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Iceland's PM dissolves ruling coalition, citing infighting

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Iceland's PM dissolves ruling coalition, citing infighting

Benediktsson said fresh parliamentary elections are expected to take place on 30 November, if President Halla Tómasdóttir accepts his motion to dissolve parliament.

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The Prime Minister of Iceland, Bjarni Benediktsson, has announced the dissolution of the country’s governing coalition at a surprise press conference in the capital Reykjavik.

Benediktsson cited growing disagreements between the three political parties that make up the ruling coalition as his reason for ending it.

“There are disagreements about policy regarding asylum seekers that have been public. The government has disagreed for quite a while on a vision for the future of energy efficiency. Motions from the Minister of Environment and Energy have been stuck within the government for a while,” he told reporters.

He said fresh parliamentary elections are slated to take place on 30 November, if President Halla Tómasdóttir accepts the motion to dissolve parliament.

National broadcaster RUV said elections must take place no later than 45 days after the dissolution of parliament.

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Benediktsson is scheduled to meet Tómasdóttir on Monday.

Iceland’s coalition government is made up of Benediktsson’s conservative Independence Party, the centre-right Progressive Party and the leftist Greens.

Surprise announcement

Svandis Svavarsdottir, the infrastructure minister and chairman of the Greens, said the decision to dissolve parliament came as a surprise and had not been mooted in talks she had had with Benediktsson on Saturday.

“I assumed that the meeting was convened with integrity and we were discussing the situation and perhaps we could come back and see if there is a chance in specific issues,” she said.

“I thought that was our mutual understanding that the most important issue was the economy. Housing and issues regular people are facing like making ends meet. I thought that was our most pressing issue but now we can see that other issues are more important for the prime minister.”

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The ruling coalition, in power since November 2021, has faltered under a raft of problems, particularly after a series of volcanic eruptions in the country forced thousands to evacuate their homes, putting more pressure on an economy already dealing with high inflation and rising interest rates.

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Ship seized off coast of UAE near Strait of Hormuz may have been ‘floating armory’: report

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Ship seized off coast of UAE near Strait of Hormuz may have been ‘floating armory’: report

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A ship was seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday morning, the British military reported.

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The ship was boarded and “taken by unauthorized personnel” while it was roughly 38 nautical miles northeast of the United Arab Emirates’ oil export terminal Fujairah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported Thursday.

UKMTO spotted the ship heading toward Iranian territorial waters after the seizure, it reported Thursday.

British authorities did not release information on who the ship belonged to or who seized it. Despite the lack of official corroboration, the BBC reported that the Honduras-flagged Hui Chuan was seized in the Strait on Thursday.

CARGO SHIP ATTACKED BY SMALL CRAFT NEAR STRAIT OF HORMUZ, UK MARITIME AGENCY SAYS

Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on May 4. A report on May 15 said a ship was seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and is being brought toward Iranian waters. (Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP)

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Citing the risk-management company Vanguard, the BBC reported that the ship’s operators told Vanguard that the Hui Chuan was operating as a “floating armory” for ships in the Strait to defend themselves from pirates.

A container ship sits at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, as a motorboat passes in the foreground on May 2, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

At least two other ships have already been seized in the Strait of Hormuz since February.

IRAN SAYS ITS SMALL SUBS DEPLOYED TO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS EXPERT EXPLAINS THREAT: ‘VULNERABLE TO DETECTION’

A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz on April 22, 2026. (AP Photo)

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In April, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized the Panamanian-flagged MSC Francesca and the Epaminondes ships in the Strait.

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Fox News Digital contacted UKMTO and Vanguard for further information but did not immediately receive a response.

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Israel-Lebanon talks held in Washington as expiration of ceasefire nears

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Israel-Lebanon talks held in Washington as expiration of ceasefire nears
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Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo reports from Washington, where the first of two days of US-mediated ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon concluded on Thursday. A ceasefire between them expires on Sunday, though Israel has killed 512 Lebanese since its implementation on April 17.

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Miley Cyrus, Jisoo, Sabrina Carpenter, Al Pacino and More Photos from the Dior Cruise Show in Los Angeles

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Miley Cyrus, Jisoo, Sabrina Carpenter, Al Pacino and More Photos from the Dior Cruise Show in Los Angeles

Jonathan Anderson gathered some of Hollywood’s most famous faces for the front row at his Dior Cruise Collection 2027 fashion show at Los Angeles’ LACMA on Wednesday night.

Spotted taking their seats underneath the new David Geffen Galleries were Miley Cyrus, Sabrina Carpenter, Al Pacino, Jisoo of Blackpink, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jeff Goldblum, Tracee Ellis Ross, Role Model, Grace Gummer, Dominic Fike, Miranda Kerr, Mikey Madison, Paul W. Downs, Leslie Mann, Miles Teller, Macaulay Culkin and Bill Pullman.

Guests entered LACMA through a simple entrance on Wilshire Boulevard lined on both sides by gaggles of photographers (some were apparently extras hired to act like shutterbugs). Inside, there were large stone-like step-and-repeats for more photos. Attendees were gifted Dior blankets at their seats as well as a mock script titled “Wilshire Boulevard” starring Anderson explaining the show’s noir theme and looks.

An after-party took place at Chateau Marmont.

Miley Cyrus told me she was grateful Anderson chose her hometown for the event. “I love that they came to L.A.,” she said. “That’s the best part.”

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Of her all-denim look, the Grammy winner said, “What I love about L.A. is that it’s casual, so just stopping by to enjoy. Not overdone.”

Meanwhile, following the success of her “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special,” I asked Cyrus if a reboot of the Disney Channel sitcom was in the works. “I don’t know about all that,” she said, smiling.

Cyrus cracked, “You always get me in trouble.”

Cyrus has credited my question about her possible plans to mark the two-decade milestone earlier in the year that prompted her and Disney to develop the special.

Tracee Ellis Ross also said she was “so pleased” the show took place in Los Angeles: “I don’t have to get on a plane.”

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See all the best celebrity looks at the Dior fashion show below.

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