MIDDLE EAST - Donald Trump has canceled strikes against Iran and claimed that a peace deal is closer than ever, as Tehran's most senior leaders have approved the agreement. The President said that the 'final points' have been 'approved by all parties involved,' including Israel and America's Arab allies, and claimed the accord simply needed to be signed with a 'time and place' to be announced shortly. Iran has not yet approved any text for an agreement, state media outlet Fars reported. A senior Israeli official told local broadcaster Channel 12: 'We are not aware of any agreement being reached.' Trump's latest claim comes just hours after he said that the US was planning to seize Iran's Kharg Island oil depot and strike the country 'very hard tonight.' Kharg, known as the 'Forbidden Island,' is heavily fortified by missile batteries, naval mines and Revolutionary Guard units, and taking it would require thousands of American boots on the ground.

UK - Every so often, we face a curriculum decision with the power to reshape the intellectual and economic landscape of the country. The elevation of computer studies into GCSE Computer Science was one such moment, catalysing a generation of coders and laying the groundwork for today’s digital economy. The introduction of a Natural History GCSE could be an intervention of equal magnitude.

UNITED NATIONS - Pregnant women in Kabul, sheep-herders outside of Modigushi, the urban-poor in Colombo. As the war in Iran passes 100 days, these are the people on the front line of a new hunger crisis. Months ago, the UN cautioned that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz would push millions into hunger; now they say their worst fears are materialising.

USA - One township in New York state is acting now to oppose the state legislature’s pending “woke nonsense” that actually cancels from language in any state law or directive “mother” and “father.” John Ferretti, supervisor for the town of Hampstead, thinks that’s not going to work. “As a father of two, it was an insult to me and to my wife. As soon as I learned, the first thing I did was bring my wife into our bedroom and say, ‘Look what they did up in Albany. They’re eliminating the terms mother and father from state law.’” He recalled his 9-year-old daughter overheard, and asked, “Can I still call you dad?’” A report at Fox News notes lawmakers have pushed the censorship plan to erase “mother” and “father” and instead use “gestating parent” and “non-gestating parent.”

EUROPE - NATO and European officials are weighing up a set of proposals for how Europe can defend itself against a Russian attack without American support. Until recently, the United States was considered so dominant and indispensable within the alliance that even discussing contingency plans for how to fight without it was taboo. Most European allies were profoundly reluctant to risk alienating President Trump, giving Washington a reason to withdraw troops and equipment, or undermining deterrence by signalling that they had doubts about NATO cohesion. A growing number of European governments are now contemplating how to cope with a scenario in which the US might effectively paralyse NATO in a crisis by refusing to activate its totemic Article 5 mutual defence clause.

IRAN - So the US war with Iran isn’t over, after all. The resumption of direct hostilities between Tehran and Washington, prompted by the Iranians downing a US Apache helicopter, has the usual suspects in the West once again claiming the conflict was a momentous mistake. They have ignored the extent of the damage done to Iran’s military infrastructure and nuclear programme, they have downplayed the threat the Iranians pose not just to their neighbours but to the rest of the world, and they have treated the ayatollahs as victims of unprovoked American aggression.

MIDDLE EAST - From that perspective, Iran has become “a very self-confident player” since the war and especially since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran believes it can survive confrontation with the United States and Israel, Zimmt said, while using its leverage over energy routes, regional proxies, and missile capabilities to force recognition of its position. Zimmt said it was increasingly clear that Iranian leaders believed they could not only survive a confrontation with the United States and Israel but also turn it to their advantage. “It became more and more evident that the Iranian leadership has reached the conclusion that not only can it survive this confrontation with the US and Israel, but can actually use that in order to create a better situation and perhaps even some kind of regional architecture which would recognize Iran’s leverage and Iran’s ability to inflict major pain, not just to its regional neighbors, but also to the global economy,” he said.

SPAIN - As Pope Leo XIV concludes the first leg of his Apostolic Journey to Spain, Cardinal José Cobo Cano, Archbishop of Madrid, offers Vatican News his reflections on the warm response of young people and politicians to the Pope’s four days in Madrid. "I believe the Pope has grown as a moral authority and ethical model, with his proposals, with the Church’s proposals on the European political scene. The Pope invited us not to look to the past, not to rely exclusively on Spain’s Catholic cultural heritage, but to look to the future."

NORTH KOREA - President Xi and the North Korean supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, have promised to work together more closely after the Chinese leader visited Pyongyang and issued a thinly disguised call for a strengthened alliance against America and Japan. Statements by the two sides published in their official media made broad affirmations of the two countries’ “invincible” friendship and socialist principles. But there was no mention of the subject western governments were most concerned with — Kim’s growing nuclear missile arsenal. According to China’s Xinhua news agency, Xi “pointed out that China and [North Korea], linked by mountains and rivers and sharing a common future, have seen their traditional friendship passed down across generations and grow ever stronger over time through the test of the evolving international landscape”.

UK - Farmers may stop growing food without taxpayer support for fertiliser costs, ministers have been warned. The blockading of the Strait of Hormuz has put significant strain on availability, as around a third of the world’s supply comes through the crucial maritime passageway. The price of ammonium nitrate fertiliser has increased by as much as 36 percent since the war began, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, and is currently around £495 per ton. Arable farmers can easily use a half ton of fertiliser across a three-acre area. The NFU has called on the Government to give farmers direct support if the fertiliser price goes above £500 per ton, a price that has been reached multiple times during the conflict. The farmers’ union wants 70 percent of the cost above £500 per ton to be funded by the Government, with support capped at £50,000 – an arrangement that mirrors taxpayer support for farmers in Europe.