UK - Cyber attacks are as critical to modern warfare as drones and missiles, the head of the UK’s cyber agency will claim. Richard Horne will outline how foreign states are waging cyber warfare against Britain at the Government’s annual cyber security conference in Glasgow on Wednesday. The chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will warn that online security is the new “home front” and that “cyber operations are now integral to conflict”. The NCSC, an arm of GCHQ, will reveal it is handling an average of four nationally significant incidents a week.

USA - It seems as though stars have been shooting across the heavens far more than usual lately. In March, fireball after fireball coursed through the skies of North America and Europe. Some of the dazzling apparitions dropped meteorites in their wake. In Ohio, space shards set down in fields and forests. Other rocky visitors smashed through the roofs of people’s homes and ricocheted around their bedrooms. “It’s a shooting gallery,” said Mike Hankey, an amateur astronomer at the American Meteor Society. “There’s stuff flying all over the place.” The number of fireballs over the first three months of 2026 was double what is usually reported to the society in the first quarter of other years. Over the last decade, there has been major growth in the number of cameras out in the world, from those on smartphones to autonomous shutters on doorbells and dashboards. When several fireballs make headlines, it turns plenty of people into meteor-curious skywatchers.

NIGERIA - A recent wave of coordinated attacks against besieged Christians in Nigeria has seen at least 26 people kidnapped in just eight days. According to a Monday report from the platform Truth Nigeria, between April 10 and April 17 in the state of Kaduna, villagers reported armed encounters with Islamic militants in multiple communities. Residents told Truth Nigeria that the attackers stormed seven Christian villages, killing two people and wounding two others during raids. “The militia is moving ward to ward like they own the land,” Alipiri Ado, head of internally displaced persons in Kajuru County, told the outlet. “Our people are sleeping in the bush, and nobody is coming to help them,” Ado added.

JAPAN - A powerful earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast Monday, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to issue a tsunami alert for a wide section of coastline, though waves of only about three feet were observed and the emergency appeared to be easing. A tsunami wave of about 2.6 feet was detected at the Kuji port in the Iwate prefecture within one hour of the quake, and a smaller tsunami wave of 1.3 feet was recorded at another port in the prefecture, the agency said. There were initial reports in Japanese media that at least two nuclear power plants in the northeast region were under a tsunami warning on Monday, but were thus far unaffected by the earthquake. Both of the plants are currently offline.

USA - We live at a time when most people don’t know where their food comes from, and so they have no idea that we are facing an agricultural nightmare in 2026. The historic drought is devastating our heartland and the nightmarish fertilizer crisis that has been caused by the war in the Middle East. Today, I am going to talk about the stunning decline of the US cattle herd, concerns about the winter wheat harvest, and the frightening drop that we have witnessed in Florida orange production.

VATICAN - Pope Leo XIV urged Africa’s youth population on Friday to solve the continent’s economic and corruption problems rather than migrate elsewhere. The pope, speaking to a crowd of university students and teachers from the Catholic University of Central Africa in Cameroon’s capital city of Yaounde, said that the continent “must be freed from the scourge of corruption” while urging the young to lead the charge, according to a transcript released by The Holy See. The remarks came as the Pope was embarking on an 11-day pastoral visit to the continent, which includes Angola, Algeria and Equatorial Ghana. “In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate — which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found — I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens,” the pope said.

USA - The event is part of a week-long initiative called “America Reads the Bible”, tied to the broader America 250 anniversary celebrations. Organisers say the biblical passage Mr Trump plans to read on Tuesday has been carefully selected, citing its longstanding role in American religious life as a rallying call to prayer and national reflection. The president will read from the Book of Two Chronicles (7:11-22) via livestream at 6 pm EST (11 pm UK) on Tuesday.

ISRAEL - “Pride Land is not just another festival," said the main producer and initiator of the festival, Aaron Cohen, "It's the biggest thing we've done here.” Israel is set to host the Middle East’s largest ever LGBT festival at the Dead Sea in June 2026. The new festival, Pride Land, intends to transform the middle of the Judean Desert into a colorful pride city from June 1 to June 4. The event intends to create an experience broader than parties or performances, instead aiming for a space that is alive 24 hours a day, with 15 hotels, beach complexes, parties, and a central performance arena all operating around the clock. Alongside the nightlife, Pride Land will have cultural and art complexes, relaxation and scenic areas, and family-friendly areas with children's activities, family-friendly workshops, and customized events. This is not just a pride event; it also aims to highlight the Dead Sea region as a permanent destination for LGBT tourists, emphasizing that Pride in Israel extends beyond the key hub of Tel Aviv.

UNITED NATIONS - The world is at risk of a fresh nuclear arms race, the head of the United Nations’ atomic agency has warned. Rafael Grossi said rising conflict and instability could lead to a “crack in the system” of non-proliferation and a domino effect in which as many as 20 states pursued a bomb. He told The Telegraph that renewed debate about whether to acquire nuclear weapons in countries such as Poland, South Korea and Japan could leave the world in a “very, very fragile position”. Leaders in Poland, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, among others, have openly said they may pursue nuclear weapons in the face of a destabilised world and the weakening of the transatlantic alliance. Nuclear proliferation has also been discussed in South Korea, Japan and even by some in Sweden.

JAPAN - Japan has lifted a postwar ban on weapons exports this week as it moves away from a pacifist stance that has defined defence policy since the end of the Second World War. Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, announced the plans after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, writing in a post on X that the change was necessary given the “increasingly challenging security environment”. As it stands, exports of Japanese-made defence equipment and technology are limited to five non-combat categories: rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping. But, boosted by a sweeping election victory in February, Ms Takaichi’s government has removed these restrictions. China reacted angrily to the announcement on Tuesday, vowing to resist what it called Japan’s “reckless militarisation”.

NIGERIA - Boko Haram militants have threatened to execute more than 400 women and children they are holding hostage, within 72 hours. A faction from the terror group delivered the ultimatum in a video to Nigerian media after demanding a ransom of more than £2.7 million from the government. The video showed armed, masked men in paramilitary uniform warning that if their demands were not met, the captives would never be seen again. The West African nation is experiencing an epidemic of kidnappings, banditry and hostage-taking by criminal gangs, insurgents and militia.

EUROPE - Across Europe, rising unrest and policy hesitation are exposing cracks in governance, identity, and state authority. European countries are now facing one of the most significant turning points since World War II. If a collapse occurs, it will not happen in a single day but through a gradual process of erosion, step-by-step, decision by decision, with a consistent preference for denial over courageous confrontation.

USA - Follow the money and US looks good. On the ground, it feels different. American economists are suffering from a plague of cognitive dissonance. They worry that because of AI, there will not be enough jobs to provide employment for all available US workers. They worry, too, that a declining population — due to ageing and a closing of the border — means that a shortage of workers will stifle economic growth.

USA - Lawmakers are demanding a sweeping investigation into the mysterious disappearances and deaths of nearly a dozen top US scientists, citing national security concerns. At least 11 experts with ties to NASA, nuclear research, aerospace programs and classified projects have vanished or turned up dead in recent years. Many of the individuals held top security clearances, granting them access to sensitive information on space missions, nuclear technology or advanced defense systems, prompting speculation about possible 'sinister' connections. Lawmakers are now demanding that the FBI, Pentagon, NASA and the Department of Energy open probes into the concerning deaths and disappearances, which included researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

IRAN - The American naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is targeting an Iranian economy that was already dying before the first bombs fell on February 28. When the rial reached a record low against the dollar in late December, mass cost of living protests erupted across the Islamic Republic. Since then, things have only worsened with an estimated $270 billion (£200 billion) of war damage, a figure that dwarfs Iran’s annual oil revenue and is the equivalent of 26 years of oil sanctions, according to Iranian media. Iran faces an impossible situation: rebuilding a shattered economy while the US naval blockade cuts off the imports required for reconstruction. Iran imports roughly 40 per cent of its food, including wheat, rice, vegetable oil and meat.