Fergal Lenehan

From opposite sides of the planet, South Korea and Ireland have enjoyed outsized soft power through their artists’ influence on global pop culture. Their stories share economic boom-and-bust, partition, and a cocktail of English and native languages.

Some see this week’s election in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the rise of the AfD as a sign of what may come. This is a choice yet to be made.

Explosive drones at a German airport and cyber attacks on power plants are the latest Russian-led attempts at sowing disruption in the EU – sometimes via “disposable agents” paid as a little as a few hundred euro.

For a century on film and another in the pages of Mary Shelley’s novel, the mad scientist and his creature have established a rich science-fiction tradition. Will Guillermo del Toro’s version bring a new twist to the theme of man playing God?

A major exhibition in Hamburg traces through the life and career of Ireland’s internationally best-known artist.

Chemnitz now has the title which was held by Galway through a tumultuous year in 2020. The EU programme remains a work in progress, a visit to the eastern German city shows.

Eighty years after the publication of his breakthrough novel Animal Farm, the writer’s dissection of the drift towards authoritarianism remains as relevant as ever – despite deep personal contradictions.

Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan getting the screen treatment in recent months are just the latest incarnations of an increasingly popular genre that has featured such diverse geniuses as Mozart and Johnny Cash.

As X leads the charge towards techno-fascism, European internet users remain dependent on US online giants. Where are the alternatives?

Germany’s election campaign has been divisive, but a grand coalition between the CDU and SPD seems likely. Can fierce rivals Merz and Scholz unite to provide stability amid rising far-right pressure?