Tol editor David Horovitz discusses Holocaust Remembrance Day, Iranian negotiations, talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, and a landslide victory for new Hungarian PM
The post Daily Briefing April 14 – Lebanon and Israel get talking, with shared goal to disarm Hezbollah appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Spanish, Polish, French and EU leaders hail Peter Magyar's win as boon to European unity; Herzog, Sa'ar, Lapid all congratulate Magyar, but pro-Orban Netanyahu stays mum
The post European leaders fete Hungarian opposition’s victory over Orban as win for democracy appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Peter Magyar's pro-EU Tisza party heads for sweeping win that could reshape European dynamics and weaken ties with Putin, Trump and Netanyahu
The post After 16 years in power, Hungary’s Orban concedes defeat to center-right opposition appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conceded defeat Sunday in the country’s parliamentary election, calling the result "clear" and "painful" as partial vote counts showed a decisive win for opposition leader Péter Magyar.
Magyar said Orbán phoned him to concede, according to a post on social media.
With roughly 53% of votes counted, projections showed Magyar’s Tisza party on track for a landslide victory that could give it a two-thirds parliamentary supermajority.
The result could mark a dramatic political shift in Hungary, where Orbán has led the country for more than a decade.
Orbán, a close ally of President Donald Trump, had received strong backing from the White House in the final days of the campaign.
RUBIO SEALS CIVIL NUCLEAR COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH HUNGARY
Days before the election, Trump reiterated his support for Orbán in a post on Truth Social.
"My Administration stands ready to use the full economic might of the United States to strengthen Hungary’s Economy, as we have done for our great allies in the past, if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian People ever need it," Trump said. "We are excited to invest in the future prosperity that will be generated by Orbán’s continued leadership!"
Trailing in opinion polls ahead of the vote, Orbán faced his most serious electoral challenge since 2010, with surveys showing Magyar’s Tisza party holding a significant lead.
TRUMP HAILS VANCE AND RUBIO AS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ DUO: HAMMER AND VELVET GLOVE
Orbán, who has led Hungary for 16 years, has drawn scrutiny from the European Union over his positions on migration, Russia’s war against Ukraine and his government’s policies, while maintaining strong support among many rural and older voters.
His strained relationship with the European Union stems in part from his stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine, his firm support of Israel and his hardline position on migration, which has led to financial penalties from the bloc.
During Orbán’s time in power, Hungary’s economy has grown relatively quickly for an EU country, though inflation has remained elevated and business sentiment has been negative in recent years.
Before the vote, Orbán had expressed confidence in his campaign, calling it "a great national moment on our side" and telling reporters, "I’m here to win."
Magyar, meanwhile, framed the election as a turning point for the country’s future, warning that Hungary’s direction in recent years had drifted from its Western alliances.
"I think this really will be a referendum on our country’s place in the world," Magyar said.
Fox News Digital's Eric Mack and Simon Constable contributed to this report.
The U.S. and Europe are watching closely as Hungarians turned out in record numbers to vote Sunday in a high-stakes election that sets up Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, supported by President Donald Trump, against his former political ally, Péter Magyar.
Trailing in the opinion polls, Orbán received a major boost earlier this week when Vice President JD Vance visited the country, making clear what the administration’s position was on the importance of having a pro-U.S. candidate in the heart of Europe, as so many of its continental allies have proven lackluster, most notably for a lack of help in the war against Iran.
In his remarks, Vance made clear why he was there. "The reason why we're doing it is because we thought there was so much garbage happening against Viktor in this election that we had to show that there are actually a lot of people and a lot of friends across the world who recognize that Viktor and his government are doing a good job, and they're important partners for peace," he said at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, a private university in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. "That's why we're here, but ultimately the Hungarian people are going to be sovereigns because that's how it should be."
TRUMP CALLS INTO VANCE-ORBAN HUNGARY EVENT: 'MY KIND OF PEOPLE'
Following Vance’s return to the U.S., Trump weighed in on Truth Social Friday: "My Administration stands ready to use the full economic might of the United States to strengthen Hungary’s Economy, as we have done for our great allies in the past, if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian People ever need it. We are excited to invest in the future prosperity that will be generated by Orbán’s continued leadership!"
Beloved by many older and more rural Hungarians and reviled by detractors, Orbán has emerged as the country’s most consequential leader since its transition to democracy at the end of the Cold War. Still, the election campaign has become intense.
Orbán’s strained relationship with the European Union comes from his positioning on Russia’s war against Ukraine, his country’s firm support of Israel and his hard stance on not accepting migrants, which led to EU financial sanctions for his refusal to open the country's border to foreigners.
During the 16-year Orbán government, the Hungarian economy has grown relatively quickly for an EU country. The country’s GDP per capita (what the average person earns annually) rose to nearly $17,000 last year, up from approximately $12,000 in 2014, according to Trading Economics data. However, it’s not all good. Inflation has recently been relatively high at an annual rate of 4.9%, and business sentiment has been consistently negative since August 2022.
TRUMP SAYS HUNGARY'S BORDER STANCE KEEPS CRIME DOWN, SAYS EUROPE 'FLOODING' WITH MIGRANTS
The polls shows Magyar’s Tisza party with 50% of the vote and Orbán’s Fidesz party behind at 39% as of April 9, according to Politico. Magyar now poses the largest electoral threat to Orbán since 2010.
"The polls are going well for the opposition," Daniel Wood, portfolio manager at William Blair Investment Management, told Fox News Digital. "If the opposition wins, there’s a chance that the EU unlocks the frozen funds, which are around 7% of the GDP."
Speaking to reporters outside a polling station Sunday, Orbán, 62, said the campaign had been "a great national moment on our side" and thanked activists and supporters for their work. "I’m here to win," the Associated Press reported.
In an interview earlier in the week, Magyar complained the EU’s longest-serving leader has led the country on a "180-degree turn" in recent years, endangering its Western orientation while cozying up to Moscow. Yet despite that drift, "Hungarians still see that Hungary’s peace and development are guaranteed by membership of the European Union and NATO," Magyar said. "I think this really will be a referendum on our country’s place in the world," he told the Associated Press.
Results are expected later Sunday afternoon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former PM praises former Finance Ministry head Keren Terner and ex-Communications Ministry chief Liran Avisar Ben-Horin, rejects Likud accusations of terrorist affiliation
The post Bennett names 2 female ex-senior officials as 1st members of party’s electoral slate appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Orban, in power since 2010, faces voter discontent over stagnant economy; rival Magyar ahead in polls, but outcome up in the air; Israeli diplomat endorses Orban on X, then deletes post
The post Hungarians vote in landmark election closely watched by EU, Russia, US, Israel appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Using endorsements to reward loyalty, US president has shattered tradition of avoiding overt involvement in politics of other nations; Hungary's vote may show he has less sway than before
The post Trump likes to back winners. Hungary’s upcoming election will test his clout appeared first on The Times of Israel.
President Donald Trump cast his support behind Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) once again, following a previous endorsement, and attacked Graham's opponent, businessman Mark Lynch, as being a "LUNATIC."
The post Trump Throws Support Behind Lindsey Graham, Attacks Graham Challenger Mark Lynch appeared first on Breitbart.
On Friday, on MS NOW's "Chris Jansing Reports," former Obama Administration Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro claimed a "rebellion" among Republican voters could help Democrats win in Texas and Ohio in the midterms.
The post Julian Castro: GOP’s Trump ‘Rebellion’ Putting Texas, Ohio in Play for Dems appeared first on Breitbart.
KAOHSIUNG – Taiwan: For the first time in nearly a decade, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) supreme leader and the head of the communist party, Xi Jinping, held a meeting with the chairperson of Taiwan’s main opposition party. Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (also known as the Kuomintang, KMT), met Xi in Beijing on Friday.
Before their closed-door meeting the pair posed for pictures. Xi said that Taiwan is historically a part of China and remains an "inalienable" and "inseparable" part of Chinese territory. He said the "rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" was a "broader trend" that will not change. China’s state-controlled media and government officials often repeat these party lines, even though, after its establishment in 1949, the communist regime has not ruled Taiwan for a single day.
The two met in their capacities as heads of their respective political parties. China refuses to speak to the democratically elected government of Taiwan, led by President Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The DPP won Taiwan’s presidential elections in 2016, 2020, and 2024, although in 2024 it narrowly lost control of the parliament to an opposition coalition led by the KMT.
TAIWAN 'WILL NOT ESCALATE, BUT WILL NOT YIELD' TO CHINESE INTIMIDATION, FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS
The meeting came as Taiwan is mired in a dispute over defense spending, with the opposition coalition blocking President Lai’s proposed $40 billion special defense budget. During a recent visit to Taipei, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said approval of the package would send a clear message that Taiwan is prepared to invest in its own defense and "peace through strength."
Hours before Cheng and Xi smiled for the cameras, Lai did not directly mention the Beijing meeting, but said on social media that any compromise with an authoritarian regime would damage Taiwan’s sovereignty. There are also concerns that if the special budget isn’t approved soon, the willingness of President Donald Trump to sell weapons to Taiwan could change should Trump decide to strike some kind of deal with Xi at a possible meeting in May.
Xi’s phrase "rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," which was repeated by Cheng, is a reference to the goal of China becoming a — if not the — major world power by 2049, the centennial of the founding of the communist PRC.
In comments that are sure to evoke controversy in Taiwan, Cheng repeated much of Xi’s phrasing, claiming that in the more than 100 years of interactions between the KMT and the CCP, "all we ever wanted is to guide the Chinese nation out of decline and toward rejuvenation." Cheng went on to say, "The great Chinese rejuvenation involves people on both sides of the strait. It is about the reawakening and resurgence of Chinese civilization."
That’s not how many here in Taiwan see things. Rose Chou, 45, works as an administrator in one of the biggest primary schools in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan’s largest city and a major port. Chou told Fox News Digital it was time for Taiwan to dump any connection to being China or a part of China. "Yes, I want a Republic of Taiwan. I have an 18-year-old son. And, yes, I realize we may have to fight. I’m willing to fight."
US LAWMAKERS WARN TAIWAN TO ‘MEET THE MOMENT’ AS CHINA STAGES INVASION-STYLE DRILLS
Chou readily admitted that most people she knows favor maintaining the status quo. A very small number, she said, are committed to the idea of unification — but under what terms they hope that could occur, Chou said she didn’t know.
Under the status quo that dates from the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, Taiwan’s official name remains the Republic of China, to nominally indicate that Taiwan is a part of China, just not "Red China." This formula previously satisfied the communist regime in Beijing, but — especially since Xi Jinping’s rise — Beijing has pushed Taiwan towards outright submission.
A meeting between the head of the KMT and the CPP hasn’t happened in almost a decade, but there is precedent. A KMT chair met Xi in 2015, and again in 2016, and separately, in 2015, then-Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou met Xi in Singapore, during which each addressed the other as "Mister," and titles used were "Leader of Taiwan" and "Leader of Mainland China," respectively.
In a statement after the meeting, a spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei, said, "The United States supports cross-Strait dialogue. We expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait. Meaningful cross-Strait exchange should focus on dialogue between Beijing’s leadership and Taiwan’s democratically elected authorities without preconditions, while also including engagement with all other political parties in Taiwan."
Elizabeth Freund Larus, a Taiwan Fellowship Scholar in Taipei, told Fox News Digital the KMT’s traditional China approach no longer connects with much of Taiwan’s electorate. "KMT Chair Cheng’s trip is trying to replicate Ma Ying-jeou’s approach to cross-Strait relations," Larus said. "But that approach is 30-years old and no longer appeals to the Taiwanese. As a result, many people in Taiwan are critical of her China trip."
Larus said Beijing is also likely to use the visit for domestic propaganda, presenting it as proof that Taiwan embraces cultural and social affinities with mainland China while casting the government in Taipei as an outlier. "Cheng may be welcomed in Beijing," Larus said, "but her party may receive a less enthusiastic reception" in local elections later this year and in the next presidential and legislative elections in 2028.
Taipei-based political risk analyst and Tamkang University assistant professor Ross Feingold told Fox News Digital, "President Lai’s DPP has a savvy media team, which for many years has successfully shaped public opinion towards China. Following today’s meeting, Cheng and the KMT will be portrayed as traitors willing to sell out Taiwan."
He concluded by noting, "Ultimately, though, the success or failure of Cheng’s visit to China and meeting with Xi will be determined by Taiwan’s voters, despite efforts from China and the United States to influence events. For the Trump administration, though, its near-term priority in Taiwan remains legislative approval to purchase billions of dollars of American weapons and speedy implementation of Taiwan’s commitment to invest $250 billion in the United States."
Another military campaign halts with questionable success, as Netanyahu may find his standing less improved than he'd hoped. With elections looming, his rivals won't wait to take advantage
The post As ceasefire halts fighting, Iran war becomes a battlefield for votes appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations took a swipe at President Donald Trump on Tuesday hours before Trump’s deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling one of the president’s posts on Truth Social "deeply irresponsible" and "profoundly alarming."
Trump has given the Iranian regime until 8 p.m. ET to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a key waterway — or face strikes against its power plants and bridges.
In a post Tuesday morning, Trump said, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," and, "I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will."
"Today the President of the United States again resorted to language that is not only deeply irresponsible but profoundly alarming, declaring that, quote, 'the whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back,' unquote," Amir-Saeid Iravani said at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday afternoon.
RUSSIA, CHINA VETO UN RESOLUTION AIMED AT REOPENING STRAIT OF HORMUZ, HOURS BEFORE TRUMP DEADLINE
"It is regrettable and alarming that while in full view of the international community, the President of the United States shamelessly and brazenly issues threats to destroy all civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges, power plants and energy facilities, by setting a deadline and openly reveals this intent to commit vile crimes and crimes against humanity," Iravani added.
The White House, when asked by Fox News Digital for reaction, said, "The Iranian regime has committed egregious human rights abuses against its own citizens for 47 years, just murdered tens of thousands of protestors in January, and has indiscriminately targeted civilians across the region in order to cause as much death as possible throughout this conflict."
CHINA AIDING IRAN MISSILE PROGRAM AMID US-ISRAELI STRIKES, REPORTS SAY
"As President Trump said today, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, and the Iranian people welcome the sound of bombs because it means their oppressors are losing. The President will always stand with innocent civilians while annihilating the terrorists responsible for threatening our country and the entire world with a nuclear weapon," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly added. "Greater destruction can be avoided if the regime understands the seriousness of this moment and makes a deal with the United States."
Trump also said Tuesday, "now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?"
"We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World," the president added. "47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!"
LONDON: The left-wing British Green Party has said it wants to separate the Church of England from the state if it wins the next general election, which must be held before August 2029.
The Church of England has been the "established" church since the 16th-century Reformation, with the British monarch serving as its supreme governor. For traditionalists, this link is not merely ceremonial but is the foundational bedrock of British identity.
The Greens have come under fire for seeking to remove centuries of British history and tradition by separating the church from British politics, with critics characterizing it as the latest move against Christianity in the U.K.
GB News reported last month that the Green Party policy document stated: "No person shall hold office in the state, or be excluded from any such office, by virtue of their or their spouse's membership or non-membership of any religion or denomination of religion."
UK FLAG CLASH AS FOREIGN BANNERS FLY, CITIZENS PUSH BACK AGAINST WOKE POLICIES RESHAPING BRITAIN
Michael McManus, the director of research at the Henry Jackson Society, a U.K. think tank, told Fox News Digital, "Britain is a tolerant society but with clear Christian origins and culture. Aiming to disestablish the Church of England could be seen as an attempt to reject that ethical foundation without being clear what would replace it instead."
High-profile figures have also weighed in on the debate, with actor and comedian John Cleese responding to a comment about the Greens' proposal by stating on X: "The UK has always been based at the deepest level on Christian values, regardless of dogma. Despite the many mistakes made by churches, for centuries British people have been influenced by Christ's teaching. If these values are replaced by Islamic ones, this will not be Britain anymore."
FORMER UK PM DEFENDS TRUMP FOR HIGHLIGHTING 'SHARIA LAW' IN BRITAIN DURING UN SPEECH
The Greens are a growing political force, placing second behind Reform UK in a recent YouGov poll. Another YouGov poll linked the Greens' rise in popularity with younger voters in the country, finding a majority of those between 18 and 24 supported them, while also doing well with women and other groups.
A spokesperson for the Green Party told Fox News Digital, "We will be setting out our detailed plans for government at the time of the next General Election, just as we did at the last General Election. As always, our members will be shaping our priorities. These will again address the real and immediate needs of people and the planet, such as tackling the climate crisis, bringing down the cost of living and rebuilding our public services, including the NHS. Our focus is on the issues that impact ordinary people most."
CHURCHILL, SHAKESPEARE AND THE UK FLAG ALL UNDER SIEGE IN MODERN BRITAIN, COMMENTATORS SAY
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has defended a secular state. He has also drawn criticism for his support of legalizing drugs such as heroin and cocaine, his climate policies and anti-Israel positioning.
The timing of the Green Party's push is particularly sensitive as it comes on the heels of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, which passed last month, removing the last hereditary aristocrats from Parliament. With the hereditary principle gone, the presence of the "Lords Spiritual" has become the next logical target for constitutional reformers. There are currently 26 seats reserved for Church of England archbishops and bishops in the House of Lords.
As the U.K. heads toward a local 2026 election cycle, the "Church and State" debate looks set to become a wedge issue. For the Greens, it represents their commitment to a "diverse and inclusive" Britain. For their detractors, it is a dangerous move that risks "de-Christianizing" the country at a moment of profound social uncertainty.
Whether the proposal will mobilize a new "religious vote" or simply fade behind the urgency of other issues remains to be seen. What is clear, commentators say, is that the image of the established Church is increasingly being viewed through the lens of a much sharper and more polarized political fight.
