World

Iran's judiciary announced that the assets of the country's women's football team captain, Zahra Ghanbari, have been released by local authorities, reversing an earlier decision to seize them. This move came after the player sought and then withdrew an asylum claim in Australia last month. Iran's Mizan news agency stated on Monday: "The assets of Zahra Ghanbari, a footballer for the Iranian women's national team, which had been seized, were released by court decision."

A new report on the 2024 stabbing in Southport, northwest England, has been released, concluding that the parents and state authorities failed to act on the violent behavior of Axel Rudakubana, who killed three girls and wounded ten others. The 763-page report found that the massacre could have been prevented, as parents and officials had multiple opportunities to intervene. The inquiry, led by retired judge Adrian Fulford, detailed systemic failures that allowed the attacker to carry out the unprecedented act of "extreme and very particular depravity."

Pope Leo XIV has made his first papal visit to Algeria, marking the opening stop of an African tour with a call for peace and signaling the continent's growing importance to the Catholic Church. The 11-day trip, which includes stops in Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, is the longest by Pope Leo since his election to the papacy in May last year. According to academics and theologians, the choice to visit Africa sends a powerful signal that the continent is one of the church's top priorities.

Hungary's prime minister-in-waiting, Peter Magyar, has pledged to restore relations with the European Union and implement sweeping domestic reforms following a landslide election victory that unseated Viktor Orban's Fidesz party after 16 years of what he termed "illiberal" rule. Magyar stated he would combat corruption and amend the constitution to limit future prime ministers to two terms, a move aimed at preventing Orban's potential return to power after years of constitutional changes that allegedly tilted the electoral system in his favor.

A US federal judge in Miami, Darrin Gayles, dismissed former President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch. Judge Gayles ruled that Trump's claim did not meet the 'actual malice' standard required for public figures in defamation cases, which necessitates proof not only of falsity but also of reckless disregard for the truth or knowledge of falsity.

In a stunning electoral upset, Viktor Orban's Fidesz party was decisively defeated in Hungary's parliamentary election, marking a significant setback for populist movements worldwide and notably for figures like Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, who had openly supported Orban. The opposition Tisza party, led by Peter Magyar, secured the largest two-thirds majority since the end of communist rule in 1989/90, achieving this with a record turnout of nearly 80%, thereby ending Orban's 16-year autocratic tenure.

Hungary's likely next prime minister, Peter Magyar, outlined significant policy shifts in his first major news briefing after his Tisza party ended the 16-year rule of Viktor Orbán's Fidesz in recent elections. Magyar pledged to move Budapest back towards the European Union and away from Russia, a key factor in his electoral victory. He emphasized that this re-alignment is crucial as Hungary faces financial struggles and is in desperate need of EU funds, highlighting the economic pressures driving the change.

A naval blockade on Iran's coastline, ordered by United States President Donald Trump, has commenced, setting the stage for a major escalation that could fray the fragile ceasefire between the two nations. Trump warned Iranian military ships on Monday against approaching the blockade zone, stating in a social media post that "Iran’s Navy is laying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated – 158 ships," and adding that a small number of "fast attack ships" were not considered a significant threat.

The Buchenwald concentration camp memorial near Weimar, Germany, held a ceremony for the 81st anniversary of its liberation, blending remembrance of the past with contemporary political tensions. Actor and author Hape Kerkeling delivered a speech honoring his grandfather Hermann, a Holocaust survivor, urging against forgetting and warning of right-wing populism. Kerkeling stated, "He was not a man of many words, but a man of action. His silence was like a glass wall surrounding his soul," highlighting the personal legacy of trauma.

Law enforcement agencies in collaboration with the State Security Service have dismantled a criminal group in the Fergana Region of Uzbekistan that was organizing a channel to send women to Russia for exploitation. The perpetrators recruited victims by promising them high-paying jobs abroad. The investigation revealed that two women, aged 34 and 20, had been targeted by this criminal scheme.

New official data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis) reveals that 26.3% of the country's population, or 21.8 million people, have an immigration history. This category includes both first-generation immigrants who moved to Germany themselves and second-generation individuals born in Germany to two immigrant parents. The figures for 2025 show a modest increase of 1.7% from 2024, indicating a slowdown in growth compared to larger rises in previous years.

Burkina Faso's military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, has openly rejected democracy, declaring that "democracy kills." He has proclaimed a new system called the "Popular Progressive Revolution," but political analysts note that this system severely limits the people's right to self-determination, with the charter effectively serving as a transitional constitution imposed by the junta.