The British prime minister said Monday that the United Kingdom is “not supporting” the U.S. naval blockade and that his country remains focused on bringing together a coalition of countries to reopen the critical waterway.

Mr. Starmer stressed in an interview with the BBC that reopening the Strait of Hormuz remains a high priority for his government and that the U.K. is committing significant resources to finding a peaceful solution. “It is vital that we get the strait open and fully open, and that’s where we’ve put all of our efforts in the last few weeks and we’ll continue to do so,” he said. 

Mr. Starmer asserted the blockade has neither a lawful basis nor a “clear thought-through” plan. “My decision has been very clear that whatever the pressure, and there’s been some considerable pressure, we’re not getting dragged into the war,” the prime minister said.

Hungary is grappling with a dramatic political shift after a weekend in which voters overwhelmingly rejected Mr. Orban, its longtime conservative prime minister and an ally of Mr. Putin, and put their hopes for change behind incoming Prime Minister Peter Magyar — a pro-European leader who has promised fundamental changes.

Mr. Magyar pledged on the campaign trail ahead of Sunday’s election that he will end Hungary’s drift toward Russia and restore its ties with European allies. He promised voters that after 16 years of autocratic governance and the erosion of the rule of law under Mr. Orban, he would root out corruption and create a “peaceful, functioning and humane” Hungary.

Hungary’s political shift is likely to have major geopolitical reach. It could reshape the European Union’s ability to support Ukraine, alter Budapest’s friendly relations with Moscow strained ties with Brussels. It also could test the appeal of the Orban model among conservatives in the United States.

The accelerating race among global powers for dominance in space will hang in the backdrop this week as leaders from across the space industry and U.S. military converge on Colorado for the 2026 Space Symposium.

The annual gathering, which opens Monday in Colorado Springs, is among the largest events of the year for the space industry and features major speeches from U.S. government officials and futuristic displays from dozens of leading space technology companies.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is slated to address the symposium on Monday. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, the chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force, is slated to speak Wednesday. The Trump administration’s focus on developing futuristic space-based missile defense through the Golden Dome project will be a theme in discussions throughout the week.

An Israeli army general who was seriously wounded in a firefight with Hamas during the terror group’s October 2023 assault on southern Israel is taking over as head of Mossad, the secretive Israeli intelligence agency known for clandestine operations inside Iran.

Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman was nominated in December. A government committee that oversees senior-level appointments signed off on the pick over the weekend. “Major General Gofman has served as my military secretary for the past two years,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote Sunday on X. “He is an outstanding officer — bold and creative — who has demonstrated throughout the war a perspective outside the box and impressive resourcefulness.”

Gen. Gofman will replace outgoing Mossad Chief David Barnea, whose five-year term will end in June. The appointment has generated some controversy within government and intelligence circles in Israel. Gen. Gofman is an Israel Defense Forces officer with no specific prior background in intelligence gathering or the type of special operations missions run by Mossad.

The Pentagon has been cleared to use a counter-drone system that uses high-energy lasers along the southern U.S. border after military officials reached a safety agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The agreement came after a demonstration of the laser system last month. The FAA said in an April 10 statement that the lasers “are at the cutting-edge of counter-drone technology” and “do not pose an undue risk to passenger aircraft.” Military Times noted that the development came after a series of incidents that posed serious concerns.

U.S. military forces errantly shot down a government drone with the laser-based system on Feb. 25, leading the FAA to expand an area in which flights are barred around Fort Hancock, Texas. That incident followed the FAA’s Feb. 18 decision to briefly halt all flights at the El Paso airport because a Department of Homeland Security agency used a Pentagon laser without completing an FAA safety review.

• April 13 — The Next Generation of Global Infrastructure Partnerships, Center for Strategic & International Studies

• April 13-16 — The 41st Space Symposium for Government, Military and Industry Leadership, Space Foundation

• April 14 — Global Democracy under Pressure: Insights from Africa for a Changing World, Brookings Institution

• April 15 — Invisible Attacks: What’s Behind Havana Syndrome & Anomalous Health Incidents, Hayden Center

• April 21 — Profiting from Chaos? Russia’s Energy Windfall from a Fragmented Middle East, Chatham House

• April 23 — The New India Conference: India’s Importance to American Interests, Hudson Institute