As Europe’s summers grow hotter, climate change is quietly reshaping drinking habits. In Hungary, declining alcohol consumption and the rise of low- and non-alcoholic alternatives suggest that hydration, rather than tradition or generational change alone, is becoming the defining force behind the future of beverage culture.

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota has pardoned a 42-year-old Laotian illegal immigrant who was convicted of sexually assaulting a ten-year-old girl in 2006 and was set for deportation. The Department of Homeland Security has issued a public statement condemning the pardon.

Sony will discontinue physical disc production for all new PlayStation games from January 2028, accelerating the gaming industry’s shift to digital distribution and prompting concerns over ownership and game preservation.

Bern’s local authorities have apologized after police removed a man who identifies as a woman from a women-only nudist area, admitting that pool staff had wrongly ordered him to leave despite his meeting the city’s access rules. The incident has reignited the debate over transgender access to female-only spaces.

California’s proposed Protect Our Games Act failed to advance by a single vote after the Entertainment Software Association argued that community-run game servers constitute piracy, sparking renewed debate over digital ownership and game preservation.

The European Commission has for the first time officially confirmed that Hungarian intelligence officers operated from Hungary’s Permanent Representation in Brussels and targeted Commission officials, according to an internal document obtained by POLITICO. The report substantiates allegations that Viktor Orbán’s government had consistently dismissed as politically motivated.

The woman who drove the Stade mass shooter from the scene works as an adviser for a pro-migration NGO that receives substantial German government funding, according to NIUS. Prosecutors say she drove the suspect both to the custody meeting where six people were killed and away after the attack.

Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom has hosted a pride celebration event at his residence, where he was jokingly introduced by lesbian Labour MP Olivia Bailey as a ‘lesbian style icon’ because of his hairstyle. PM Starmer happily accepted that title, and proudly touted the current British parliament as ‘the gayest parliament in the world’.

‘The principle at stake is not complicated, nor should it depend on who the victims are: violence against women must be condemned as a matter of universal human rights, or the very idea of universal human rights loses its meaning.’

Production has begun on GYSEV’s new fleet of 11 InterCity trains, with the first units expected to enter service in 2027 and the full fleet operating on Budapest routes by 2028.

France will hold the first round of its next presidential election on 18 April 2027 and the run-off on 2 May, just days before Emmanuel Macron leaves office. The announcement came as investigators carried out new raids linked to National Rally, whose leader Jordan Bardella currently leads polls to succeed the outgoing president.

‘The Commission believes that the phenomenon cannot be confined to the English Channel only and that tackling it requires a route-wide approach: the pressure on the UK actually stems from the entire system of migration routes to Europe.’

Ireland assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July, handing one of the bloc’s most socially progressive and pro-Brussels governments control of the EU’s legislative agenda for the next six months. While Dublin promises competitiveness and security, conservatives warn it will use the role to advance progressive priorities across Europe.

Famous British right-wing activist Tommy Robinson, on the social media platform X, has come to the defence of the 58-year-old Hungarian man who tossed the Pride flags displayed at the Elisabeth Bridge into the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, last month.

Hungary has opposed a European Commission proposal aimed at supporting Ukraine’s wartime mobilization by limiting automatic EU protection for military-age men fleeing the country. The decision came just days after Budapest blocked the opening of all negotiating clusters in Kyiv’s EU accession bid and closely mirrors the position previously taken by Viktor Orbán’s government.

‘The Court distinguishes between objective grounds—such as the possession of modern technical or financial resources, or the experience acquired by the operator—and grounds that involve a “highly subjective assessment”, such as a project’s ability to fulfil a “societal function” or to serve the public interest.’

The US Supreme Court has delivered two landmark immigration rulings pulling President Donald Trump’s agenda in opposite directions, blocking his bid to restrict birthright citizenship while expanding executive authority over deportations. Together, the decisions could significantly shape the future of the administration’s emerging remigration agenda.

Hungary’s record-breaking heatwave is expected to end with thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds as the country’s highest heat alert expires and temperatures fall sharply.

‘The sitting President of the United States, after winning the 2024 presidential election by receiving 77.3 million votes nationally…was able to convince so many Americans to vote for him despite content about his supposed extraordinary failures as POTUS being a lot more prevalent in the media during his first and President Biden’s only term.’

Veolia says increasingly frequent summer heatwaves are making flexible gas-fired power plants and battery storage essential for maintaining Hungary’s electricity grid during evening demand peaks.

Budapest Zoo’s Biodome has opened its permanent Urban Oasis, offering visitors a year-round tropical environment featuring exotic plants, wildlife, waterfalls and interactive displays after years of delays.

The family of Louis, the 17-year-old boy beaten to death in Narbonne, has called for a major demonstration on 5 July, with the victim’s mother declaring that ‘it’s time for war’. As the killing fuels debate over immigration and juvenile crime, while attracting growing international mobilization, thousands are expected to attend.

‘Words may be answered with words, but violence must never be tolerated. We need more Speaker’s Corners. Every street corner, every park, and every public gathering space should be a place where the ideas and cultural debates of the day are discussed.’

In a 135–44 vote, MPs for the ruling Tisza Party voted to abolish the Sovereignty Protection Office created by the Orbán administration in 2024, after finding that it ‘served no actual public good’.

Former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán appointed former Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) chief János Hajdu as Fidesz’s security director less than a day after prosecutors questioned him as a suspect in the Ukrainian ‘cash convoy’ investigation, in a move widely seen as a public show of support for his longtime ally. According to media reports, Orbán himself could also face scrutiny in the same case.

Europe’s ideological hostility towards air conditioning has become a global talking point after more than 1,300 excess deaths were linked to the heatwave sweeping the continent. Social media users ridiculed Europeans for rejecting a technology regarded elsewhere as an everyday necessity, while the crisis also exposed the damaging impact of progressive green policies on vulnerable groups.

WWF Hungary is urging sweeping reforms to forest management after the current logging moratorium expires, calling for expanded continuous-cover forestry and stronger protection for the country’s most valuable native forests.

Germany’s World Cup campaign ended in another humiliation after a penalty-shootout defeat to Paraguay, prompting a wave of criticism over Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s praise for the team’s ‘commitment and team spirit’. For many Germans, the latest football failure has come to symbolize the country’s broader political and economic decline.

Supergirl grossed just $62.6 million against its $186 million production budget on opening weekend. Star Milly Alcock drew online backlash after mocking a ‘Christian dad’ and calling Supergirl a ‘queer icon’. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, due next month with a $250 million budget, is already facing similar criticism online.

Is French secularism (laïcité) a ‘sword’ or a ‘shield’? Is atheism the new state religion of France? We spoke to a French lawyer and academic, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Danube Institute, about the origins, significance, and paradoxes of the French constitutional principle of secularism, as well as the historical struggle between the church and the state in France.