, the American military said, sharpening a crisis that had already been edging back toward open war just hours after President Donald Trump warned of further attacks if no ⁠peace dealis secured. "The strikes are in response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression," the military's Central Command said in a post on X, adding the strikes began after midnight in Tehran. Iran's top joint military command answered with a warning of its own, saying it would fire on…

A fresh wave of Russian missiles and drones tore into Ukraine's Kharkiv region, killing four people and injuring more than 20, officials said, as authorities in Russia-annexed Crimea reported they were fending off drone attacks. The bombardment comes after weeks of heavy cross-border strikes by both Russia and Ukraine. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for an end to the war and suggested direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, with the United States and Europe actively involved. The newest attacks…

More than 460 former European leaders and senior officials are urging the EU to harden its stance on Israel, warning that the bloc is failing to respond forcefully enough to the intensifying military campaign in Gaza and the West Bank. The signatories include a broad cross-section of political heavyweights — former prime ministers, European Commissioners, government ministers, ambassadors, MEPs and senior EU officials. Among them are former taoiseach Leo Varadkar, former tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and former president of the…

Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder whose fortune and philanthropy have made him one of the most prominent figures in public life, is preparing to answer questions from US lawmakers about his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein — a connection that has remained under intense scrutiny for years. Gates is scheduled to sit for a transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee as part of its examination of the disgraced financier and the circle of influential people around him. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019…

Questions over the role of one of Ireland’s biggest industrial sites in Russia’s war economy moved sharply into focus after EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the facts around Aughinish Alumina must be fully established, while making clear that Brussels is relying on Ireland to carry out the investigation. The Limerick-based refinery is under scrutiny amid allegations that alumina shipped from the plant ultimately reaches Russia’s war machine, supporting a campaign that has killed thousands in Ukraine. Speaking on…