‘I do think that Irish people, maybe because of our colonial past, have this tendency to allow ourselves to be ruled by tyrants…Maybe it explains our love of the EU.’
‘We have a President of the United States who decided that he will not simply serve out his four years in office, but will get things done. He will solve problems, he will achieve goals,’ Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary said at an anti-war rally in Kaposvár, Hungary, over the weekend. Meanwhile, the first-ever trilateral talks are taking place between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in the UAE.
‘Unveiling the “religion of electricity” uncovers a narrative embedded in modernity which challenges reductive secularization theories, especially Max Weber’s classic portrayal. The “religion of electricity” embodies both the scientification of religion and the re-enchantment of the world, offering intriguing anomalies to explore.’
‘Our first written record of traditional Hungarian cuisine dates back to a 16th-century cookbook written by a chef who cooked for several Transylvanian princes…The book reveals the astonishing variety of dishes served at the tables of princes and nobles.’
‘For more than three decades after the Cold War, deterrence in Europe was largely taken for granted…Security debates focused less on territorial defence and more on crisis management, expeditionary missions, and stabilization operations far from Europe’s borders. That strategic comfort has now decisively ended.’
‘That’s what I came away with, this idea of Hungarian identity. You can tell it’s motivated by a very deep love, and of identity, culture, history, of course, overcoming incredible struggles. And I did see a lot of similarities with Ireland, and it did make me sad to see how we went on such very different paths.’
‘The coming years will…not be about returning to the past, but about shaping a stable future—one in which nations remain the cornerstone of international order, cooperation remains possible without coercion, and Europe remains strong precisely because it respects the sovereignty of its members.’
‘This is no longer a world of unilateral dictates, but a multipolar system of alliances defined by agreements, intensive trade, and technological competition. A US–Russian alliance is central to this, symbolized by the meeting of Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska—a place that was once Russian territory, is now a US state, and may become the symbolic cornerstone of a historic strategic partnership.’
46 per cent of Americans have a favourable view of US Vice President JD Vance, while 41 per cent have an unfavourable view of him, according to a new poll by Emerson. By comparison, his most likely 2028 rival, Governor Gavin Newsom of California, had a favourability rating of just 33 per cent and an unfavorability rating of 44 per cent. Emerson underestimated President Trump and the Republicans ahead of the 2024 election.
US tennis player Amanda Anisimova has gone viral after refusing to join the mainstream media’s ritual condemnation of Donald Trump during a press conference at the 2026 Australian Open. Asked how it felt to ‘play under the American flag right now’, Anisimova said she was ‘always proud’ to represent the US—and dismissed the political bait as ‘not relevant’.