Viktor Orbán has said the main task of his new government will be to preserve Hungary’s security and Christian culture. The hardline rightwinger was re-elected for a third successive term as prime minister in April after a strong anti-immigration message secured a landslide victory. He was asked to form a government by the president, János Áder, on Monday.

Orbán, one of the most vociferous opponents of immigration into Europe by mainly Muslim people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, saw his campaign, helped by his Fidesz party’s media dominance, resonate with swaths of the electorate, particularly in rural areas. Fidesz holds 133 of 199 seats in the parliament, which will enable the party to pass any laws, even those that require two-thirds support. Parliament will hold its first session on Tuesday, where Orbán will be officially re-elected prime minister. In a radio interview on Friday, Orbán said his government was building a “Christian democracy”.(theguardian)…[+]

Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano has destroyed 26 homes and spewed lava hundreds of metres into the air, leaving evacuated residents unsure how long they might be displaced.

In revised figures released on Sunday, officials said another four unspecified structures were covered by lava. The decimated homes were in Leilani Estates, in the island’s eastern Puna district, where molten rock, toxic gas and steam have been bursting through openings in the ground created by the volcano. Some of the 1,700 residents who have been evacuated were allowed briefly to return to their homes to gather medicine, pets and other necessities. Officials say residents would be able to return each day until further notice as authorities monitor which areas are safe.

Amber Makuakane Kane, 37, a teacher and single mother of two, said her three-bedroom house in Leilani Estates was destroyed by lava. The dwelling was situated opposite a fissure that opened on Friday. “There was some steam rising from all parts of the yard, but everything looked fine,” Makuakane said.(theguardian)…[+]

McDonald’s workers in Britain are striking in a dispute over zero-hours contracts and working conditions that is being closely observed by the fast food industry and trade unions. Staff from branches in Manchester and Watford will join colleagues in Crayford and Cambridge as part of a “McStrike” as workers demand a minimum £10-an-hour living wage.

Members of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union are also asking for a choice of fixed-hour contracts, the end of unequal pay for young workers, and union recognition. Employees at UK branches attracted worldwide attention in September by striking for the first time. Britain is one of McDonald’s strongest markets, reporting 12 years of quarterly growth. While the numbers of employees taking strike action on Tuesday is small – just 11 are officially involved – one academic said the move was significant.(theguardian)…[+]

Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the US election, wants to ask Donald Trump about contact between his former election campaign manager Paul Manafort and Russia, the New York Times reported on Monday. The paper said it had obtained a list of nearly 50 questions that Mueller, investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, wants to put to the US president. More than half relate to potential obstruction of justice. “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?” is one of the more dramatic questions published by the Times.(theguardian)…[+]

The US government has paid out more than $60m in legal settlements where border agents were involved in deaths, driving injuries, alleged assaults and wrongful detention, an analysis of more than a decade of official data reveals. Since taking office, Donald Trump has been pushing to expand the patrol force at the southern border, insisting recently on Twitter: “Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws.”

But while Trump has ordered national guard troops to be deployed to provide agents with extra support, the review of settlement data and details found in related court records raises concerns about the agency’s history of interactions with civilians, both native-born and immigrant. Cases uncovered by examination of treasury payment records spanning October 2005 to July 2017, court documents and media reports reveal: The federal government has settled at least 20 wrongful death claims on behalf of CBP, paying more than $9m to the families of people killed since 2003, in incidents including shooting, beating, use of Tasers and collisions with vehicles.(NU)…[+]

Theresa May has attempted to distance herself from the row over the Home Office’s enforced removals targets that has already claimed the scalp of one of her most senior ministers, Amber Rudd. The prime minister tried to draw a line under the affair by arguing that Rudd had only resigned over a single error, while separating the issue from the wider scandal over the Windrush generation.

She again declined to place the blame for the debacle, which has caught up thousands of people and is widely regarded as a result of her own “hostile environment” strategy, on individual ministers or civil servants at her former department. Sajid Javid, appointed home secretary on Monday morning following Rudd’s departure, vowed to make sure people affected by the Windrush debacle were treated with “decency and fairness” as he arrived at the Home Office to start his new job.

Javid said he would look carefully at the government’s immigration policy, although No 10 insisted there were no plans to change direction on the issue. May, on a local elections campaign visit, said it was right that the government continued to deal with illegal immigration through enforced removals, a policy that also existed during her tenure at the Home Office.(theguardian)…[+]

Ten journalists have died in Afghanistan in a coordinated double suicide bombing in Kabul and a shooting in the eastern Khost province, on the deadliest day for media workers in the country since the fall of the Taliban.

Nine journalists died in the Afghan capital when they gathered at the scene of the first of two blasts. Ahmad Shah, a BBC reporter, was shot dead in a separate incident in Khost province, near the border with Pakistan. In Kabul, a suicide attacker riding a motorbike blew himself up in the Shash Darak neighbourhood, near the Nato headquarters and the US embassy, at about 8am. A second bomber, holding a camera and posing as a journalist, struck 20 minutes later, killing rescue workers and journalists, including an Agence France-Presse photographer, who had rushed to the scene. At least 25 people were killed and 45 injured in total. Hours later, a suicide bomber targeting a Nato convoy in southern Kandahar province killed 11 children at a religious school located near where the explosion occurred. At least 16 people, including five Romanian Nato soldiers, nine civilians and two police officers, were also wounded.(theguardian)…[+]

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has warned that talks are at risk if the UK does not soften its red line on the Irish border issue. Speaking to reporters on his third visit to Ireland since the referendum, Michel Barnier said he was “not optimistic” and “not pessimistic” but “determined” that the two sides can break the current impasse on talks.

He repeated recent declarations that unless Britain came up with fresh thinking on how to avoid a hard border by the June EU council summit, further talks were in danger of collapsing. “Until we reach this agreement and this operational solution for Northern Ireland, a backstop [solution], and we are ready for any proposal … there is a risk, a real risk,” he said. But he hinted that the UK would not have to come up with the final deal for Ireland, describing the June summit as “a stepping stone” to the October deadline for the wider Brexit deal to be completed. The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said Britain’s “approach to negotiations will need to change in some way” if there is to be agreement over the issue.(theguardian)…[+]

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their baby son Louis Arthur Charles.

In a statement, Kensington Palace said: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles. “The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge.”  The prince is the duke and duchess’s third child, the younger brother of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s sixth great-grandchild. Lord Louis Mountbatten was Prince Charles’s beloved great-uncle who was assassinated by the IRA in 1979. Prince Louis of Battenberg was the Duke of Edinburgh’s grandfather.

The three names are popular choices recycled by the royal family. Prince Charles is Charles Philip Arthur George, while Prince William is William Arthur Philip Louis. Prince George’s full name is George Alexander Louis. Bookmakers had Arthur as the favourite for some time, then Alexander. It has taken four days for the prince’s name to be released. He is fifth in line to the throne, and was born on Monday weighing 3.8kg (8lbs 7oz). Both Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s names were revealed two days after their births. But Prince William’s name was not made public for seven days.(theguardian)…[+]

In a verdict that seemed destined to stand as a major milestone in the #MeToo movement against sexual assault, the once beloved actor and comedian Bill Cosby was convicted by a Pennsylvania jury on Thursday of drugging and molesting an acquaintance in 2004. The jury announced its verdict after fewer than two days of deliberation. Cosby, 80, faces a possible maximum prison sentence of 15 to 30 years.

Cosby stood up and erupted after jurors left the courtroom, the Associated Press reported. He used an expletive to refer to district attorney Kevin Steele, who was arguing to revoke Cosby’s bail, and shouted: “I’m sick of him!” The verdict came as vindication for dozens of women who have publicly accused Cosby of sexual abuse, harassment or attempted abuse. A trial on the same charges last summer ended in a mistrial with a hung jury.

A request by prosecutors to revoke Cosby’s bail was denied. The court ordered Cosby to remain living in Montgomery county until his sentencing. Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former basketball player who was 30 years old at the time of the alleged incident. Cosby said the two had a consensual relationship.(theguardian)…[+]