Viktor Orban Accuses Ukraine of Disrupting Energy Supplies

BUDAPEST/KYIV/DUBLIN — Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraine on Wednesday of preparing to disrupt Hungary’s energy system and ordered soldiers and equipment deployed to protect critical infrastructure, escalating a dispute over a shutdown of the Druzhba oil pipeline that has choked Russian crude deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia. Orban, speaking in a video posted to his Facebook page, said the Druzhba outage was for “political, not technical, reasons,” and cited intelligence reports pointing to possible…

African Nations on UN Security Council Condemn Sudan Aid Convoy Attack, Call for Ramadan Ceasefire

A3 Group Condemns Attacks on Humanitarian Assets in Sudan This article examines the recent condemnation by the A3 group of African members of the United Nations Security Council concerning attacks on humanitarian efforts in Sudan. The urgency of the statement reflects the dire humanitarian crisis facing the country. The A3 group consists of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, and Somalia. The joint statement was delivered by Somalia’s Permanent Representative to the UN. Attacks on humanitarian assets…

Search at Prince Andrew’s former residence comes to an end

British police have concluded searches at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home in southeast England after arresting the former prince last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office, part of an investigation into his ties with the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “Officers have now left the location we have been searching in Berkshire. This concludes the search activity that commenced following our arrest of a man in his sixties from Norfolk on Thursday,” Thames Valley Police’s Assistant Chief Constable…

Sri Lanka ex-spy chief arrested in probe of 2019 Easter attacks

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan police have arrested the country’s former intelligence chief, retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay, in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, authorities said. Police said Sallay, the former head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), was taken into custody at dawn in a suburb of Colombo in the most high-profile arrest to date in the long-running probe. “He was arrested for conspiracy and aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday attacks,” an…

Time will judge whether Trump’s unity-and-strength message truly resonates

Donald Trump’s State of the Union address ran long but felt tightly controlled, the work of a president who understands television and the power of staging. It was a carefully sequenced production that blended valor, grievance and a handful of policy points into a split-screen test of political identities in an election year. The speech returned Trump to familiar ground: the economy, tariffs, immigration and cultural combat. In front of a silent Democratic caucus and a Supreme Court he rebuked from a few feet away, the…

Trump touts ‘golden age’ in State of the Union amid economic pessimism

President Donald Trump proclaimed a “golden age of America” in his State of the Union address, using a record-length speech to cast his stewardship as a run of uninterrupted victories even as polls show sagging approval and voter frustration over the cost of living ahead of November’s midterm elections. Heeding warnings from Republicans anxious about losing control of Congress, Trump centered the first hour on the economy, asserting he had slowed inflation, lifted the stock market to record highs, signed sweeping tax cuts…

Police wrap up search at Prince Andrew’s former residence

Police conclude search at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home after arrest linked to Epstein probe British police have concluded searches at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home in southeast England following his arrest last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office, part of an ongoing investigation into his ties with the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Thames Valley Police said officers had wrapped up activity in Berkshire that began after the arrest on Thursday. “Officers have now left the location…

Deadly Brazil downpours kill 25, dozens still unaccounted for

At least 25 people are dead and 43 remain missing after torrential rains triggered destructive floods and landslides in southeastern Brazil, where a river burst its banks and a wall of mud swept through neighborhoods overnight, authorities said Tuesday. The state of Minas Gerais bore the brunt of the disaster, with the municipality of Juiz de Fora reporting 18 deaths and 40 missing, and the nearby city of Ubá confirming seven deaths and three missing. Videos and images shared by the fire brigade showed streets turned into…

Pressure Mounts on Russia to Agree to a Ceasefire

As it happened: Russia urged to agree to ceasefire Calls mounted for Russia to agree to a ceasefire, with the focus on halting hostilities long enough to protect civilians and open safe channels for humanitarian relief. Appeals for a pause in fighting underscored the immediate need to reduce risk to populations caught near front lines and to create space for diplomacy. Across the day’s developments, the thrust of the message was consistent: a ceasefire—temporary or longer-term—would be a practical step to de-escalate, curb…

UN Secretary-General denounces Ukraine war as a stain on global conscience

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine with an urgent appeal for an “immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire,” calling the war “a stain on our collective conscience” and warning of escalating global risks if the fighting continues. Speaking at a United Nations Security Council session convened to commemorate the anniversary, Guterres said “the cascading consequences of this blatant violation of international law” have rippled far beyond…