Former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman defected to Reform UK, marking the third Conservative MP to join Nigel Farage's party recently. Braverman, who was fired from her position as interior minister in 2023, accused the Conservative party of betrayal over Brexit and immigration policies, according to Euronews. The defection highlights growing internal divisions within the Conservative party and could significantly impact the UK's political landscape as Reform UK gains momentum.

Braverman announced on Monday that she had quit the Conservatives after 30 years and would represent her southern England constituency in Parliament as a Reform UK lawmaker, Euronews reported. "We can either continue," Braverman stated, embracing Farage's message that Britain is broken and overrun by migrants. The Conservatives initially responded with a statement questioning Braverman's motives and referencing her mental health, which was later retracted, according to BBC Breaking.

In other political news, approximately 50 Labour MPs signed a letter objecting to the party's decision to prevent Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from running in an upcoming by-election, BBC Breaking reported. The MPs argued this decision could benefit Reform UK, while Labour leader Keir Starmer defended the move as necessary to focus resources on other crucial elections. Burnham, viewed as a potential challenger to Starmer, would need to be a Member of Parliament to contend for party leadership.

Meanwhile, in the United States, President Donald Trump announced he is increasing tariffs on South Korean exports from 15 percent to 25 percent, accusing the East Asian ally of failing to ratify its trade deal with Washington fast enough, according to Al Jazeera. Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social on Monday.

Controversy also erupted within the tech industry after Khosla Ventures partner Keith Rabois made controversial remarks on X regarding a recent shooting by a border patrol agent. Both partner Ethan Choi and firm founder Vinod Khosla publicly denounced Rabois' statements, TechCrunch reported. The incident highlights the growing tension between free speech and corporate responsibility within the tech industry, particularly as venture capitalists increasingly engage in public discourse on sensitive social and political issues.

OpenAI's president, Greg Brockman, also came under scrutiny after it was revealed that he and his wife made a $25 million donation to MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, according to The Verge. The Brockmans' donations made up nearly one-fourth of the super PAC's total funding.

Google agreed to pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly listened to people's private conversations through their phones, BBC Technology reported. Users accused Google Assistant of recording private conversations after it was inadvertently triggered on their devices and then sharing the recordings with advertisers. Google denied wrongdoing but said it was seeking to avoid litigation.

In other international news, Guyanese businessman Azruddin Mohamed, facing extradition to the US on gold-smuggling and money-laundering charges, was elected as the country's opposition leader, six months after he formed a political party that quickly became the second largest in the South American country, according to The Guardian.

At the Sundance Film Festival, "Soul Patrol," a documentary directed by J.M. Harper, premiered, Variety reported. The film gives voice to the forgotten soldiers of a Black special operations unit during the Vietnam War.