‘A garden is a grand teacher’: The Kamakura Gardener nurtures and soothes via YouTube

The French Open quarter-finals are heating up on day 10 at Roland Garros, with top players like Svitolina and Swiatek facing off, while Sabalenka battles Zheng in a tight match. Meanwhile, British hope Jack Draper suffered a surprising defeat to Alexander Bublik earlier.

The third ODI between England and the West Indies is running late due to traffic disruptions, with players killing time on the field while fans wait for the action to start at The Oval. The mood is relaxed but the delay’s a bit of a buzzkill for cricket lovers eager to see the match.

Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders has pulled his Freedom Party out of the government, throwing the Netherlands into political chaos over disagreements on immigration policy. Meanwhile, in a separate but notable European development, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and France’s Emmanuel Macron are meeting in Rome to try and bridge their political divides—though it’s unclear if they’ll find common ground.

The UK government is pushing back against a Home Office report that partly attributes the recent increase in small boat arrivals to good weather conditions. Immigration Minister Chris Philp mocked Labour’s approach, suggesting they think "praying for bad weather is a good border strategy," while also criticizing the cancellation of the controversial Rwanda deportation scheme. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, defence sources indicate the UK may soon commit to raising military spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, likely under pressure from NATO ahead of this month’s summit—especially with Donald Trump’s potential return looming over alliance dynamics.

Exit polls suggest Lee Jae-myung, a progressive leader known for surviving a shocking assassination attempt in 2023, is likely to become South Korea’s next president. His victory would mark a sharp turn to the left after years of conservative leadership, signaling potential shifts in domestic and foreign policy.