In Budapest’s 9th district, the stadium is more than sport — it is identity, belonging, and a lens into Hungary’s political logic.

Hungary’s fiercest political battle is not with Brussels — it is with its own capital, Budapest.

From the banks of the Danube, geopolitics feels less like policy and more like performance. A personal letter from Budapest as Hungary moves toward the 2026 election — pragmatic, polarised, and persistently independent.

Canada launches a new strategic partnership with China under PM Mark Carney, cutting agri‑food tariffs, opening EV imports, and expanding clean energy cooperation amid global uncertainty.

The 2030s mark a global AI arms race reshaping geopolitics, warfare, and surveillance. Nations like the U.S., China, and Russia are deploying AI in defense, cyberwarfare, and intelligence, raising ethical concerns and risking global instability amid a lack of unified regulations and oversight.

Tensions spike as Pakistan suspends a key peace treaty and closes airspace after a deadly Kashmir attack, warning India over water rights. The standoff threatens economic fallout across South Asia.

Tariffs shake the auto industry, EU boosts defense, and Japan and South Korea navigate uncertainty amid shifting global trade and security dynamics.

Today's Market Update explores global financial shifts, from plunging markets due to the US trade war to Vietnam’s Starlink approval and the UK’s £14bn fiscal plan to stabilize its economy.