Hungary is a country rich in sporting talent, which is also evident within the Hungarian Defence Forces: their parachute team is among the world’s elite, as stated by Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Tamás Vargha on Wednesday in Szolnok.

US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman first praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for his trip to Kyiv, then harshly criticized him for ‘overtly and tirelessly’ supporting Donald Trump in the US presidential election race. According to Pressman, the partisan politicization of bilateral relations is dangerous and detrimental to the US– Hungarian relationship.

According to press reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán’s proposal for a time-bound ceasefire in Ukraine. However, Zelenskyy praised the start of ‘completely different relations’ between Hungary and Ukraine, which could soon be formalized in a new agreement between the two countries.

‘The Hungarian presidency has just begun, but every opportunity is being seized to obstruct it, as it offers the Hungarian government the chance to present its vision of an alternative Europe to the entire continent,’ the Center for Fundamental Rights stress in their analysis. They also note that the Hungarian PM’s visit to Kyiv took the international press by surprise, as the liberal media has consistently and falsely portrayed Hungary’s stance as pro-Russian from the start, a claim that Viktor Orbán has now clearly disproved.

One of the key pillars of the state-funded John von Neumann programme is the development of science parks. The newly inaugurated pilot research laboratory at the University of Debrecen, where pharmaceutical development and small-scale production activities will be conducted in a biosafety level 2 (BSL2) work environment, was built with a grant from the programme.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution initiated by Hungary by full consensus to declare 19 May World Fair Play Day. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó called the negotiation process a huge success, resulting in a global coalition.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consider a time-bound ceasefire during talks in Kyiv on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed contentious issues between their countries, both described the meeting as constructive.

The acquisition allows GLS to offer fulfilment services to its customers both within Hungary and beyond. The aim of GLS is to expand its range of activities and opportunities, with outsourced e-commerce logistics serving as a key growth area, the company said in a statement released today.

While speaking at a public administration conference in Tata, Hungary, Minister for Regional Development and Public Administration Tibor Navracsics spoke of the ‘paradigm shift’ digitalization is bringing to Hungarian public administration. However, he also stressed that digital administration does not mean replacing government offices or the physical presence of public administrations, but rather expanding services.

Bence Rétvári reported that thanks to the activities of the so-called Kiber 300 group established by the police a year and a half ago, 819 suspects have been interrogated, and the court has ordered the arrest of 114 individuals. Overall, there has been a 30 per cent reduction in online fraud over the past six months.

The Supreme Court ruling does not absolve President Trump from all prosecution, since lower courts can still rule on what conduct fell under ‘official acts’ when he was President; and under what conditions his presumptive immunity can be rebutted. However, it does force Special Counsel Jack Smith to restart his case at the trial court level, and it is very unlikely that he can take the case to trial before the 5 November presidential election.

As of today bottles, PET bottles, and aluminium cans can no longer be placed on the market in Hungary without a return deposit logo. Also from today three thousand REpont machines are becoming operational, mostly in the largest retail stores, while in a thousand smaller shops or kiosks consumers will be able to return the bottles manually.

The recent terror attacks in Dagestan are only some of the many signs that Russia is facing a real threat in terms of radical Islam in the Caucasus. In October 2023 a crowd of Muslim fanatics besieged the Makhachkala airport in search of Jews. The antisemitic riot which led to sixty people being arrested left the airport with smashed windows and injured policemen.

Semmelweis University is Hungary’s best and most popular medical and health science higher education institution, ranked among the world’s top 300. One-third of the 16,000 students are foreign nationals from 115 countries, and the university has active collaborations with leading Western and Eastern universities around the world, including Harvard University and the National University of Singapore, Gábor Orbán, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for National Health Care and Medical Education highlighted at the ceremony.

On Sunday, 30 June 2024 Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared that a new era in European politics has begun. At a press conference held jointly with Herbert Kickl and Andrej Babiš PM Orbán outlined the vision for a revamped European political alliance. The new political family aims to reshape the landscape of European governance and address the pressing issues faced by the continent, the Hungarian prime minister said.

According to CNN’s own poll, more than two-thirds, 67 per cent of the viewers thought that President Trump had won the debate. President Biden’s odds for re-election plummeted after the event, with bookmakers giving him only about a 22.5 per cent chance for re-election on average. Meanwhile, some in the left-leaning media call on Biden not to stand for re-election.

Donald Trump has expanded his lead over Joe Biden in the national polling aggregate since his conviction. Meanwhile, President Biden’s approval rating by Gallup is at an abysmal 38 per cent ahead of the CNN debate in Atlanta, Georgia tonight, which is not a good indicator for reelection.

Despite being heavy favourites going into the game, Portugal ended up having been beaten by Georgia in the final round of the group stage at Euro 2024. This resulted in Hungary falling out of the top four third-place finishers in the groups, thus failing to advance to the round of 16.

The updated test will now include questions covering topics regarding the Holocaust, Jewish culture, and the state of Israel. This initiative, part of a broader revision of the citizenship test, aims to ensure that applicants have a comprehensive understanding of Germany’s complex history and its stance on Israel.

Chery Automotive, the fifth-largest automotive company in China and the largest Chinese exporter, is arriving in Hungary with the Omoda series. The car will be on Hungarian roads from September, with Omoda showrooms also opening in the same month at eight locations across the country.

After ten years, NATO will have a new Secretary General: outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. As head of government, Rutte has often criticised Hungary, but he has promised to honour the agreement between Viktor Orbán and Jens Stoltenberg that Hungary will stay out of NATO’s mission in Ukraine.

The Ratha-yātrā Chariot Festival will be held for the 28th time in Budapest this Saturday; it will later merge with the India Festival held in City Park on the same day. The programmes are free to attend.

Rally Hungary set a goal to improve the event’s environmental performance, which was so successful that it received the FIA’s two-star rating (three stars being the maximum) in 2024.

Mattia Zaccagni’s last-minute banger gave the Hungarian national team a better chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the European Championship in Germany. If England beat Slovenia tonight, the Hungarian team will advance to the last 16 of the continental tournament.

Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah threatens to use Syrian refugees as a political weapon while also warning Cyprus of a possible attack if the island nation assists Israel militarily. The group’s ability to manipulate refugee flows and its readiness to use military force against EU member states necessitate an effective and coordinated response from the European Union.

The mandatory discount system together with the online price monitoring effectively contributed to the government’s goal of first reducing inflation to a single digit and then bringing it back to a low level of around 4 per cent.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary intends to put forward a significant plan during its EU presidency called the European Competitiveness Pact. He believes that Europe’s biggest problem at the moment is the decline in competitiveness.

Two elections this week at the Council of Europe will determine the institution’s future orientation. On Tuesday, 25 June the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe will be elected for a five-year term. On Wednesday, 26 June three new judges for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will be elected for a nine-year term. Senior Research Fellow at the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) Nicolas Bauer points out the risk of a leftist takeover.

The European Union will support arms shipments to Ukraine using a portion of the frozen Russian assets. The foreign ministers of the Member States decided on this issue on Monday, excluding Hungary from the decision-making process. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó described the decision as a ‘shameless disregard of European rules’.

Pro-Palestinian gender studies students disrupted the graduation ceremony of the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna. The students accused the university administration of supporting the genocide allegedly perpetrated by Israel. These events mirrored the pro-Palestinian protests observed on US campuses.