Top World News
Zebras, wealth and power: Hungary’s election tests Orbán’s grip on power
Apr 11, 2026 - World 
Corruption scandals and a surging opposition have turned the vote into the biggest test yet for the long-serving populist leaderThe drone footage showed a sprawling residence in northern Hungary, complete with manicured gardens, a swimming pool and an underground garage. But it was what came next that captured much of the country’s imagination: zebras darting across the countryside. Continue reading...
The war over Omagh’s gold: the £21bn mine plan tearing a community apart
Apr 11, 2026 - World 
On Monday, a public inquiry will reopen, nine years after the plan was proposed and a toxic local battle beganWhen Fidelma O’Kane retired more than a decade ago from her career as a social worker and lecturer, she thought she would be “travelling and having a glass of wine and eating chocolate and reading books” while based in the quiet, hilly corner of rural County Tyrone where she has lived almost all her life.It didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, an idle remark from a neighbour would set O’Kane on a path that would become an all-consuming mission. A mining company, the neighbour told her, was planning to drill for long-rumoured reserves of gold in the Sperrins, the low peatland mountain range in Northern Ireland where O’Kane’s family has lived for generations. Continue reading...
SUVs are making Britain’s potholes worse, say scientists
Apr 11, 2026 - World 
Engineers link reduced lifespan of roads to shift to heavier cars, some bought to navigate damaged surfacesDrivers who choose SUVs are compounding the pothole problem, experts have warned, as research showed hundreds of thousands of people bought bigger cars to navigate damaged roads.Scientists said the cumulative effect of increasing numbers of heavier vehicles was a contributory factor in Britain’s potholes getting worse. Continue reading...
‘Just the beginning’: Artemis II crew splashes down after record-breaking moon flyby
Apr 11, 2026 - World 
The four astronauts touched down on Earth off the coast of California, concluding historic 10-day missionArtemis II splashdown! – in picturesThe Artemis II, and the four astronauts aboard the Orion space capsule, splashed down into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday night, with all four astronauts in good health.“53 years ago, humanity left the moon. This time we return to stay. Let us finish what they started. Let us focus on what was left undone. Let us not go to plant flags and leave, but to stay with firmness in our purpose, with gratitude for the hands who built the machines and with love for the ones that we carry with us,” Nasa’s associate administrator Amit Kshatriya said at the late-night press conference after the astronauts landed. Continue reading...
New Zealand’s North Island braces for Cyclone Vaianu with thousands ordered to evacuate
Apr 11, 2026 - World 
Vaianu, forecast to bring heavy rain and winds of up to 130 kmh (80 mph), is expected to hit on SundayThousands of New Zealanders were ordered to evacuate their homes on Saturday as the country’s North Island braced for Cyclone Vaianu, which authorities warned could cause coastal flooding and landslides.Vaianu, forecast to bring heavy rain and winds of up to 130 km/h (80 mp/h), was expected to hit on Sunday, then pass west of the remote Chatham Islands on Monday, the country’s weather forecaster said. Continue reading...
