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This is the world in brief from The Economist.

Our top stories.

Four ministers resigned from Sequea Starmer's government,

as pressure mounts on him to stand down as Britain's prime minister.

Over 80 Labour MPs have called for his resignation after last

week's local election disaster. But the party is split. More than 100 MPs signed a letter saying

this is, quote, no time for a leadership contest. Sequea has vowed to remain.

America's Senate confirmed Kevin Walsh to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors,

clearing the way for a vote on his nomination for chair this week.

He will face the difficult task of containing inflation while resisting Donald Trump's demands for lower

interest rates. Consumer prices rose by 3.8% year-on-year in April, the fastest pace in three years

as the war in Iran drove up energy costs. Mr. Trump suggested he would not prioritize discussing Iran with Xi Jinping as he

departed for Beijing ahead of a highly anticipated meeting with China's president.

Earlier, Pete Hegseth, America's war secretary, insisted that the ceasefire with Iran remains intact, even

as he hinted at plans to re-escalate the war if necessary. The war has cost America $29 billion

so far, according to the Pentagon. Sam Altman took the stand to refute allegations that he broke a vow to keep open AI a non-profit.

A lawsuit brought by Elon Musk, who founded the AI lab alongside Mr. Altman, over a decade ago,

...