Orbán's electoral crushing is a far greater achievement than most people outside Hungary realise. He systemically consolidated power for 16 years, fixed the electoral map, abused govt power for political purposes & censored media. The hurdles that Hungarians overcame for this moment were immense.

one immediate dramatic consequence of the Hungarian result: Magyar has promised to repair relations with the EU and unblock a €90bn EU loan for Ukraine

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was heading for a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections on Sunday night after official projections based on interim results put the opposition Tisza party on course for a clear majority in parliament. www.ft.com/content/a9b6...

Oh, yeah, that was the Obama Iran deal.

This Reform leaflet from three Gateshead candidates looks like a timelapse of the same person

When Angela Rayner underpaid £40,000 stamp duty on her flat, Richard Tice said it was "morally completely indefensible” and she should immediately resign if she had “any moral decency”. Now we learn he personally made £91,000 in excess payments by failing to pay the tax his company legally owed

The deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, owns a property company - Quidnet REIT. From 2020 to 2022 it paid Tice and his trust £600k in dividends. Quidnet should have paid £120k of tax on those dividends. It didn't. A 🧵 with evidence from the company's own filings:

I can't stop laughing at this post. It's perfect.

Tailor Bird sews leaves together with plant fibre to form its nest!

Crispin Odey has dropped his £79mn libel claim against the Financial Times over its reporting of sexual misconduct allegations against him, acknowledging that the FT would win in its defence.  www.ft.com/content/6966...

Crispin Odey has dropped his £79mn libel claim against the Financial Times over its reporting of sexual misconduct allegations against him, acknowledging that the FT would win in its defence.  www.ft.com/content/6966...

US inflation jumped to its highest level in two years in March driven by a historic surge in petrol prices, knocking consumer sentiment to record lows as the fallout from Donald Trump’s war in Iran hits the world’s top economy. www.ft.com/content/7573...

brevity is the soul of wit

I knew it was bad but really didn’t appreciate it was quite this bad as.ft.com/r/db911dd6-f...

Extraordinary. (Douglas Murray and Tim Montgomerie also mentioned in this article.)

Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to Joe Biden’s lowest point www.economist.com/graphic-deta... From The Economist

"this seems like a legitimate misunderstanding"

Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez: “The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.” 🍿

I can't stop admiring this photo by the Artemis II crew made of the moon. (Nikon D5 shot at f 7.1 at 800th of a second on 400 iso at 80 mm)

ancient amphitheatre, Taormina

Reopened with a toll.

so the strait - which was open six weeks ago - will reopen and that will be presented as some kind of victory?

Dubai exodus: Official estimates obtained by the FT show 30,000 British residents — or between 10-15 per cent of the prewar, long-term population — are outside the UAE, raising concerns among school operators banking on growth in student numbers www.ft.com/content/3fcc...

This is what I don't get about British politicians remaining on a platform for "the reach" when the light from the influence of Kevin Sorbo hasn't even reached them yet.

this is why I have encouraged friends and fellow journalists to quit, with mixed results

town square, Sicily

church, Sicily

church, Sicily

Strategists, advisers and media personalities who were key to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party have flocked to the Green Party in recent months, as the once “tepid” environmental group has veered to the left www.ft.com/content/e38d...

See, I'm not sure the veer to the left is new. Greens have been pretty outspokenly left wing for many years, what's new is them having a competent media strategy fit for the 21st century.

Strategists, advisers and media personalities who were key to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party have flocked to the Green Party in recent months, as the once “tepid” environmental group has veered to the left www.ft.com/content/e38d...

I’m not a financial analyst but isn’t Tesla share price predicated on soaring sales volumes? www.ft.com/content/c83d...

Paula White compares Trump to Jesus during event with faith leaders: "You were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It's a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us. Because of His resurrection, you rose up."

It's only worth going back to the Moon if it makes us look properly again at Earth, and appreciate how beautiful, precious and fragile what we have here is. The most famous images from Apollo aren't about the Moon - they're pictures of Earth. We need to stop taking our home for granted.

not sure this is a mid-terms winning slogan

Good morning and Happy Nigella Day! Because all is briefly right with the world and as a special treat, it's free to read. www.ft.com/content/4819...

Donald Trump threatened to stop supplying weapons for Ukraine in order to pressure European allies to join a “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to people briefed on the discussions. www.ft.com/content/d304...

Yup. Europe is buying them off the US now. The US monetary contributions are now precisely zero.

Donald Trump threatened to stop supplying weapons for Ukraine in order to pressure European allies to join a “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to people briefed on the discussions. www.ft.com/content/d304...

new Economist cover

This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.

fascinating to watch Starmer pivot from accepting the "finality" of Brexit to admitting how much economic damage it has done

at last a happy story: also collies are the best dogs, period www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

if only there had been some kind of warning

fascinating to watch Starmer pivot from accepting the "finality" of Brexit to admitting how much economic damage it has done

a US federal judge has ordered Donald Trump to stop building a new, $400mn White House ballroom until Congress approves its completion www.ft.com/content/8c36...

Always exciting to see a friend’s book on sale! (Exciting even to see an enemy’s.)

this is one hell of a wildlife photograph, bravo