Latest news with #Vienna-based
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
'Trump before Trump': Orban's illiberal model on show
At the American embassy in Budapest, the atmosphere has changed since US President Donald Trump was sworn in six months ago. "No more public scoldings. No more moralising from podiums," the new charge d'affaires Robert Palladino told guests, including several Hungarian ministers, at this month's US Independence Day celebration. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants his country to serve as a laboratory of far-right ideas and an inspiration for Trump, whom the nationalist describes as "a great friend", and is hoping for a US presidential visit. Self-touted as a "Trump before Trump", Orban has transformed the national life of Hungary, an EU member and home to 9.5 million people, during his 15-year rule. In his drive to build what he has called an "illiberal state", he has been accused of silencing critical voices from the judiciary, academia, media and civil society, and of restricting minority rights. Trump's predecessor Joe Biden once accused him of "looking for dictatorship". - 'Open-air museum' - "Hungary is like an open-air museum, whose leader appears to have proved it is possible to bring back the so-called good old days," Zsolt Enyedi, a senior democracy researcher at Vienna-based Central European University, told AFP. "Illiberal ideas have been institutionalised," he added. Both Trump and Orban target minorities, including the LGBTQ community. "Orban realised there was not a strong public resistance to incitation against vulnerable groups... so he leveraged these to campaign," Enyedi said. "Similarly, Trump deports people without going through due process as American conventions would dictate," the researcher added. US author Rod Dreher, who lives in Budapest and promotes the "Hungarian model" in the United States, praises the two leaders' common fight against the "ideological left". "It does matter a lot to ordinary Americans when their little children are being sent to schools and being taught about transgenderism," the 58-year-old told AFP. - 'Strongman' tactics - In a recent discussion hosted by the Hungarian-government-financed Danube Institute, where he works, Dreher cited the example of the University of Pennsylvania, which agreed to ban biological males from its women's sports teams, settling a federal civil rights complaint. "Pure Orban," Dreher says. "We would not have gotten that out of a normie Republican president. "When institutions that should be neutral are so far to the left, it takes a strongman like Trump just to try to bring them back to the centre." The Trump administration has threatened to cut funding to prestigious universities like Harvard and Columbia, criticised federal judges who suspend its decisions and is in open conflict with major media outlets. By limiting access to certain journalists and replacing them with fringe media loyal to his cause, Trump is very similar to Orban, according to Enyedi. "Both make it clear that they are acting out of revenge," he said. This week, the CBS network announced the end of Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show", long a staple of late night US television, saying it was "purely a financial decision". It came days after the comedian blasted parent company Paramount's $16 million settlement with Trump as "a big fat bribe". But, for now, dissenting voices remain much stronger in the United States than in Hungary. While Orban has not yet been invited to the White House in Trump's current term, envoy Palladino foresees that a visit by the US president to Budapest is "hopefully not too far off". Such a "historic visit" would, he said, be "a reflection of real alignment between two sovereign nations that believe in tradition, strength, and identity. "But that moment won't happen on its own. It will require vision, effort, and commitment -- on both sides of the Atlantic."
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
'Trump before Trump': Orban's illiberal model on show in Hungary
BUDAPEST: At the American embassy in Budapest, the atmosphere has changed since US President Donald Trump was sworn in six months ago. "No more public scoldings. No more moralising from podiums," the new charge d'affaires Robert Palladino told guests, including several Hungarian ministers, at this month's US Independence Day celebration. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants the European nation to serve as a laboratory of far-right ideas and an inspiration for Trump, whom the nationalist describes as "a great friend", and is hoping for a US presidential visit. Self-touted as a "Trump before Trump", Orban has transformed the national life of Hungary, an EU member and home to 9.5 million people, during his 15-year rule. In his drive to build what he has called an "illiberal state", he has been accused of silencing critical voices from the judiciary, academia, media and civil society, and of restricting minority rights. Trump's predecessor Joe Biden once accused him of "looking for dictatorship." 'Open-air museum' "Hungary is like an open-air museum, whose leader appears to have proved it is possible to bring back the so-called good old days," Zsolt Enyedi, a senior democracy researcher at Vienna-based Central European University, told AFP. "Illiberal ideas have been institutionalised," he added. Both Trump and Orban target minorities, including the LGBTQ community. "Orban realised there was not a strong public resistance to incitation against vulnerable groups... so he leveraged these to campaign," the researcher said. "Similarly, Trump deports people without going through due process as American conventions would dictate," Enyedi added.
News18
2 days ago
- Science
- News18
International Moon Day 2025: History, Theme, And Significance
Last Updated: International Moon Day celebrates humanity's accomplishments in space, its prospects, and the universalism that binds us all together under the moon. News18 The world will once again look up to the sky to celebrate International Moon Day on July 20 this year. The United Nations established the occasion in December 2021 to commemorate the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and to encourage further lunar exploration. The Moon Village Association (MVA)—a Vienna-based NGO that aims to unite engineers, scientists, private and public investors, and other stakeholders to construct a shared infrastructure on the Moon—helped the event gain international recognition. This year's International Moon Day Main Event will be hosted by the University of Dubai in association with MVA. International Moon Day 2025 will be centered around 'One Moon, One Vision, One Future." The idea behind the event was to educate the public on how important a sustainable approach to lunar exploration is. The first International Moon Day was marked on July 20, 2022. International Moon Day History Apollo 11 Moon Landing: President John F Kennedy set a national goal to send a man to the moon by the end of the 1960s, and the Apollo 11 mission was launched eight years later. The world watched as Apollo 11, carrying three men, took out from the Kennedy Space Centre on July 16, 1969. The spacecraft reached lunar orbit on July 19, three days later. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, while Michael Collins stayed in lunar orbit in the command module. The following day, Armstrong and Aldrin's lunar module, Eagle, separated from the main command module. Armstrong sent the iconic radio transmission, 'The Eagle has landed," to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, as soon as Eagle touched down on the moon. In 2021, the UN General Assembly officially declared July 20 as the International Moon Day following the recommendation from the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). International Moon Day Significance The goal of this day is to celebrate the successes of lunar exploration. The primary objective of this occasion is to promote the remembrance of the first arrival of human beings on the surface of the Moon. International Moon Day offers a chance to highlight sustainable lunar exploration. The day promotes peaceful global collaboration in space exploration and the efficient use of space for the good of all people. International Moon Day's events and educational activities are designed to encourage young people to choose careers in mathematics, science, technology, and engineering. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Sharjah 24
12-07-2025
- Sharjah 24
Global cocaine market hit new record highs
Illegal production jumped to 3,708 tons, nearly 34 percent more than in 2022, and more than four times higher than 10 years earlier, when it was at a low, the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in its annual report. The current surge is mainly due to an increase in the size of the area under illicit coca bush cultivation in Colombia and updated yield data, it added. Global cocaine seizures, too, recorded a high of 2,275 tons, marking a 68 percent rise in the four years to 2023. The number of cocaine users also grew to 25 million in 2023, up from 17 million ten years earlier. "Cocaine has become fashionable for the more affluent society," UNODC chief researcher Angela Me said, noting a "vicious cycle" of increased use and production. While Colombia remains the key producer, cocaine traffickers are breaking into new markets across Asia and Africa, according to the report, with organised crime groups from the Western Balkans increasing their influence.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Iran's Prez Pezeshkian says he's open to talks with US despite strikes
Arsalan Shahla Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Tucker Carlson his country remains open to talks with the US, but that it was difficult to trust Washington after its strikes last month. 'I'm of the belief that we could very much, easily resolve the differences and conflicts with the United States through dialog and talks,' Pezeshkian told Carlson in an almost-30 minute video interview conducted through an interpreter and aired on Monday. Pezeshkian claimed the Trump administration authorised Israeli attacks on Iran that began on June 13. Those were followed by US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites on June 22. The Iranian president added that Israel's bombardment targeted him and some of his colleagues directly while they were in a meeting. He said the attack failed, without giving further details. Israel killed several leading Iranian military commanders and atomic scientists during the 12-day war. Iran and the US were poised for their sixth round of nuclear negotiations, mediated by Oman, when Israel started its campaign. Pezeshkian was elected last year. While powerful, most of Iran's strategic military and foreign-policy decision are taken by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Pezeshkian said the US strikes 'severely damaged' nuclear infrastructure and equipment. In response, Iran launched missiles at a Qatari air base used by US forces. Noone was injured in the retaliation, with Iran forewarning the US and Qatar so that the base could be evacuated. 'There's a condition for restarting the talks: how are we going to trust the United States again?' Pezeshkian said. 'We enter the negotiations, then how can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks, the Israeli regime won't be given permission to attack us again?' Iran has 'no problem re-entering the negotiations' but the country is 'now facing a crisis that we need to put behind,' Pezeshkian added. Last week, Iran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, accusing the United Nations watchdog of biased reports that Iranian officials say provided justification for Israel's strikes. Pezeshkian said Tehran remains open to working with the IAEA. But, he said, renewed supervision from the Vienna-based body would have to wait until damage assessments were completed.
