This roundup summarises the most important news stories around the world in the last month (June 2026).

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The United Kingdom (UK) has been in the news spotlight. The prime minister announced his resignation, setting the UK up for its sixth prime minister in seven years, and a decade after voting to leave the European Union. The announcement also followed the resignation of the defence minister, after a dispute over military spending.

Socio-politically, a Sikh man was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a white teenager. During the incident, the police initially took the attacker’s allegations at face value as the victim lay dying from a stab wound. Anti-immigrant protests also turned violent in Northern Ireland, where demonstrators gathered because a Sudanese-born suspect was filmed hacking at and attacking a white man in the city.

The government also announced that under-16s will be fully banned from social media by the spring of 2027. There were similar developments in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Malaysia has banned social media for children and youth under the age of 16, joining countries such as Australia, Brazil, and Indonesia. Likewise, the UAE set a minimum age of 15 for social media use. Children under that age will not be able to create, use, or operate social media accounts.

Political re-elections

In Armenia, the prime minister and his party, perceived as more favourable to Europe, were re-elected by a slim majority. In Denmark, the prime minister secured her third consecutive term, after she agreed to form a centre-left coalition government. And in Ethiopia, the prime minister’s party won another large parliamentary majority against a fragmented opposition.

There were other political developments. In Norway, the son of the crown princess was found guilty of two counts of rape and jailed for four years. In the Philippines, a senator surrendered to the police over a charge that he received illicit payouts as part of an infrastructure scandal. And in Switzerland, voters rejected a proposal which would have capped the country’s population at 10 million.

Other geopolitical news

• Iran and the United States remotely signed a 14-point deal to temporarily end hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and launch negotiations about Iran’s nuclear programme.
• In North Korea, Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived for a summit.

And in Venezuela, back-to-back earthquakes left thousands of people dead.