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Peter Magyar, a pro-EU conservative, was sworn in as Hungary’s new prime minister Saturday, closing the chapter on the 16-year rule of his nationalist predecessor, Viktor Orban.The former government insider turned critic whose Tisza party resoundingly won April 12 legislative elections, vowed he would bring in “regime change”.That was underlined by the speaker of the new parliament ordering the EU flag be reinstalled on the building, after a 12-year absence under Orban, just ahead of Magyar taking his oath of office in the legislature.The European Union has been effusive in its welcome of Magyar, seeing his arrival as Hungary’s leader as drawing a line under years of hostility and obstructionism from Budapest.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on X said his premiership held “the hope and promise of renewal in these challenging times”.Magyar’s inauguration drew tens of thousands of people to giant screens around the parliament, where they waved Hungarian and EU flags to watch the ceremony and then party into the night.Inside the parliament, Magyar vowed: “I will not rule over Hungary; I will serve my country.”He afterwards addressed his supporters outside, emphasising that the country “belongs to everyone… and that together we will rebuild Hungary”.”I’m glad that we could resolve peacefully and didn’t have to rise up against the oppressive power,” said one supporter, 25-year-old Zoltan Markus.”We’re looking forward with hope in our hearts to what comes next, as well as to the complete arrest of the former government,” he added.Magyar, 45, has pledged that one of his government’s first steps would be to create an independent office to investigate corruption over the past 20 years and recover public assets from those who “illegally acquired” them.He also wants to undo changes introduced under Orban — who fostered close ties with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — that eroded the judiciary, media, universities and other institutions.His Tisza party won 141 of parliament’s 199 seats, a comfortable two-thirds majority with the power to amend the constitution and push through key reforms.Among Magyar’s most urgent priorities is unlocking billions of euros in EU funds frozen by Brussels over rule-of-law concerns.Hungary faces a stagnating economy and deteriorating public services — problems analysts say require deep structural reform.”There is a lot of patience and goodwill toward the new government, but the expectations are through the roof and need to be met in the short-term as well,” said Andrea Virag, strategy director at the liberal Republikon Institute think tank.In his inaugural speech, Magyar said many state institutions had “squandered” public trust, reiterating an earlier call for President Tamas Sulyok and other Orban allies to resign by the end of the month.Orban said last month that he would not take up his seat in parliament for the first time since Hungary’s transition to democracy in 1990.He also skipped Saturday’s ceremony, breaking with decades of tradition.The 62-year-old, who openly championed “illiberal democracy” and curtailed rights, said he would instead focus on the “reorganisation of the national camp”.The new cohort of lawmakers on Saturday elected hotelier Agnes Forsthoffer as speaker — one of several women tapped for senior roles by Tisza, which seeks to offer broader representation than Orban’s coalition.History teacher Krisztian Koszegi was elected Hungary’s first-ever Roma deputy speaker.Other nominations included lawyer Vilmos Katai-Nemeth as social and family affairs minister, who would be the country’s first visually impaired cabinet member.Celebrations in and around parliament were heavy with symbolism, featuring flags and music highlighting Hungary’s EU membership, its Roma minority and ethnic Hungarians living in neighbouring countries. Related Story Source link
South Korea’s Im Sung-jae fired a two-under par 69 to seize a one-stroke lead over England’s Tommy Fleetwood after Friday’s second round of the PGA Truist Championship.Im birdied the par-five 10th and 15th holes and answered a bogey at the 12th hole with a birdie at 14 to stand on nine-under 133 after 36 holes at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.”I’m very happy I’m leading,” Im said. “I didn’t putt very well, but I’m happy with where I’m at.”I’m driving the ball very well. I’m keeping it in the fairways, so it makes it easier for me to hit my second shots on the green. I know this course very well, so I’m taking advantage of that.”Fleetwood fired a 67 to finish one adrift with England’s Alex Fitzpatrick and American Justin Thomas sharing third on 135 after each fired 68.Rory McIlroy, coming off a triumph in last month’s Masters, shot 67 despite a bogey at 18 to join a pack in eighth on 137 that included Americans Rickie Fowler, who fired a 63, and Matt McCarty, the first-round leader.”Would have been nice not to make that bogey at the last,” McIlroy said. “But overall it was a good day’s work and puts me right into the thick of things going into the weekend.”Im, a 2020 Masters runner-up, seeks his third PGA Tour title after the 2000 Honda Classic and 2021 Shriners Children’s Open.The 28-year-old Asian star had struggled with a wrist injury but said he was “100%” this week.Fleetwood sank a 13-foot birdie putt at 14 and made a five-footer for birdie at the par-three 17th to grab second.”Definitely didn’t have my rhythm, got ahead of a few shots, but I didn’t hit it in any terrible spots and I scored very well,” Fleetwood said.”I’ve definitely hit enough good shots. Today I didn’t quite have it, but still managed to get a good score out of it. I holed out well and did a lot of other things well.”McCarty, who fired a 63 on Thursday, shot 74 with three bogeys and a double bogey.World number two McIlroy, who had played only the Masters over a seven-week span, found his form as he charged into the hunt for his fifth victory at Quail Hollow.The Northern Ireland star sank a 17-foot birdie putt at par-five 11th, made an 13-foot birdie putt at 11 and dropped his approach inside three feet then tapped in for birdie at the par-three 13th.McIlroy reached the green in two and tapped in for birdie at the par-five 15th then made an 11-foot birdie putt at 16 to pull within three of the lead before finding fairway and greenside bunkers at 18 to set up a bogey.A day earlier he sank a 15-foot birdie putt at 18 after 17 pars.”I still feel like I left a couple out there,” McIlroy said. “It was an improvement and if I can keep seeing improvements as the week goes on, that’s a good thing.”There’s maybe a little rust, but it’s more like getting a (scorecard) in your hand and getting comfortable hitting certain shots. Definitely felt a little more comfortable today, drove it in the fairway a little bit more and was able to take advantage of that and make some more birdies.”American Chandler Blanchet aced the 188-yard, par-three 17th hole. Source link
Indonesian authorities have detained more than 300 foreign nationals this week for allegedly running an online gambling ring in the capital Jakarta, police said Saturday.Gambling is illegal in the archipelago, with punishments extended to bookmakers, punters and those who promote gambling content online.Police raided a building in Jakarta on Thursday, where they found and detained 321 foreigners and seized phones, passports, laptops and computers.The majority of those detained, 228 people, were Vietnamese nationals. The group also included 57 from China, 11 from Laos, five from Thailand and three each from Cambodia and Malaysia, police official Wira Satya Triputra told a news conference.Some 275 people face charges of gambling and money laundering, Wira said, adding that authorities were still investigating the rest.”We caught the perpetrators red-handed, meaning they were conducting an online gambling operation,” he said.Preliminary investigations suggested that the ring, which started operations about two months ago, targeted victims outside Indonesia, Wira said, without specifying where.Police have previously said that many scammers had moved operations to Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries following a crackdown in China.Elsewhere in Indonesia this week, immigration authorities raided an apartment building in Batam, in Riau Islands province, arresting 210 foreigners suspected of running an investment scam.In February, Police raided two villas on the resort island of Bali and arrested 39 Indian nationals for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation.Turnover linked to online gambling reached more than 280tn rupiah (about $16bn) last year, official data showed, with more than 12mn Indonesians estimated to be engaged in the illicit activity. Related Story Source link
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc remains driven by the competitive nature of cricket and hopes to extend his 16-year international career for a few more years, he said on Saturday, keeping the door open for a potential appearance at the 2027 World Cup.The 36-year-old left-armer, Australia’s third-highest wicket-taker with 759 across formats – behind only Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath – retired from Twenty20 internationals in September to prolong his career in tests and 50-over cricket.The next ODI World Cup is scheduled to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October-November 2027.”I’m pretty competitive, so I just enjoy that aspect of cricket,” Starc told reporters. “For Australia, I get to play with some of my best mates. I enjoy the hard work, but I also enjoy competing, and it’s still fun.”Starc, who has been managing elbow and shoulder niggles, said his body was holding up well despite the demands of international cricket.”There’s always something going on. I’ve had a bit of a niggle with my elbow and shoulder, which is still being managed, but there’s probably a little less impact in T20 cricket,” he said.”I’m still going okay after 16 years and hopefully there are a couple more left.”Starc, who made his Australia debut in 2010, is currently playing for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, in which they sit eighth in the 10-team table.He was named player of the series in Australia’s recent 4-1 Ashes victory over England.”It’s (2027 World Cup) a long way down the road, but I’ll hopefully be there. The World Cup is always a goal for every cricketer,” he added.”I’ve stepped away from T20 internationals, but I’m still enjoying my cricket. I don’t set timelines – I just see where the body is and where the cricket is.” Related Story Source link
Australian far-right populist party Pauline Hanson’s One Nation won its first seat in the country’s House of Representatives in a by-election Saturday, a preliminary vote count showed. The result is in line with a surge of electoral support for far-right populist parties globally. Britain’s ruling Labour party this week suffered a widespread loss of seats at council elections. David Farley, a former agribusiness executive, won the rural seat of Farrer, some 550km (340 miles) south of Sydney and 320km (200 miles) north of Melbourne, for the anti-immigration party with 59.3% of the vote, defeating the incumbent centre-right Liberal Party, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.One Nation’s first preference vote in the by-election was 42%, the ABC said, compared to the 6.6% first-preference vote it got at a federal election last May.”We’re like a mason with a chisel and we’re carving letters into Australia’s democracy,” Farley said at a televised election event. “One Nation has reached the end of its beginning.”The result is significant in that it marks the first time One Nation has won a lower-house seat since Hanson formed the party 30 years ago.But it does not affect the parliamentary majority of the ruling Labor Party, which holds 94 of 150 lower-house seats. The seat was left vacant when Liberals leader Sussan Ley resigned in February.The Labor Party did not run a candidate in the contest for the seat that has been held by the opposition conservatives since it was formed more than half a century ago.Party leader Pauline Hanson, a senator, standing beside Farley, said the result was “a win for Farrer but a bigger win for the nation”.She knew her party was favoured to win but when the first television station projected victory “I actually got a tear in my eye”, she said.”You really don’t understand the journey I’ve been on,” she added.Liberal leader Angus Taylor said at another televised event that the by-election was “always going to be a mountain to climb … and we have to take away some hard lessons from this”.Taylor said his party would focus on immigration rates. “For too long we have been a party of convenience, not of conviction, and that must change,” he added. Related Story Source link
Mohammad Abbas claimed five wickets to restrict Bangladesh to 413 before two debutant batsmen combined to put Pakistan in a strong position in the first Test Saturday.Opener Azan Awais hit an unbeaten 85 and Abdullah Fazal, also playing in his first Test, was 37 not out as Pakistan reached 179-1 at stumps on the second day in Dhaka.The visitors trail Bangladesh by 234 runs but veteran Pakistan seamer Abbas was the standout performer, claiming three wickets in the morning session after the home side resumed at 301-4.Abbas took two more wickets after lunch and finished with figures of 5-92 from 34 overs, the sixth five-wicket haul of his career.Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto laid a strong platform on the first day with 101. Mushfiqur Rahim, who was 48 not out overnight, then went on to make a gritty 71 off 179 balls,Mushfiqur celebrated his 39th birthday by equalling Tamim Iqbal’s record of 42 innings of 50 or more for Bangladesh in Test cricket.Bangladesh began day two well before 36-year-old Abbas dismantled their innings with disciplined bowling.Litton Das fell for 33 while attempting a pull shot, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz was out for 10 one ball after hitting a six.Taijul Islam edged a bouncer from Abbas for 17 before Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled Mushfiqur in the first over after lunch.Taskin Ahmed made a late cameo of 28 before falling to Afridi, who finished with 3-113.Senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin lamented that Bangladesh was unable to post a bigger score and pinpointed slips catching as an area of concern after two chances were dropped.”I think if we could have scored another 50-60 runs it would have been much better for us,” he said.”Our slip catching needs a lot of improvement. It is a specialised area and we will talk about how to improve further.”Pakistan began their innings strongly, with Imam-ul-Haq and Azan adding 106 for the opening wicket before Mehidy trapped Imam lbw for 45.Imam praised Abbas and the two new batsmen.”Abbas bowled very well, everybody knows how good he is,” Imam said.”The way Azan batted, taking and absorbing all the pressure, the kid really held his composure. I am very happy to see both of them playing so well,” he said.BRIEF SCORES: Pakistan 179 for 1 (Awais 85*, Imam 45, Mehidy 1-37) trail Bangladesh 413 (Shanto 101, Mominul 91, Mushfiqur 71, Abbas 5-92) by 234 runs. Related Story Source link
Indonesian rescuers retrieved Saturday the body of one of three hikers killed in a volcanic eruption in a seismically active no-go zone, a rescue official said.Mount Dukono on Halmahera island erupted on Friday, sending an ash cloud 10km (6 miles) into the sky, with no towns or villages near enough to face any immediate threat.The eruption killed two hikers from Singapore and one from Indonesia, local police chief Erlichson Pasaribu said on Friday.Seventeen other climbers, including seven Singaporeans, had been brought down safely.Rescuers combing the area around the edge of the volcano’s crater found a woman’s body, local search and rescue agency head Iwan Ramdani said, without specifying her nationality.”The joint search and rescue team… found the dead victim at 2:30pm (0530 GMT) along with her backpack,” Iwan said in a statement.The body was transported to a local hospital for identification, he added.Images shared by the rescue agency showed a team carrying a black body bag on a makeshift stretcher down the mountain.The search for the remaining victims has been suspended due to rains and volcanic ash and will resume on Sunday, Iwan said.The volcano erupted again several times Saturday, once spewing an ash column about three kilometres (1.8 miles) high, according to the national Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.Preliminary information suggested the two Singaporeans’ bodies were about 20-30m (65-100 feet) from the rim of the crater, national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.Singaporean media quoted the foreign ministry saying it was working with the embassy in Jakarta to provide assistance to affected citizens and families.Dukono, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, has been on level two of the country’s four-tiered alert system since 2008.Authorities have imposed a 4km (2.5-mile) exclusion zone around the crater since December 2024, according Lana Saria, the head of the government’s Geology Agency.The police’s Erlichson said on Friday that the hikers had ignored social media appeals and warning signs put up at the entrance of the trail to stay away.Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide.The Southeast Asian country has nearly 130 active volcanoes. Related Story Source link
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer named former premier Gordon Brown as his envoy on global finance Saturday, turning to a man credited with shoring up banks during the financial crisis to bolster his support after a crushing local elections defeat. Starmer is on the back foot after his Labour Party recorded the worst losses of a governing party in municipal polls since 1995, prompting a growing number of his own lawmakers to call on him to quit.Aiming to reset his leadership and win back party support, Starmer’s office announced the appointment of two Labour grandees, Brown, 75, and Harriet Harman, also 75, to his team as advisers.Brown will seek to drive new investment and hone relations with the European Union, in a bid to boost economic performance and win back votes, while Harman will focus on tackling misogyny and violence against women and girls, creating economic opportunities.Amid fresh calls for him to resign Saturday from several of his own lawmakers, as the extent of the defeat emerged, Starmer repeated: “I’m not going to walk away from this.”He said he will respond to the message from voters by seeking to convince them their lives will improve, adding that his new hires, Brown and Harman, were part of the plan.”They’re vital to how we strengthen our country and take it forward and provide the opportunities that give people that hope for a better future,” he said.Brown, 75, will join as an adviser on global finance and cooperation, while former Labour deputy leader Harman, 75, will become the prime minister’s adviser on women and girls.Brown’s task will be to develop new international finance partnerships that can support defence and security investment, including measures that underpin Britain’s relationship with the European Union, a statement said.As Tony Blair’s finance minister, Brown was a key architect of the New Labour project which won the party three consecutive general elections from 1997.Serving as prime minister himself from 2007-2010, Brown was instrumental in nationalising major banks and stabilising the financial system during the global financial crisis.Just under two years after a Labour landslide national election victory, voters have turned against Starmer.Labour losses stood at 1,425 seats as the final votes were counted on Saturday, a bigger defeat than the 1,330 seats lost by former Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party in 2019. May quit three weeks after that result. Against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis compounded by conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, Starmer’s government has been beset by policy U-turns, a rotating cast of advisers and scandal over the appointment of another Blair-era veteran, Peter Mandelson, as Britain’s ambassador to the United States.”We made unnecessary mistakes,” Starmer said on Saturday, before insisting that the right thing now was to “rebuild and show the path forward”. While an immediate challenge to Starmer’s leadership does not look likely, there are growing calls for him to resign.More than 20 lawmakers publicly and privately have called on him to set out a timetable for his departure, with former minister Catherine West joining the fray on Saturday.”His approach is not cutting through, and the results over the past 48 hours are nothing short of disastrous,” West said of Starmer on X.”I know I speak for more Labour people than just myself in wanting him to step aside as our Leader.”Another Labour lawmaker, Clive Betts, told BBC Radio Saturday that he wanted Starmer to step down “in the not too distant future”. Related Story Source link
“Nuclear energy is at the intersection of energy demands, technological innovation, and the evolving security landscape. This creates a huge opportunity,” says Shota Kamishima, Senior Coordination…
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday released dozens of previously classified files on alleged UFO sightings and alien life to provide what they called “unprecedented transparency” to the American people. The disclosure of the long-sought documents and photos of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” will be followed by future releases as more materials are declassified, the US Defense Department said in a statement.Trump was the latest US president to release reports on UFOs that date back to the 1940s and were first disclosed in the late 1970s. Experts said the batch of around 160 files released on Friday contained new videos of known sightings but gave no conclusive evidence of extraterrestrial life. The files include a 1947 report of “flying discs” as well as a photo of “unidentified phenomena” taken from the moon’s surface during the Apollo 12 lunar mission in 1969 and a transcript of the Apollo 17 crew describing unidentified objects seen from the moon in 1972.’BRIGHT PARTICLES’ DURING APOLLO 17Apollo 17 mission pilot Ronald Evans reported “a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver,” based on the transcript.”Roger. Understand,” mission control replied.”These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” Hegseth said in a statement.The records release is likely to fuel fresh debate over government secrecy and the possible existence of life in the cosmos.”Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Trump said in a statement. “Have fun and enjoy!”The move was welcomed by US Representatives Tim Burchett and Anna Paulina Luna, both proponents of declassifying UFO files. Luna said an additional tranche of material was expected in around 30 days.”The files show that UAP are not simply a matter of speculation or public curiosity,” Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb said in an email to Reuters. “The government has collected records.”The images from Apollo 12 and 17 were fascinating but could be the result of asteroid impacts on the lunar surface, Loeb said. He added that more interesting material was likely still to come but would take longer to declassify.DISTRACTION FROM POLITICAL PROBLEMS?Some critics cast the UFO disclosures as a distraction from Trump’s political woes, including the unpopular US military campaign against Iran and public pressure to release further files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “I really don’t care about the UFO files. I just don’t. I’m so sick of the ‘look at the shiny object’ propaganda,” former Republican US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X.UAP investigator Mick West said the administration of former President Joe Biden disclosed much of the same information as Friday’s release. West, who produces software to analyze UAP videos, said the files provided no new evidence on the possible existence of alien life.”They’re evidence of us not being able to identify a small white dot that’s a long distance away,” said the Sacramento, California-based analyst, adding that shapes in UAP videos were often camera lens diffraction from bright light. Related Story Source link