Hamas clearly used the hostage release as a shameless PR opportunity. The terrorist organization gathered a massive crowd in Gaza City’s central square, where uniformed Hamas militants staged a victory parade before handing over the three young women to the International Red Cross.
Hungary’s tax system remains among Europe’s most competitive, reinforced by a recent OECD certification. Recognizing Hungary’s compliance with global minimum tax regulations, this endorsement highlights the country’s business-friendly fiscal policies.
First Vice-President of Patriots for Europe, Kinga Gál, will lead the right-wing European Parliament political group’s delegation at Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington on Monday. The ceremony, unconventional in many ways, will be the first since Ronald Reagan’s in 1985 to be held indoors due to extreme cold.
As the Israel–Hamas ceasefire deal enters force, Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced that Omri Miran, a Hungarian Israeli hostage held in Gaza, will be released during the second phase of the agreement.
Poland aims to prepare Council conclusions on a European energy security strategy in the next six months, with the main objective of its programme being to fully divest from fossil fuels from Russia.
While the Western mainstream has launched an all-out assault on Elon Musk, Patriots for Europe has invited the American billionaire to lecture at the European Parliament on free speech. If anyone understands what it means to be suppressed by the mainstream it’s PfE, currently behind a cordon sanitaire in the EP, barred from holding chair and vice-chair positions in committees.
City Councilor Thu Nguyen in Worcester, Massachusetts has been refusing to show up to meetings in person despite the urging of Mayor Joseph Petty. She claims she feels ‘unsafe’ due to the transphobia of other Council members who have misgendered her. Nguyen prefers to be referred to by the pronouns ‘they/them’.
In his regular Friday morning interview on public radio, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán outlined plans for Hungary’s future, addressing challenges posed by globalist influences, economic priorities, and the changing geopolitical landscape, while stressing that a ‘golden age’ is coming regarding Hungarian–American ties under the Trump administration.
Hungary’s new reintegration project aims to help prisoners successfully rejoin society. With over 835 participants already engaged, the initiative offers vocational training, rehabilitation, and support to reduce reoffending and foster social inclusion.
HungaroControl reached a milestone in 2024, managing over 1.1 million flights in Hungarian airspace—a 6 per cent increase from the previous year. This record underscores Hungary’s growing importance in European aviation.
As devastating fires ravage California, the affected communities are in urgent need of assistance to evacuate, survive, and rebuild their lives. Éva Voisin, Hungary’s honorary consul in San Francisco, spoke with Hungary Today about the Hungarian community’s response to the catastrophe.
Hungary Helps, a humanitarian aid programme launched by the Hungarian government in 2017, has recently funded the construction of a new church at the site of Jesus Christ’s baptism by the Jordan River in Jordan. Hungary Helps focuses on oppressed Christians in the Middle East.
US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump both claimed credit for the ceasefire deal reached between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday. However, third-party sources confirmed that Trump’s Mideast special envoy, Steve Witkoff, accomplished more to secure the agreement in a single meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu than Biden did over the past year.
On Wednesday evening news broke that Israel and Hamas had reached a ceasefire deal. While the information was confirmed by US and Hamas officials, Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that the final agreement would be finalized overnight, while US President-elect Donald Trump pledged that Gaza would ‘never again become a terrorist haven.’
United opposition parties have filed a motion of no confidence against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico over his ties with Vladimir Putin and his pro-peace stance on the war in Ukraine. Fico, who survived an assassination attempt in May, has halted state-level weapon shipments to Kyiv and remains in constant conflict with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó of Hungary shared a Facebook post about his phone conversation with Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović of Serbia. In it, he wrote that cooperation with neighbouring countries on energy policy is crucial in these times; and announced that the two countries have agreed to accelerate their joint energy security investments.
President Biden’s approval rating currently stands at 38.8 per cent in the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate, and at just 36.1 per cent in the FiveThirtyEight polling aggregate. Meanwhile, President Trump left office in January 2021—after the controversial Capitol riots—with a 41.1 per cent approval on RCP and a 38.6 per cent approval on 538.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, a longtime ally of Viktor Orbán, called for a confidence referendum against himself after a survey revealed that more than 50 per cent of Serbians want him out of office. The Serbian President stated that ‘legitimacy is the cornerstone of politics and that sovereignty always stems from the will of the people.’
Migration pressure is once again mounting at Hungary’s borders, as reported by György Bakondi, the Prime Minister’s Chief Security Advisor. He highlighted growing challenges, shifts in migration routes, and political tensions surrounding EU migration policies in a television interview.
The Hungarian Police has apprehended three foreign men and a Hungarian woman who ran a series of international online scams. They set up fake accounts on dating apps and websites, and targeted wealthy middle-aged to elderly women to swindle money out of them.
After Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico extended an invitation for talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded with his characteristic brand of arrogant diplomacy. Kyiv has adopted a similarly combative style in its interactions with Hungary.
Since Hungary granted political asylum to the persecuted former Polish Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski, Donald Tusk’s government has launched a retaliatory campaign against Hungary’s ambassador to Warsaw, István Ijjártó. According to Polish media reports, this campaign could culminate in Ijjártó’s expulsion from the country.
On 14 January, after just over two years, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman’s tenure came to an end. His legacy will be remembered not for strengthening US–Hungarian relations, but for significantly undermining them.
At the 67th annual M4 Sport Athlete of the Year Gala, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Hubert Kós won Best Male Athlete of the Year, Olympic gold medalist pentathlonist Michelle Gulyás won Best Female Athlete of the Year; while the Best Team of the Year award was given to the Women’s Handball National Team, which came in third at the European Championship in December.
Hungary’s government has succeeded in controlling inflation following the economic challenges of war and the energy crisis. With the average inflation rate dropping to 3.7 per cent in 2024 and forecast to reach 3.2 per cent in 2025, the outlook brightens for families and businesses alike.
Hungarian governing party Fidesz’s MEP András László shared a lengthy post on X, drawing attention to the Western double standard regarding billionaires meddling in European politics. He pointed out the contrasting treatment of Elon Musk and George Soros, with the latter being praised while the former is demonized. Musk retweeted the post, causing it to go viral within a few days.
Tens of thousands of supporters of Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu took to the streets in Bucharest on Sunday to protest the annulment of the presidential election. With no concrete evidence emerging to substantiate the allegations of Russian interference, it has become increasingly evident that the progressive elite will go to any lengths to remain in power.
In a by-election called to fill the seat of deceased MP Árpád János Pótápi in the 2nd electoral district of Tolna County, Fidesz-KDNP’s candidate Dr Krisztina Csibi won by 44.5 points. Three years prior, in 2022, Fidesz’s nominee won by ‘only’ 35.4 points. Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party did not even field a candidate, with Magyar dismissing the election as irrelevant.
According to a recent Nézőpont Institute survey 61 per cent of Hungarian voters oppose early parliamentary elections, with support for such a move declining since last year. Even among Tisza Party supporters nearly 40 per cent reject their leader’s proposal.
Researchers at the University of Szeged’s Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School are pioneering the development of technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases. Among other projects they are working on a new, portable respiratory function measuring device, also suitable for home use, for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases.