Top World News

May 19, 2026 - World

A foreign minister accused of a slew of crimes, including stealing from a fund for crime victims, was able to flee his country with the help of a Trump official, according to a new report. Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro faces more than two dozen charges in his country related to alleged misuse of funds for political gain, according to reporting by Reuters. He was a member of Poland's right-wing nationalist Law and Justice Party. Ziobro originally fled his country in 2025 to live in Hungary, where the Trump-endorsed authoritarian former Prime Minister Viktor Orban gave him asylum. Soon after Orban lost his election in April to a pro-EU rival, Ziobro came to the U.S. in May, per reporting by Reuters. According to three sources who spoke to Reuters, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau "instructed senior State Department officials to facilitate and approve a visa for a fugitive former Polish cabinet minister." The new Hungarian prime minister, Peter Magyar, "had said that he would extradite him to Poland on his first day in office," according to Reuters. Landau was able to secure a visa for Ziobro just ahead of Magyar's swearing-in on May 9, Reuters added. "While the Trump administration has made it a priority to support conservative views in Europe, granting a visa to a politician facing criminal charges by a U.S.-allied government is highly unusual," according to Reuters. "Reuters described Ziobro as "the architect of changes to the Polish judicial system that the EU has said undermined the rule of law during the 2015-2023 rule of the conservative Law and Justice party." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters on Tuesday that "we will certainly be very consistent, and no one can expect us to give up" on trying to bring Ziobro into Polish court, according to Reuters.

May 19, 2026 - World

Retail sources rebuff government proposal as ‘unjustified’ and likely to push costs up across boardUK supermarkets have been asked by the government to consider freezing the prices of some essential foodstuffs to protect the public from inflation fuelled by the Middle East conflict.Retailers rejected the plan, criticising its potential cost amid rising taxes, fuel and energy costs and arguing it could push up prices for shoppers overall. Continue reading...

May 19, 2026 - World

Landmark report calls for widespread air conditioning and says UK temperatures forecast to exceed 40C by 2050British homes will need air conditioning to survive predicted levels of global heating, the government’s climate advisers have warned in a report, as measures such as drawing curtains, opening windows and growing trees for shade are not likely to be enough.Air conditioning should be installed in all care homes and hospitals within the next 10 years, and in all schools within 25 years, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which published a major report on adapting to the impacts of global heating on Wednesday. Continue reading...

May 19, 2026 - World

In new Netflix documentary, pop superstar says she ‘got through it, again’, referring back to successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005Kylie Minogue has revealed that in early 2021 she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time, after diagnosis and successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005.The pop star discussed the previously unannounced diagnosis in a new Netflix documentary entitled Kylie, available from today. “My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself … Not like the first time,” she said, referring to her highly publicised first treatment. Continue reading...

May 19, 2026 - World

National Audit Office says potential benefits are ‘considerable but uncertain’ while risks are ‘immediate and substantial’The cost of the government’s £38bn nuclear plant in Suffolk is subject to “significant uncertainty” and may outweigh the benefits for UK households until at least 2064, according to the government’s spending watchdog.The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that although the potential benefits of the Sizewell C nuclear plant are considerable, they remain uncertain. The risks, however, are “immediate, substantial and borne by the public”. Continue reading...