Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán reaffirmed Hungary’s commitment to Poland’s sovereignty, outlined plans for deeper ties with the UAE, criticized EU leadership on war and migration, and defended low taxes and new housing support at home.
‘Kirk made his name in the very arena where conservative ideas are often least welcome: academia. To many progressive students, his campus events provided their first real exposure to conservative arguments; to right-leaning students, he offered both encouragement and a sense of belonging. Yet Kirk’s reach extended far beyond the lecture hall.’
The 25 nominees for the Highlights of Hungary 2025 have been announced. The nominees were hand-picked by five esteemed ambassadors. Public voting will be taking place between 1 October and 24 October, and the three candidates with the most votes will be awarded at the ceremony on 30 October.
At talks in Budapest with Ukraine’s Deputy PM Taras Kachka, Hungarian FM Péter Szijjártó placed full blame on Kyiv for deteriorating relations, citing curtailed minority rights and strikes on the Druzhba pipeline. He declared Hungary opposes Ukraine’s EU accession, offering only a strategic partnership as a realistic path.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán paid tribute to slain US conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, blaming his death on the ‘hate-mongering left’. Orbán described Kirk as a ‘defender of faith and freedom’, joining Donald Trump and other conservatives in mourning the 31-year-old Turning Point founder.
Budapest and Toronto will be reconnected by direct flights from June 2026, as Air Canada relaunches its popular service with a 787-9 Dreamliner. Running until late October with four weekly flights, the route is set to serve nearly 48,000 passengers and strengthen ties with Canada’s large Hungarian diaspora.
The brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska has ignited a political storm in the US, with President Donald Trump demanding the death penalty for her killer. Outrage over judicial negligence has spurred both memorial campaigns and Republican calls for systemic reform.
Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, a prolific surrogate of President Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and co-founder of Turning Point USA, has been shot dead at age 31 while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The suspect is still at large and their identity is not known, but the killing seems to be an act of far-left extremist violence.
Just after Ursula von der Leyen vowed in Strasbourg that ‘Europe is in a fight’, she now faces no-confidence motions from both flanks: Patriots for Europe will table one at midnight, citing EU weakness and escalation in Ukraine, while the Left files separately, denouncing her Gaza inaction and trade agenda.
Polish authorities say drones allegedly tied to Russia entered their airspace during strikes on Ukraine, prompting NATO talks. The timing is notable: days earlier, former president Andrzej Duda revealed Kyiv had pushed Poland to pin the 2022 Przewodów strike on Moscow. Hungary’s Orbán pledged solidarity but highlighted the need for peace, not escalation.
Hungary has signed its largest-ever gas contract with a Western supplier, securing two billion cubic metres from Shell over ten years starting 2026. Péter Szijjártó hailed the Milan deal as true diversification—adding a new route and partner to Hungary’s energy mix, which still relies on gas for one-third of its supply.
Fidesz’s 2026 campaign chief Balázs Orbán opened his new Substack with a blunt message: Hungary is misrepresented for daring to defy liberal dogmas, yet offers answers to crises the West cannot solve. Warning that Brussels and Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party endanger Hungary, he said Ukraine’s accession would mean Europe’s collapse, not its salvation.
Despite Hungary taking the lead, and two great headers from Barnabás Varga, Hungary have lost to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 3–2 at home. However, with Ireland also losing in Armenia, Hungary are still well positioned to take second place, and have their chance in the play-offs to win World Cup qualification for the first time in 40 years.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán condemned the sexual assault of two Hungarian women in Sicily by three Moroccan migrants, calling it a result of Brussels’ failed migration policy. Orbán thanked Italy’s Matteo Salvini for siding with the victims, while Italian authorities confirmed the suspects—illegal migrants—had been arrested and placed in pre-trial detention.
Eurojust confirmed that Romanian, Hungarian, and Czech authorities arrested a Moldovan Romanian ex-intelligence chief accused of treason for passing secrets to Belarus. Identified by a Hungarian outlet as Alexandru Balan, he allegedly met Belarusian officers in Budapest in 2024 and 2025.
‘Antisemitic hatred, both online and offline, impacts not only Jewish communities abroad but also Israel’s security. The drastic rise in hate crimes requires comprehensive institutional protection.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has demanded financial compensation from the European Commission for Hungary’s border protection efforts, telling Ursula von der Leyen that Budapest has blocked over a million illegal migrants since 2015 but has been fined instead of supported by Brussels.
Prime Minister François Bayrou of France has lost the vote of no confidence he called on himself, with the motion passing 364–194, triggering the collapse of the government. He served for less than a year in office. The leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise party has also called on President Emmanuel Macron to resign.
Democrats and the mainstream press face mounting criticism after 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on a Charlotte train. While shocking footage of the attack emerged, national media coverage remained scarce—prompting Elon Musk, Piers Morgan, and Republicans to denounce the silence as politically motivated.
At Fidesz’s annual political season opener in Kötcse, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared that Western dominance is collapsing and only a new EU–Russia security deal can bring peace in Europe. He warned that Ukraine’s EU accession would mean war, sketched a vision of ‘circular Europe’, and outlined his party’s victory plan for the 2026 election.
Hungary’s relations with Ukraine are at a historic low, but Budapest remains open to dialogue, Péter Szijjártó said on Monday. Blaming Kyiv for curtailing Transcarpathian Hungarian rights, he announced that Ukrainian FM Andrii Sybiha will visit Budapest this week despite recent tensions over the Druzhba pipeline and Ukraine’s EU accession.
Hungary is well-positioned to thrive in the AI era thanks to its infrastructure, growing digital skills, and competitive high-tech exports, Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy said at the AI Summit 2025. Warning that the EU is falling behind global rivals, he announced new capital programmes to support Hungarian AI start-ups and a renewed national AI strategy.
Poland’s 2023 election is a warning for Hungary in 2026, as Péter Magyar and his TISZA Party follow the same globalist path as Donald Tusk, risking unpopular policies such as higher taxes, new research from the Hungarian-Polish Freedom Institute claims.
Krisztián ‘Krúbi’ Horváth has told his audience: ‘After we hang him, I’ll give a healing kiss to his belly’ at his concert in Budapest, Hungary, referring to PM Orbán. Previously, another Hungarian hip hop artist staged a mock assassination at one of his concerts, while opposition candidate Péter Magyar had sung about imprisoning Fidesz politicians instead of answering a reporter’s questions.
Hungary were up two goals in the first 15 minutes away from home in the World Cup qualifier against Ireland. However, after a red card for goal scorer Roland Sallai, Ireland managed to equalize in the 93rd minute, making it 2–2 and eventually tying the eventful game.
PM Viktor Orbán praised Hungary’s Home Start mortgage programme, calling it a success for young buyers, before slamming TISZA’s plans to increase the income tax. Branding candidate Péter Magyar “Little Rooster”, Orbán warned of chaos within the opposition TISZA party and urged Hungarians to resist their tax hikes with 219 days until elections.
Estonian President Alar Karis urged EU leaders to engage in dialogue with Viktor Orbán rather than merely ‘label him’, suggesting that Hungary’s concerns over Ukraine’s EU bid must be taken seriously. His remarks mark a rare call for compromise within the bloc, as Budapest remains the sole veto blocking Kyiv’s accession.
The stock price of the American clothing and accessories retailer American Eagle jumped a remarkable 37.96 per cent after CEO Jay L Schottenstein announced that the sales generated from its ad campaign starring actress Sydney Sweeney have ‘exceeded expectations’. At the time of its release, marketing experts denounced it for its lack of diversity.
Poland’s former president Andrzej Duda says Ukraine attempted to manipulate Warsaw into blaming Russia for the 2022 Przewodów missile strike. Duda argued that Zelenskyy’s insistence was meant to pull Poland into war—a claim that now casts other incidents in a new light.
Lisbon’s famed Glória funicular derailed on Wednesday evening, killing 17 and injuring 21. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro called it ‘one of the biggest tragedies’ in recent history, declaring a day of mourning. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán joined world leaders in offering condolences to Portugal.