World

Rubio to visit Hungary and Slovakia after Trump backs Orbán, amid EU tensions U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Hungary and Slovakia next week after President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of April elections, the State Department said, setting up a high-profile diplomatic swing as transatlantic tensions flare. Rubio will represent the United States at the Munich Security Conference before heading to Budapest and Bratislava. He is stepping in for Vice President JD…

Irish man detained by ICE says he fears for his life in Texas facility, as Irish politicians urge action An Irish man who has lived in the United States for nearly two decades says he is in fear for his life after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and transferred to a detention center in Texas, almost 4,000 kilometers from his home in Boston. Seamus Culleton, originally from Glenmore in Co Kilkenny, was taken into custody by ICE agents in September and later moved to a facility in El Paso, Texas, he…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will chair a cabinet meeting after weathering fresh calls from within Labour to resign, as his top ministers moved quickly to close ranks and project stability at the heart of government. The routine session follows a day of turbulence set off when Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar urged Starmer to step down over the fallout from the Peter Mandelson controversy. Sarwar is the most senior Labour figure to demand the prime minister’s resignation, warning the “distraction” from Downing…

Analysis: EU audit warning exposes risks at the heart of planned CAP overhaul The European Court of Auditors has fired an early warning shot over the European Commission’s plan to fold agricultural policy into a wider, performance-driven budget in the next Multiannual Financial Framework, saying the redesign could delay farm payments, heighten uncertainty and weaken the “common” in the Common Agricultural Policy. The critique goes to the core of how the EU intends to fund farming, rural development and cohesion from 2028 to…

King Charles voices ‘profound concern’ as police assess claims Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared UK trade files with Jeffrey Epstein London — King Charles has signaled “profound concern” over allegations about his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct and said he would “stand ready to support” police if approached, Buckingham Palace said Monday, as Thames Valley Police confirmed it is assessing claims the former prince shared confidential trade reports with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The palace said the…

IOM: 53 dead or missing after migrant boat capsizes off Libya; two women survive Fifty-three migrants, including two babies, are dead or missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off Libya’s northwest coast, the International Organization for Migration said. The boat departed from Zawiya on Thursday and overturned off nearby Zuwara on Friday, according to the IOM, citing accounts from the two survivors. Both are Nigerian women rescued by Libyan authorities during a search-and-rescue operation, the agency said.…

Irish man detained by ICE in Texas pleads for help, says he fears for his life An Irish man who has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years says he fears for his life after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and transferred to a facility in El Paso, Texas, almost 4,000 kilometers from his home in Boston. Seamus Culleton, originally from Glenmore, Co Kilkenny, was arrested by ICE agents last September and taken into immigration detention, as first reported by the Irish Times. Speaking from the…

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls to step down as his team reels from the fallout of appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S., a move that has boomeranged amid disclosures about Mandelson’s ties to convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here is how a resignation or a Labour leadership challenge would unfold — and what it would take to replace a sitting prime minister. What happens if Starmer resigns? If Starmer quits, the Labour Party would immediately begin a leadership contest to choose his…

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison after convicting him under the city’s national security law, drawing swift condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union and Western governments concerned over the future of press freedom in the territory. Lai, 78, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty in December on two counts of foreign collusion under the sweeping security legislation imposed by Beijing in 2020, as well as one count…

Starmer’s 18-month slide: From landslide to crisis as Mandelson fallout empties No. 10 Keir Starmer marched Labour back into Downing Street in July 2024 with a commanding majority and a promise of sober, competent government. Eighteen months later, the prime minister is fighting for authority after his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and communications chief, Tim Allan, resigned in the wake of a deepening Peter Mandelson scandal. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar urged him to quit, saying the “distraction needs to end and…