Free Republic

In 2017, Varadkar became the first gay prime minister of the once-staunchly Catholic country and the youngest person to hold the office. He returned to the premiership in 2022 under a rotation arrangement struck between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, the two largest parties in a three-party coalition with the smaller Green Party. Varadkar's government has overseen a sharp economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic but has struggled to tackle a decade-long housing crisis and more recently the pressure on services from record numbers of asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees. He also suffered an embarrassing referendum defeat this month when...

President Biden met with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar Friday, where the leader said he thinks there should be a cease-fire “as soon as possible” between Israel and Hamas. Varadkar said he was “keen” to speak with Biden about the war in Gaza, as the two leaders met at the White House to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. “You know, my – my view that we need to have a cease-fire as soon as possible to get food and medicine in, to get the hostages out,” Varadkar said. Biden interjected, saying “And I agree.” The Prime Minister continued, saying he and...

Former president Mary Robinson has called on the Taoiseach (prime minister) to urge the US to end its military and financial support for Israel during his meeting with Joe Biden at the White House. Leo Varadkar this afternoon met US President Joe Biden, with Ukraine, Gaza, Northern Ireland and the economic outlook on the agenda. The chairwoman of the Elders group said the focus should not be on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but on political responses to it. Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Mrs. Robinson said: “Yes, the humanitarian situation is utterly catastrophic and dire, reducing a people...

President Michael D. Higgins has issued a blistering critique of the situation in Gaza, saying it is scandalous that humanitarian aid and medical supplies are being blocked from entering the coastal strip. He added that those nations responsible for allowing the blockade to continue “must take responsibility for the deaths that are ensuing”. The President also criticized a “propaganda campaign” against the United Nations and called on countries to increase aid for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA). Several countries, including the US and UK, have paused funding for the relief agency in Gaza following claims from Israel that some...

Europe is continuing its shift to the right, as voters in Portugal on Sunday rejected socialist governance and cemented the populist-nationalist Chega party as a major political force in the country and potentially a coalition partner in the next government. Following a corruption scandal hitting the highest levels of the socialist government of António Costa, whose own chief of staff and other government ministers were arrested on suspicion of corruption, forcing the PM to announce his resignation and call for an early election, the party has tumbled in the weekend’s election.

The Biden administration scrambled behind the scenes to prepare for the imminent possibility that Russia would use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, a shocking new report revealed. In 2022, the CIA warned President Biden of a 50% change or higher that Russia would reach for its nuclear arsenal if it found its forces were decimated and the illegally annexed territory of Crimea was at risk, according to the New York Times. Those reports caused Biden to deliver his famous “Armageddon” speech at an Oct. 6, 2022, fundraiser in New York City, in which he warned, “We have not faced the...

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Demand for transporting goods from Asia to Europe by rail via Russia has increased by an average of 30% since the start of the Red Sea crisis, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing logistics companies and rail operators. German shipping company DHL said that requests to transport goods on Russian railways have increased by 40% since container ships began traveling along alternative routes following the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the report said on Sunday. At the same time, Netherlands-based Rail Bridge Cargo said that rail freight traffic via Russia was 31% higher this year compared...

Portugal’s Socialists conceded defeat in a parliamentary election on Sunday which saw the far-right emerge as the biggest winner. With nearly 99% of votes counted, the center-right AD coalition had secured 77 seats against 75 seats for the Socialists. “Everything indicates that the result won’t enable the Socialist Party to be the most voted party," Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos said. He congratulated the AD for their election victory. Far-right party Chega recorded the biggest jump in support compared with the 2022 election - it has already won 46 seats, almost quadrupling its current tally. This means the AD would...

One in every five car owners are planning to get rid of their car over the coming years, new research has found. The rising cost of running a car is among the big drivers, the survey discovered, with almost two thirds citing this as an influence on their decision. However, just over three quarters said that grocery shopping remains the biggest barrier to them doing away with their wheels. A little over a third claimed they use their car every day to get to and from work. Overall, a fifth of car users said they would prefer to use their...

A dual referendum in Ireland on redefining family and women's roles in the constitution has been defeated, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Saturday. The government had supported the proposed changes, which would have widened the definition of the family and clarified out-dated language about the duties of women in society. "I think it's clear at this stage, that the family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated," Varadkar said at a press conference in Dublin.The votes are the latest attempt to reflect the changing face of European Union member Ireland, and the waning influence of the once-dominant...

The European Commission will propose on Tuesday ways for the European Union to boost its arms industry so it can shift to “war economy mode” in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thierry Breton, the European industry commissioner, will lay out proposals to encourage EU countries to buy more weapons together from European companies, and to help such firms increase production capacity, according to EU officials. “We need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode. This also means that the European defense industry must take more risks, with our support,” said Breton, previewing the package. Breton, a...

Irish military aircraft are to be dispatched to the Middle East to help get vital humanitarian aid into Gaza, under plans being considered by the Government. Under the proposals, Ireland will work with Jordan to air drop emergency humanitarian supplies into the region which is at risk of widespread famine due to the ongoing Israeli assault. The move follows similar operations carried out by the United States and Jordan last weekend. Under the plans being considered by Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs will work with military officials to transport aid into Jordan, which will then be parachuted into Gaza....

German law enforcement authorities on Thursday carried out raids across Germany against people suspected of posting misogynistic hate speech on the internet as part of of a coordinated push to shine the spotlight on online violence against women. Police raided homes and interrogated 45 suspects in 11 states early Thursday. None of the suspects were detained, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office said in a statement. Another 37 suspects were already searched and interrogated in previous weeks and months.The raids were part of a “combating misogyny on the internet” day of action, which comes one day before International’s Women’s Day. “We...

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will discuss with former US President Donald Trump during their meeting in Florida on Friday the prospects of restoring peace in Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told RIA Novosti. "One of the main points on the agenda between President Trump and Prime Minister Orban will definitely be how peace will return to Europe, especially to the central and eastern part of Europe," Szijjarto said. "What we definitely would like to discuss with him is how to make peace in Ukraine and in the eastern part of Europe." Szijjarto emphasized that...

Air-dropping aid into Gaza was among several issues recently discussed between Ireland and Jordan, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed. A spokesperson for the department told RTÉ News that “Ireland is open to considering the option of airdrops of humanitarian assistance, and this is among several issues that have been raised in recent contacts at political and official level between Ireland and Jordan”. However, the spokesperson said that initiatives such as air-dropping aid into Gaza “must not distract from the urgent need to dramatically scale up the level of humanitarian assistance entering Gaza by land”. “Full, safe and unhindered...

France has become the first country in the world to make abortion a guaranteed right for women in its constitution. The bill was approved in an overwhelming 780-72 vote, and nearly the entire joint session stood in a long-standing ovation during the historic joint session of the lower and upper houses of the French parliament at the Palace of Versailles. There were jubilant scenes of celebration all over France as women's rights activists hailed the measure promised by President Emmanuel Macron following a rollback of abortion rights in court rulings in the United States. Abortion rights activists gathered in central...

An Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed multiple times in Zurich on Saturday evening by a knifeman who reportedly shouted out “death to all Jews” and “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. A 50-year-old man of Orthodox Jewish faith was left with life-threatening injuries after being stabbed multiple times in Switzerland’s largest city at the Brandschenkestrasse/Selnaustrasse junction in Zurich District 2. According to the German-language Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a 15-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene of the attack. Police are currently investigating the potential motive for the attack, including the possibility that it was inspired by antisemitism.

If NATO is so much against sending troops to Ukraine, why doesn’t NATO demand that the soldiers already there be sent home? On Monday, February 26, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would not provide its Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine because doing so would require German troops to be sent there to operate them, just as the British are operating the Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles. The British cried foul and accused Scholz of a “flagrant abuse of intelligence” – meaning that Scholz confirmed what everyone already knows, that NATO officers and trained personnel are in Ukraine...

The EU Court of Justice has imposed a fine of €2.5 million ($2.7 million) on Ireland for failing to transpose an EU directive on the provision of audiovisual services. The breach relates to delays in bringing online video-sharing platforms under the scope of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), for the purposes of combating hate speech and protecting minors from harmful content. The Irish media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán (Media Commission), is currently finalizing an Online Safety Code to regulate video-sharing platforms, but it will not be ready until later this year. In its ruling, the EU Court of Justice...

France’s Senate is to vote on Wednesday on a bill meant to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the constitution, a measure promised by President Emmanuel Macron following a rollback on rulings in the United States. Wednesday’s vote comes after the lower house, the National Assembly, overwhelmingly approved the proposal in January. A majority of senators appear to be in favor of the constitutional change, but some conservatives have criticized its wording, casting doubt over the outcome of the vote. Macron’s government wants Article 34 of the constitution amended to specify that “the law determines the conditions by...