Allah's Willing Executioners

Italians are going to the polls on March 22 and 23, to vote in a referendum on a major judicial reform, championed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ever since she came to power.

At the heart of this constitutional reform lies the introduction of a strict separation of careers between the bench and the prosecution service. It is not a merely technical change: it redefines the balance of power within the Italian state. The Italian Left, unsurprisingly, is mobilising against what it posits is an attack on the rule of law.

This reform is a priority for the Italian PM, who first raised the issue upon taking office in September 2022. It has its origins in a scandal surrounding Judge Luca Palamara that erupted in 2019. A prosecutor in Rome, former president of the National Association of Magistrates and an influential member of the High Council of the Judiciary, whose chats were bugged in a case of ordinary corruption, Palamara turned out to be at the centre of a vast system of judicial co-optation. Among the thousands of messages, one caused a political shockwave: Luca Palamara and his interlocutors discussed the need to colpire Salvini—to strike at Salvini—who was then minister of the interior. For the Italian Right, this proved that magistrates were using their investigative powers as a partisan weapon.

The reform has already been approved by parliament, but not by the two-thirds majority required for its definitive adoption, as stipulated by the Italian constitution. A referendum was therefore deemed necessary. The reform will be adopted if the ‘yes’ vote wins even in the absence of a turnout quorum. 

The ‘yes’ camp comprises the parties forming the right-wing alliance that enabled Giorgia Meloni to come to power: her own party, Fratelli d’Italia, as well as Silvio Berlusconi’s long-standing party, Forza Italia, and Matteo Salvini’s Lega. The ‘no’ camp is that of the left-wing parties: mainly the Partito Democratico and the Movimento 5 Stelle, as well as other smaller parties. The National Association of Magistrates, or ANM (Associazione Nazionale dei Magistrati), which now represents 96% of Italian magistrates, has also called for a ‘no’ vote.

The implications of the debate are technical; for these reasons, the government would have preferred not to resort to a referendum, but it had no choice, given the impossibility of securing a two-thirds majority in parliament. In effect, the referendum largely serves as a popularity test for Meloni’s government, and the polls suggest the ‘yes’ vote is leading by a comfortable margin—even after being slightly eroded recently.

At the heart of the reform lies the principle of enshrining the separation of magistrates’ careers: the giudicanti (judges) and the requirenti (prosecutors). The former adjudicate the cases brought before them, whilst the latter represent society and seek the application of the law. Until now, magistrates graduating from the magistrates’ college could move from one role to the other during their career: the referendum provides that this pathway be abolished, and that magistrates have to make a definitive choice to spend their entire career in one role or the other.

As a corollary to this separation of careers, the text provides for significant changes to the judicial organisation. Currently, Italian magistrates are managed by a single institution, the Consiglio superiore della magistratura (High Council of the Judiciary, CSM), composed of two-thirds of magistrates elected by their peers, and one-third of lawyers and university law professors, elected by Parliament. This council has full authority over promotion, transfer and disciplinary matters. The reform proposes to abolish it and replace it with three new councils. The members of these councils would no longer be elected but selected by lot, thereby putting an end to any system of co-optation among peers.

To put it simply: the reform is about breaking the corporatism of the judiciary—which has traditionally benefited the Left—and thereby strengthening public confidence in the impartiality of the justice system. The left-wing corporatism denounced by the government has direct implications for the policies it intends to pursue, in terms of security for example: all too often, Giorgia Meloni argues, magistrates undermine the work of law enforcement by encouraging a form of judicial laxity.

Alongside her, Meloni can count on influential allies, such as the magistrate Antonio Di Pietro, the investigating judge who made a name for himself in the 1990s during the massive anti-corruption operation Mani Pulite (‘Clean hands’) targeting the Italian political class. He condemns the closed circle that the High Council of the Judiciary has become: “The result is a real division, with the most important decisions now being taken according to political affiliations,” he claims.

On the Left, they see it differently. They criticise the government’s emphasis on career separation—which would affect only a minority of magistrates each year, and which could have been introduced by a simple law, not a constitutional reform. For Meloni’s opponents, the prime minister’s aim is clear: to “bring to heel” the judiciary, which clashes too directly with political power. Within the small world of magistrates, the announced move to a lottery system is viewed very unfavourably: magistrates will be prevented from electing representatives of their choice, and thus from reinforcing their political leanings amongst themselves.

True to form, the Left is crying “fascism”—under Mussolini, magistrates were under the close control of the Ministry of Justice, and the Judicial Council was only established in 1948, precisely to act as a “buffer.” But the panic seems largely unjustified. Article 104 of the Constitution will not be amended; it states that “the judiciary constitutes an autonomous order, independent of any other power.”

Once again, the Left is labelling an attack on its own interests as an attack on the rule of law. It is a safe bet that Italians will renew their confidence in their prime minister—who is set to break the record for longevity at the helm of an Italian government.

europeanconservative

An educational project organised at the end of Ramadan has sparked a heated debate at a municipal nursery in Gelsenkirchen. This is according to a report by the broadcaster RTL West. The report states that a project was carried out at a nursery in the Resser Mark district of Gelsenkirchen (photo) , in which the children were taught how to pray in a mosque and how to write their names in Arabic script. Enxhi Seli-Zacharias, deputy parliamentary group leader of the AfD in North Rhine-Westphalia, reports that concerned parents had approached her seeking help.

The Resser Mark district has a significantly lower proportion of people with a migrant background – around 17 per cent – than the Gelsenkirchen average of over 42 per cent. The North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry for Family Affairs declined to comment on the specific case to broadcast station RTL West. Nevertheless, according to the broadcaster, the Ministry stated: “When learning about other cultures, lifestyles, attitudes or religions, the aim is to promote understanding and acceptance and, of course, not to alienate children and their families from their own values.” A spokesperson for the City of Gelsenkirchen said: “The Herforder Straße nursery implements educational activities relating to religious festivals every year. Alongside the Easter family celebration, the St Martin’s Day family festival, the St Nicholas celebration and the Christmas party, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr are just two of these festivals.”

Last year, a school in Gelsenkirchen caused quite a stir. At the time, the Erle Comprehensive School in Gelsenkirchen switched entirely to halal food: from the coming school year, all meals served at the school will be halal, i.e. prepared in accordance with Muslim standards. The school announced this on its website: “All meals are halal,” it states. This applies primarily to all meat dishes; and a vegetarian option is also available. Nius was the first to report on this. The food is therefore free from pork; the meat also comes from ritually prescribed slaughter. The switch to purely halal-certified food is due to the new caterer, the Turkish-run ‘Müttis Küche’. This company supplies a total of nine schools in Gelsenkirchen and relies heavily on halal-certified meat.

apollo-news

A Ukrainian-linked disinformation network is alleged to be operating in Hungary ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections, with reports pointing to coordinated online activity and media messaging aimed at boosting the opposition Tisza Party.

According to investigations cited by Hungarian outlets Mandiner and Ellenpont, the operation rests on two pillars: the spread of pro-Kyiv narratives through parts of the opposition media, and a social media network linked to figures around Tisza leader Péter Magyar.

The controversy erupted after Irina Pugachova, an influencer described as close to Ukraine’s leadership, moved to downplay shocking remarks by former Ukrainian security official Hryhoriy Omelchenko, who said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should “receive five bullets.”

Rather than condemning the threat outright, pro-Ukrainian voices framed it as routine political rhetoric—an argument that was then echoed across Hungarian opposition outlets and by political figures, including former Momentum leader András Fekete-Győr.

Reports say the same four-part line was repeated almost word for word: that Orbán exaggerated the threat, that Omelchenko does not represent Kyiv, that such language is part of normal political sparring, and that the Hungarian government is exploiting the incident for political gain.

At the heart of the alleged operation is a network of fake or inactive social media accounts. Investigators claim hundreds of profiles—many with no real followers—have been used to artificially boost content linked to the Tisza Party, opposition media, and allied influencers, helping push selected narratives further into Hungarian users’ feeds.

The activity has been linked to Fekete-Győr, whose recently launched influencer network is aimed at mobilising younger voters and strengthening the opposition’s online reach.

There are also questions over funding. Campaign initiatives tied to opposition figures, including former MP András Jámbor, are said to rely on the U.S.-based Action Network platform, widely used by progressive political groups, pointing to a broader web of international support aligned with pro-Ukrainian causes.

Hungarian sources describe a wider pressure campaign. Alongside the alleged online influence operation, attention has been drawn to Ukraine’s earlier move to disrupt flows through the Druzhba pipeline—seen in Budapest as an attempt to pile economic pressure on the government while political messaging intensifies.

Adding to the concerns, macroeconomist Philipp Pilkington, a senior research fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, warned in a post on X that the evidence points to a “pro-Ukrainian disinformation network” active inside Hungary and potentially influencing the election environment.

🇭🇺🗳️There are reports in the Hungarian media that there is an extensive social media campaign directed against Fidesz being run out of Ukraine. It mixes pro-@magyarpeterMP rhetoric with what the authors identify as “Ukrainian disinformation” narratives. Real interference! 🛑 pic.twitter.com/cw5ZPacxyA

— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) March 21, 2026

The claims come as scrutiny grows over the role of Big Tech in the campaign. Facebook has been accused of restricting posts from Orbán while boosting opposition figures, with observers noting unusually high engagement on Péter Magyar’s content.

At the same time, several pro-government Hungarian media outlets have seen their Facebook pages suddenly taken down in the weeks before the April 12 vote—moves critics say could tilt the online information landscape at a crucial moment.

Brussels has also entered the fray. The European Commission recently activated its Rapid Response System (RRS), allowing social media content to be monitored and categorised during the election period. Critics argue that, by relying on NGOs aligned with Hungary’s opposition, the system risks shaping what voters see online.

Taken together, the reports paint a picture of mounting external pressure—from online networks and foreign-linked funding to platform moderation and EU-level interventions—fueling fears that Hungary’s election battle is being fought not just at the ballot box, but across the digital battlefield as well.

europeanconservative

At the recent EU summit in Brussels, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stood firm on his decision to block billions of euros in financial aid to Ukraine, citing his legal authority to do so despite fierce backlash from European leaders.

Orbán addressed the friction at the summit while speaking to Hungarian journalists on Thursday night, acknowledging that “there was a little stuttering in the gears.“

Despite Orbán’s legal use of his veto right, the EU once again appears to be disregarding all rule of law and will reportedly find a “back door” means to provide Ukraine with the €90 billion loan.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ​said early on Friday to reporters that the EU “will deliver one way or the other.”

Orbán remained defiant regarding his use of the veto, asserting that “the legal situation is quite clear, we have the right to do so.“ Although the Hungarian head of government had initially approved the support loan during the December summit, he has since reversed his position. Orbán now alleges that Ukraine arbitrarily “turned off“ the Druzhba oil pipeline — a vital oil and energy artery for Hungary and Slovakia, which remain the only EU nations still receiving direct shipments of Russian oil, as they have been exempted due to issues they face with alternative routes.

Notably, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened Orbán’s life earlier this month, saying that either he delivers the €90 billion, or “otherwise, we will give this person’s address to our armed forces, and then they will call him and speak to him in their own language.”

While Kyiv maintains that the pipeline was severely damaged by a Russian missile attack in late January and requires time for repairs, Orbán has signaled he will not abandon his blockade until the flow of Russian oil into Hungary is restored and guarantees against any similar shutdown in the future are made. So far, Ukraine has blocked EU technicians from inspecting the pipeline, which is a serious suggestion that Ukraine is withholding oil at a pivotal moment before Hungarian elections.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico also criticized Ukraine for refusing repeated requests to inspect the site. According to Fico, Slovakia first attempted to send its ambassador to the location but was denied access. Requests from the European Union’s ambassador to Ukraine and proposals for a joint inspection team were also rejected.

“What is President Zelensky afraid of, the truth?” Fico asked.

Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán, also weighed in on the dispute in a post on X, citing reporting by the Financial Times and arguing that Hungary’s warnings about the pipeline had been vindicated.

“While the Brussels elite lined up behind Kyiv and dismissed Hungary’s warnings, the facts now emerging, including in the Financial Times, confirm it: the Druzhba shutdown is political blackmail, not technical damage,” he wrote.

Balázs Orbán said Ukrainian pipeline operators had previously indicated to Hungary’s MOL energy company that there were no operational obstacles to oil flows and noted that shipments had continued briefly earlier this year following a strike and fire near the pipeline.

“Satellite imagery shows the infrastructure is not damaged to the extent claimed and remains capable of operation,” he wrote, echoing Fico’s concerns that inspection requests from Hungary, Slovakia, and EU officials had been refused.

EU is furious

Orbán’s refusal to provide a loan to Kyiv drew a sharp rebuke from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who characterized Orbán’s behavior at the summit as an “act of gross disloyalty“ that would have consequences.

Orbán appeared unmoved by the Chancellor’s warning or the broader criticism from other EU heads of state. Reflecting on the confrontation, he told journalists, “They threatened a little, then they realized that it didn’t work.”

The atmosphere in Brussels was reportedly one of unprecedented hostility toward the Hungarian leader. EU Council President António Costa described Orbán’s actions as “unacceptable“ and a direct violation of cooperation principles. According to reports from Politico, diplomats noted that a head of government had never before “crossed this red line,“ with one source remarking that “almost everyone in the room attacked Orbán hard.”

rmx

Amnesty International has accused Austria of “anti-Muslim” and “anti-Palestinian racism” – as reported by exxpress. The Austria Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) immediately turned this into a headline story and adopted Amnesty’s position with virtually no criticism. This has now taken many by surprise.

Strictly speaking, in its highly controversial report, the NGO is primarily attacking Austria’s fight against anti-Semitism. Put bluntly, this implies that because Austria combats hatred of Jews, it discriminates against Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims. Critics see this as a dangerous distortion – and a worrying similarity to patterns of argumentation found in extremist circles.
Communication researcher and plagiarism watchdog Stefan Weber has reacted particularly strongly. Speaking to the exxpress, he commented: “The ORF report is neither impartial nor objective. It therefore constitutes a clear breach of the content-related programming principle set out in Section 10(5) of the ORF Act.” He continued: “The Amnesty International study addresses resentment arising from a current armed conflict exclusively from a pro-Palestinian perspective.”

His verdict on the data basis is even harsher. Amnesty based its findings on interviews with 19 anonymous “experts”. Weber comments: “Nineteen people were interviewed who were not even named. This has only marginally to do with science; it is propaganda.”

In the report, Amnesty also criticises the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. This is an internationally recognised working definition of antisemitism designed to help identify hatred of Jews – including where it is expressed in relation to Israel. It does not claim that all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, but it does state that it is anti-Semitic if, for example, the Jewish state is demonised, equated with the Nazi regime, or held to standards to which no other state is subjected.

Critics of Amnesty therefore argue that anyone who portrays the IHRA as a problem across the board is weakening an important tool against modern anti-Semitism. “Those who want to legitimise anti-Semitism at any cost and make it ‘respectable’ are currently targeting the IHRA definition once again,” comments an X-user.

In fact, Amnesty’s argument here overlaps with that of far-left and anti-imperialist circles. For instance, it disputes the anti-Semitic nature of denying Israel’s right to exist. Austria’s strategy, by contrast, maintains that Israel-related anti-Semitism occurs in all ideological circles and that anti-Zionism often serves as a cover. This is precisely what Amnesty’s Executive Director Shoura Hashemi objects to, noting, for instance, “that Austria and other European countries run the risk of instrumentalising and politicising anti-Semitism”.

Hashemi’s attempt to establish anti-Zionism as legitimate ‘criticism of Israel’ is entirely in line with the views of the far right, the far left and Islamists. Moreover, as Austria focuses so heavily on imported anti-Semitism, as the Amnesty director believes, this would “stigmatise Muslim and/or Arab people in Austria”, for instance through “negative stereotypes” and corresponding “exclusionary narratives”, as the ORF also uncritically reports.

Selektiv editor Christoph Hofer responds on X: “It is not discrimination to criticise the latent anti-Semitism of specific immigrant groups, which can be proven in countless studies on values.”

Amnesty’s stance on the BDS movement is similarly controversial. BDS stands for ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’ and calls for a boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Amnesty argues that advocating for BDS should be protected.

In Austria, politicians take exactly the opposite view: in the National Council, all parties condemned BDS, and Reinhold Lopatka spoke of an “attack on Jewish life” – in the sense of “Don’t buy from Jews”. For critics, this shows that Amnesty is not merely opposing individual measures, but the fundamental political consensus in the fight against anti-Semitism.

Weber is not alone in his criticism. Other users on X are surprised that ORF has promoted the Amnesty report “unquestioningly to the top of the news” “without seeking a single alternative viewpoint”. The main criticism: the ORF has broadcast a politically charged report featuring just 19 interviews and virtually no opposing views – thereby creating the impression that the problem is not rising anti-Semitism, but Austria’s attempt to combat it.

ORF-Eklat: Österreichs Antisemitismus-Kampf plötzlich „Rassismus“? | Exxpress

Headscarves, Ramadan and Sharia law. Is Islam increasingly imposing its values on us? That was the question posed by ServusTV yesterday, Friday, on the programme “Talk im Hangar-7”, during which they showed a video of a radical Muslim who gave the following answer: “Germany belongs to us Muslims”.
The bearded man, who stood in front of a mosque for the video recording, said, word for word:

We will spread because we are having more children, and one day the whole of Germany will be full of mosques, full of places of worship. And against that – just ask yourselves – there is nothing you can do. You lost your cultural heritage long ago. There is no Germany anymore. Germany belongs to the Muslims, the Turks and the Arabs.

One of the panelists, Khola Maryam Hübsch, attempted to downplay the threat of radicalism. Her claim that there was only a minority of dangerous Islamists in Germany, and around a hundred in Austria, failed to reassure critics of political Islam, including Susanne Wiesinger, a teacher from Vienna’s Favoriten district, and lawyer Emrah Erken, who had travelled to Austria specifically to escape Islamism.

“My husband became radicalised in a Viennese mosque,” said journalist Liza Ulitzka, whose ex-husband abducted their two children to Egypt. She has not seen her children for nine months. Ulitzka spoke of her experiences with the religion, which, in her view, had not actually been radical at all when state and religion were still separate. However, since senior representatives of the faith – particularly preachers from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt – have rejected secularism, seeking instead to unite state and religion, Islam has become more radical.

Radikaler Islamist: „Land gehört den Muslimen – dagegen könnt ihr nichts tun!“ – Unzensuriert

Orbán is the man that Brussels’ establishment loves to hate, but patriots stand by him every step of the way.

For 16 years, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been his own man in European summits, capable of standing alone if needs be, against the suicidal Globalist policies pursued by the EU.

Now, all the Euro-Globalists and liberals are desperately hoping that this was his last European Summit.

The last straw for those ‘leaders’ was that Orbán blocked the 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine, the absolute priority for the deranged officials in Brussels and Strasbourg.

He suffered tremendous peer pressure from the heads of state and government, but did not relent.

EU leaders failed to persuade Hungary's Viktor Orban to lift his block on a massive loan to support Ukraine's war effort at summit talks on Thursday, leaving the much-needed funding in limbo. https://t.co/c2PRECuILH pic.twitter.com/x4IBanktcw

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 19, 2026

Politico reported:

“The bloc’s longest-serving government chief, facing an election in less than a month that he’s forecast to lose, has long been a thorn in the side of Brussels (which also means Paris, Berlin and a score of other capitals). There was no sign at Thursday’s European Council that even if he is preparing to walk off into the sunset he’s any less stubborn — or any more admired.

‘Nobody can blackmail the European Council, nobody can blackmail the European institutions’, European Council President António Costa, who chaired the meeting, told reporters, in an extraordinary broadside. ‘It is completely unacceptable what Hungary is doing’.”

All the usual suspects came out against him, with Germany’s Friedrich Merz saying he ‘is violating one of the fundamental principles of our cooperation’.

“In recent weeks, the Hungarian prime minister has linked the pipeline issue to the loan and accused Ukraine of not repairing Druzhba for political reasons — making it an election issue by painting himself as the protector of his country’s interests. Zelensky has said he doesn’t want to repair a pipeline that the Russians have repeatedly attacked, which helps fund the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of his country. Costa said during his press conference that Russia had damaged the pipeline 23 times since launching the full-scale invasion.

‘What I have done today is to crush the oil blockade, which [was] imposed on us by Zelensky’, Orbán said after the summit. ‘So, I defended the interest of the country’.”

But European Patriots are standing beside him in the runup to the elections, as an event next week is to show.

Euronews reported:

“The event dubbed ‘the first Patriotic Grand Assembly’ will include speeches from far-right leaders Marine Pen and Matteo Salvini as well as Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. According to media reports, US Vice President JD Vance is planning to visit Hungary soon.

Far-right leaders Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini will join Viktor Orbán at a campaign rally in Budapest next Monday, three weeks before a parliamentary election that could pose the most serious challenge to the Hungarian leader’s 16-year hold on power.”

thegatewaypundit

If ever you needed proof that the Labour Party is beholden to Muslim voters, and increasingly sees itself in a battle for the sectarian Muslim vote against the Greens, then the cynical attacks they’ve launched against Nick Timothy this week have provided it.

Nick Timothy, the Shadow Justice Secretary, pointed out that the proclaiming of the Muslim Adhan in Trafalgar Square, a public space of national symbolism, and the leading of mass Islamic prayers by Sadiq Khan, was not an innocuous display of public worship, but an intrusion of Islamic cultural domination into the public sphere.

The argument also completely explodes the fiction that Labour’s introduction of a definition for “anti-Muslim hatred” was a benign act of minority-protection. Clearly it is already being weaponised to stifle criticism of the religion.

My guest this week, Emma Trimble, has had her own experiences of attempted cancellation for criticising Islam. She was subjected to appalling abuse after highlighting that many of the Pakistani rape gangs were motivated, to some extent at least, by a desire to dominate and humiliate the women of other religions – something which was well-attested to by witnesses and survivors at Rupert Lowe’s rape gang inquiry.

Emma also brings her specific perspective as a practicing Christian. As you will hear during our discussion, I disagree with her to some extent on the best way to tackle the Islamist threat to our society, but we both agree that it must be taking extremely seriously.

A trans-identified male who was caught with images of young children being sexually abused has walked free from court after being given a community order. Tyler “Kairah” Kelly, 25, was formerly promoted as a happy “trans kid” by British media.

Kelly, of central Middlesborough, was initially arrested following a raid on his home in January. The investigation was reportedly sparked by a tip sent to police indicating that Kelly was in possession of illegal material. At the time of his arrest, two phones were seized from his home, with illegal material being found on one of them. According to Teeside Live, at least one of the images depicted a 6-year-old boy being sexually abused.

Kelly later pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images and possessing a prohibited image of a child.

During the trial, Kelly’s defense attorney, Robert Mochrie, said that his client has had a “difficult life due to gender dysphoria,” and lamented the “social isolation she has endured during her early years.” Mochrie described his client as a “prime candidate for rehabilitation.”

The court agreed, and handed Kelly a two-year community order, along with an order to attend a mental health treatment program for six months; an alcohol abstinence program for 120 days; and attend 20 rehabilitation days. Kelly was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the next five years, which restricts his use of the internet and allows police to search his devices at any time.

Kelly’s arrest holds particular significance, as just 10 years ago he was sympathetically profiled by media for being a “trans teen.”

In a 2016 Metro article, Kelly, who was 15 years old at the time, was described as “a Kim K-lookalike.” The article notes that Kelly began formally identifying as transgender over a school break, leaving as Tyler and returning as “Kairah.”

📽Here is "Kairah Kelly" back in 2016 when PA media and Metro news covered his "trans teen" story of pretending to be girl.

He's just been given a 2 year community order on three counts of possessing child s3xual abuse material of children as young as 6 https://t.co/bEQA4DJEeL pic.twitter.com/cUqODjSaDK

— Emily Wilding Davison🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@Wommando) March 20, 2026

“I was so nervous when I turned up for my first day but I didn’t need to be. Everyone was so supportive and happy for me,” Kelly says in the article, which alternates in using feminine and masculine pronouns for him.

“Although Tyler came out as gay at 13, he still felt something was missing. It wasn’t until a year later that Tyler came across a video by a trans woman and realized listening to her story that he too was trapped in the wrong body,” the article reads.

The article also boasts that Kelly had a “long line of cosmetic procedures planned after having gender reassignment, including breast implants, lip fillers and bum implants.”

In 2018, the Daily Mail published a video interview featuring Kelly, in which he describes himself as wearing a “suffocating” steel-boned waist trainer for 20 hours a day. That same year, an article by The Mirror revealed Kelly had spent at least £15,000 on cosmetic procedures in his attempts to look more like Kim Kardashian.

reduxx

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has reportedly expressed understanding for her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán over his stance on Ukraine.

Doing so would highlight underlying disagreements in the European Union’s unified front as relations between Hungary and Ukraine deteriorate.

According to Politico, citing multiple sources familiar with a closed-door discussion at yesterday’s EU leaders’ summit, Meloni acknowledged Orbán’s reasoning for blocking a €90 billion loan package to Kyiv — despite having previously approved similar measures in December.

While Italy has not officially shifted its position, Meloni’s comments mark a notable departure in tone from most EU leaders, who have consistently tried to maintain a firm, coordinated stance in support of Ukraine.

Orbán’s opposition to the package reflects Budapest’s strategic, economic and political concerns over large-scale aid to Kyiv being structured as long-term joint EU debt.

He has warned against deeper fiscal integration without adequate national oversight and has pushed for stronger review mechanisms to preserve veto powers and flexibility.

Tensions between Kyiv and Budapest have escalated in recent months over the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Hungary with Russian hydrocarbons.

Ukraine has at times leveraged transit flows during the war, prompting Budapest to link its position on EU aid to guarantees of continued deliveries. Relations have also grown more confrontational, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy making remarks interpreted in Hungary as veiled threats.

At the same time, Orbán has used his veto as leverage in disputes with Brussels, while framing his position as a defence of Hungarian economic interests.

Any indication that a major EU founding member such as Italy may be willing to entertain — or at least understand — these objections is likely to resonate across EU institutions, where maintaining cohesion has become an increasingly delicate task.

Meloni’s office has sought to downplay the reported comments, reiterating Italy’s continued commitment to Ukraine and the broader Euro-Atlantic framework. In practice, Rome has supported successive sanctions packages and endorsed joint EU initiatives since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Meloni’s engagement with Orbán may reflect a pragmatic effort to preserve channels of communication with a dissenting member state, rather than a substantive policy shift. Still, it illustrates how finely balanced internal discussions have become.

Before becoming prime minister, Meloni was long politically aligned with Orbán. During her time in opposition in Italy, she acted as the main interlocutor for the Hungarian Government in the country, even though their respective parties, Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) and Fidesz, belonged to different groups in the European Parliament.

Relations between the two cooled in recent years as Hungary increasingly clashed with the EU while Meloni pursued closer ties with European chancelleries, securing political recognition that sometimes put her at odds with her former ally.

Despite these discrepancies, the two have maintained relations without ever breaking ties. Meloni’s recent stance in his favour represents continuity in this approach: No longer steadfast allies, but not adversaries either — rather, bound by a pragmatic relationship.

For Brussels, the challenge remains not only to sustain support for Ukraine but also to manage diverging perspectives within the EU, without allowing them to evolve into open fractures.

At this stage, there is no sign of an imminent rupture but the incident serves as a reminder that European unity is not a fixed asset; it is a continuous process that may become harder to maintain as the conflict drags on.

brusselssignal