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Peter Magyar vows swift end to Orban’s rule as pressure mounts to secure EU funding

Hungary’s election victor, Peter Magyar, has announced that the country’s president has confirmed his new government could assume power in the first week of May. This accelerated timeline signals a swift end to Viktor Orban’s 16-year tenure.
Following his centre-right Tisza party’s overwhelming triumph in Sunday’s election, securing a two-thirds parliamentary majority, Mr Magyar has been advocating for the transfer of power to occur as quickly as possible.
Hungarian law mandates that the inaugural session of the new parliament, responsible for electing a new prime minister, must convene no later than 12 May.
Following a private consultation with President Tamas Sulyok on Wednesday, Mr Magyar told reporters outside the presidential palace in Budapest that Mr Sulyok had assured him that Mr Magyar would be his nominee for the next prime minister, and that the inaugural session would likely be scheduled for 6 or 7 May.
“(The president) thinks, and I think everyone thinks, that it’s in the ..

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House Democrats to file 5 impeachment articles against Hegseth, report says

House Democrats are expected to file five impeachment articles against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, including accusations of “abusing the powers of his office,” and “reckless handling of sensitive information.”
The five articles, which have a slim chance of passing this Congress, are expected to be filed Wednesday as Democrats target Hegseth after the ousting of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary and Pam Bondi as Attorney General, Axios reports.
In the impeachment resolution obtained by the outlet, Democrats are focusing on Hegseth’s role in the war in Iran and the Signalgate scandal that embroiled the first few months of the Trump administration.
Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari, the first Iranian-American Democrat elected to Congress, is introducing the resolution, co-sponsored by eight others, including Reps. Sarah McBride of Delaware, Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Steve Cohen of Tennessee.
The Pentagon dismissed the move by Democrats and said they were merely “trying to ..

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Israel and Hezbollah continue attacks after Israel-Lebanon talks in US

Israel and Hezbollah continue attacks after Israel-Lebanon talks in US34 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSamantha GranvilleBeirutEPAOne Israeli strike hit a vehicle on a coastal highway in Jiyeh, south of BeirutFighting between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah has continued after Israel and Lebanon held direct talks in Washington aimed at easing the conflict.
On Wednesday, Israeli strikes hit two vehicles on the coastal highway south of Beirut, near the towns of Saadiyat and Jiyeh and outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.
Videos from one scene showed a burned-out van, with first responders working to extinguish the flames and recover human remains. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
In northern Israel, a man was wounded in the town of Tamra after Hezbollah launched about 30 rockets across the border, according to medics and the military.
Hezbollah said it had launched rockets at 10 locations in northern Israel…

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Trump’s rift with Pope is playing out in public – it’s costing him valuable support

Trump's rift with Pope is playing out in public – it's costing him valuable support4 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAleem MaqboolReligious affairs correspondent‘I pray they come together’ – Americans react to Trump’s feud with Pope LeoIt is not unusual for President Trump to face criticism from Catholic leaders.
His hardline immigration policies, promised in his campaign and cheered on by supporters, have prompted condemnation from church leaders.
For months it has put the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the US at odds with more right-leaning rank-and-file Catholics.
But the broad backlash in the last 48 hours, over Trump's attack on Pope Leo and his sharing of an AI image of himself as a Christ-like figure, is very different.
What is striking is where some of this criticism is coming from – loyal, conservative Catholic allies.
They are unhappy, not just because of Trump's public friction with Pope Leo, but at a much deeper level over the Iran war.
..

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Woman, 65, charged in infamous abandoned baby ‘Rebecca’ case from 1981: ‘Maybe it was me’

A 65-year-old woman has been charged in the decades-old “Baby Rebecca” case from April 1981.
The case was first opened when a deceased infant was discovered in a wooded area on the Valley City State College campus in North Dakota.
The girl, who would later become known as Rebecca, was found with a plastic covering over her face and her umbilical cord still attached, according to a declaration of probable cause from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. ​
Barnes County State’s Attorney Tonya Duffy confirmed during a press conference on April 13 that Nancy Jean Trottier had been charged in connection with the case.
According to Duffy, Trottier, from Sun Lakes, Arizona, has been handed a Class AA felony murder charge.
open image in galleryNancy Jean Trottier has been charged with murder in connection with the infamous 'Baby Rebecca' case (Stutsman County Correctional Center)Trottier had previously been interviewed in connection with the case in 2021, according to c..

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MTG forced to answer for previously comparing Trump to Jesus during awkward CNN interview

Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been forced to answer for previously comparing President Donald Trump to Jesus during an interview with CNN.
On Monday, CNN host Kaitlan Collins asked the Georgia Republican for her thoughts on one of Trump’s latest social media posts: an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus healing a sick man. The post drew condemnation from prominent Christian commentators and voices across the political spectrum. Trump later said he thought the image portrayed him as a doctor, not as Jesus.
Greene, who stepped down from Congress in January, unleashed sharp criticism.
“I thought that was blasphemy, and as a Christian, I was very offended,” she said. “That picture had him in a robe as Jesus is often portrayed with light coming out of his hands…I think he should apologize.”
open image in galleryFormer Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was forced to answer for previously comparing President Donald Trump to Jesus during an interview with CNN (CNN..

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US blockade of Iran ports irresponsible and dangerous, China says

US blockade of Iran ports irresponsible and dangerous, China says28 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJames GregoryReutersChina has called the US naval blockade of Iranian ports “irresponsible and dangerous”.
Beijing's foreign ministry said the move would “undermine the already fragile ceasefire agreement” and further jeopardise the safety of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway Iran effectively closed in response to US-Israeli strikes.
The blockade came into force on Monday, a day after peace talks between the US and Iran broke down in Pakistan.
US President Donald Trump said the measure is intended to force Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. Analysts say the move is also designed to pressure China – the biggest buyer of Iranian oil – to encourage Tehran to open the strait.
Iran's ambassador to the UN has described the US blockade as a “grave violation” of Tehran's sovereignty.
Up until now, Chinese vessels have been among the ..

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Hamas rejects Gaza disarmament plan, Palestinian official says

Hamas rejects Gaza disarmament plan, Palestinian official says38 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleRushdi AboualofGaza correspondent, IstanbulReutersThe Gaza ceasefire came into effect in October but is yet to move to its next stageHamas has rejected the disarmament plan of a top figure in President Donald Trump's Gaza peace efforts, a senior Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations has told the BBC.
He accused Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on the US-led Board of Peace, of bias towards Israel. Last month, Mladenov outlined a framework for Gaza's demilitarisation as part of the second phase of the ceasefire deal agreed by Hamas and Israel in October.
The official said Hamas told regional mediators that it would not engage in talks on the second phase until Israel fully implemented the terms of the first phase.
Israel has said it will not move forward without progress on Hamas's disarmament.
A Hamas delegation in Cairo was due t..

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Trump warns ships that breach US blockade of Iranian ports will be ‘immediately eliminated’

The US has begun a blockade of all ships entering and exiting Iranian ports after warning “all vessels” were at risk of diversion and capture.
Shortly after the blockade began at 2pm UTC, US president Donald Trump said on Truth Social: “If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED.”
US ⁠Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday it would enforce a blockade in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea east of the Strait of Hormuz that would apply to all vessels, regardless of flag.
In a note to seafarers, they said that any vessel entering or departing the blockaded area without authorisation would be “subject to interception, diversion and capture”.
“The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to ⁠or from non-Iranian destinations,” it said.
They added that the blockade would encompass “the entirety of the Iranian coastline to include but not limited to ports and oil terminals”.
open image in galleryIran ha..

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The inside story of how a visit by Pope Francis helped lead to the crushing defeat of Viktor Orban

People poring over the crushing defeat of Viktor Orban’s government in Hungary – the most right wing in Europe – will draw the conclusions that his antipathy to the EU, closeness to Vladimir Putin, failure to address younger voters and a sense of political corruption were at the heart of his downfall.
Yet while this may be the case, all these factors were also true about Orban when he won an equally crushing victory in the 2022 election, a result which seemed to leave him untouchable.
In fact, he was arguably in a politically stronger position this time than he was in 2022, with his friend Donald Trump in the White House rather than a political enemy in Joe Biden.
He even had the US vice president JD Vance doing a last-minute cheerleading act at a rally on the eve of the poll, although polls suggest this may have hurt rather than helped.
What changed in the four years since that win, which left the opposition to his Fidesz party almost wiped out?
The truth is that the unravelling beg..