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July 02, 2026
 

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Ellen Milligan
The revelation of the defense funding gap blindsided Andy Burnham and his team on Tuesday, one source said.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2026
U.K. defense plan blows £5 billion hole in Burnham’s budget
How Andy Burnham will approach defense is a topic of intense speculation as Westminster prepares for him to assume leadership of the governing Labour Party as soon as July 17.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shake hands in Tokyo in January.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 14, 2026
Starmer to meet Japan’s Takaichi as fighter jet funding sputters
The Global Combat Air Program has faced roadblocks including delays to Britain’s financial contribution to the project.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets construction apprentices during a visit to London South Bank Technical College in London on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 13, 2026
U.K.’s Starmer clings on as rivals try to build coup momentum
About 90 Labour Party lawmakers called for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to stand down, saying they believed the governing party needs new leadership.
Britain's Queen Camilla and King Charles III, and U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump watch a pass in review from a balcony of the White House during a ceremony in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2026
U.K. tempers hopes of U.S. reset despite king’s royal charmfest
King Charles III toured Washington, New York and Virginia over four days, meeting political and business elites as well as young people experiencing economic hardship.
Britain's King Charles III speaks during a joint address to Congress in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2026
King Charles urges U.S. to reject isolationism in landmark speech
Britain’s King Charles III used his remarks to a joint session of Congress to also argue for preserving the alliance between the U.K. and U.S.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet taxis the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
U.S. allies are steering clear of naval mission in Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump insists U.S. allies are ready to help him in the Strait of Hormuz. They’re not even close.
British soldiers during a rapid ambush exercise during NATO military exercises on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance on Oct. 4, 2025.
WORLD
Apr 6, 2026
The British military sees youth jobs crisis as an opportunity
A link is emerging between youth joblessness — now at the highest rate in over a decade — and applications being made to the forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Dec. 5, 2025.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 13, 2026
Putin’s ‘hidden hand’ guides Iran’s strikes in widening war
Moscow is currently providing Tehran with various forms of intelligence in an effort to help Iran hit back at U.S. forces in the region.
A tanker passes through the Strait of Hormuz. U.K. officials stated Thursday that they believe Iran is laying mines in the Strait.
WORLD
Mar 13, 2026
Iran has likely begun laying mines in Strait of Hormuz, U.K. says
The narrowness of the Strait of Hormuz makes the danger of sea mines more acute, as ships have less room to maneuver and greater odds of striking one of the weapons.
As U.S. President Donald Trump launches the first open-ended military campaign of his presidency, Europe's leaders find themselves holding something he needs: their bases, airspace and strategic geography.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2026
Trump finds he needs Europe now that he’s waging war in Iran
Europe’s bases, airspace and strategic geography are crucial for the first open-ended military campaign of Trump’s presidency,
An aircraft prepares to land on a British sovereign base in Cyprus on Tuesday after it was hit by a drone the previous day, causing limited damage.
WORLD
Mar 4, 2026
Europe rushes to defend Cyprus as Iran war exposes vulnerability
Europe has found itself pulled into another war, scrambling to protect its eastern outpost at a moment of weakness.
An employee moves a wooden cask of whisky at a distillery in Keith, U.K. British businesses exporting products from scotch whisky to toys to the U.S. will “now face a higher tariff, equivalent to what the European Union was facing before,” said Crawford Falconer, Britain’s former top trade negotiator.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2026
The biggest loser from Trump’s new tariffs could be Britain
The U.K. had enjoyed a relatively lower reciprocal tariff rate compared with other countries but stands to see the largest increase.
A burial site for Russian soldiers killed during fighting in Ukraine, in Kostroma, Russia
WORLD
Feb 17, 2026
Russia’s losses boost reliance on foreign fighters, U.K. says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited a figure of 30,000 Russian personnel killed in action in January alone.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to stay on as leader on Monday, as another top aide quit and he prepared to face lawmakers furious that his government has become embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
Starmer shores up position for now as U.K. rivals bide time
None of the British prime minister’s potential challengers is said to be ready to launch a bid to replace him.
The island of Diego Garcia. British ministers are trying to establish whether the U.S. administration intends to veto a deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, according to a person familiar with the matter.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2026
U.K. examines whether Trump can derail Chagos deal after U.S. reversal
The U.S. president supported the agreement last year, but last week called it an “act of total weakness” and “great stupidity.”
Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean at the center of a controversy over sovereignty
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2026
Trump flips position to attack U.K.’s Starmer over Chagos deal
In a post on Truth Social, the president cited Britain’s decision to return sovereignty of Diego Garcia to Mauritius as a reason for the U.S. to acquire Greenland.
The Royal Mint Court, the proposed site of a new Chinese mega embassy at Royal Mint Court, in London on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2026
U.K. lays groundwork to approve controversial Chinese embassy
The decision on whether to grant planning permission for the embassy is set to be controversial due to ongoing concerns about the site’s position near sensitive cables.
The chat window for chatbot Grok on a laptop
WORLD
Jan 13, 2026
U.K.’s Starmer escalates threats against X, calling Grok ‘shameful’
The prime minister vowed to enforce a law that bans the sexualization of people’s images without consent.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the United Kingdom is better placed to gain more market access than form a customs union with the European Union.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 5, 2026
Starmer sets up fight with Farage on EU single-market access
The move follows a growing debate in the final weeks of 2025 about forming a customs union with the EU in a bid to revive the British economy.
British Defence Secretary John Healey (center) is shown around Helsing's resilience factory in Plymouth, Britain, on Nov. 19.
WORLD / FOCUS
Dec 8, 2025
U.K.’s bold defense plans face doubt over spending gaps
Defence Secretary John Healey in June set out a 130-page defense review, calling it the first in a generation that would transform and grow the U.K. military.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Reform panel calls for easing data center building standards
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized that the government will promote reforms of regulations and systems that fit the artificial intelligence era.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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