‘Israel does recognize who were the true friends and Hungary has proved for a long period of time under Viktor Orbán’s leadership that—despite the pressure from larger and possibly more powerful European countries—it can stand alone at times and will not conform with this general line that of “both sides are to blame, both sides are wrong, and let them find the solution”. Hungary understands without any doubt who the murderers are and who the victims are.’

The EU is suspending aid to the Palestinians with immediate effect following the Israeli attack, and has expressed its solidarity with Israel, underlining its right to defend itself against the violent and indiscriminate attacks, in accordance with international law.

Following the barbaric attacks on Israel by Hamas, pro-Palestinian rallies are being held in Western countries with sizeable Muslim communities. Western governments are now faced with the challenge posed by the tension between the right to freedom of expression and the need to disallow the promotion of murder and violence.

In a recent op-ed published on NewsMax, CASEPAC Executive Director Bryan Leib expressed his conviction that support for Israel and the Jewish people ‘starts at the top,’ reminding that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tweeted his condemnation of the brutal attack by Hamas as soon as news of it broke. Orbán also stood up for Israel’s right to self-defence, he noted, stressing that all of this is refreshing, especially when he sees antisemitism growing in America, and thousands of Americans taking to the streets to support Hamas.

As a result of a series of government initiatives, both households and institutional players have significantly increased their holdings of government bonds. In an unprecedented manner, households now hold a larger amount of government bonds than bank deposits.

The Kopp Mária Institute for Demography and Families (KINCS) held a conference to mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October, unveiling a survey that found that the happiest individuals in Hungary are those living in a marriage or raising children.

Magyar Vagon Ltd. is affiliated with the President and CEO of MOL, Zsolt Hernáda, who, as of the 2023 edition of the list, is the seventh most influential individual in Hungary.

Viktor Orbán met the Georgian prime minister this week. He is expected to also attend a forum in China, where Vladimir Putin will also be present. This could be the first time the two meet since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

At the discussion Russia expert David Satter expressed scepticism about Russia being trustworthy regarding keeping the terms of a potential ceasefire, while Attila Demkó argued that Ukraine has already secured a great victory against Russia: it has not become a puppet state of Moscow.

The question of a language strategy, and the need thereof, are important and highly debated topics in linguistics these days. Linguist, university professor Géza Balázs contributes to this debate with an insightful essay in the recent issue of conservative journal Kommentár.

In a recent Facebook post, Péter Szijjártó informed that he had a phone conversation with the South Korean Foreign Minister Park Joo, in which they discussed not only issues of bilateral cooperation but also the significant challenges facing international security.

From 1 January, a new beverage packaging return system will be introduced in Hungary, where all beverage packaging labelled for return, including single-use glass, metal, and plastic bottles, will be eligible for return. When purchasing, customers will pay a uniform return fee of 50 forints per bottle, which will be reimbursed in the form of vouchers upon return.

Nestlé Hungária Kft.’s recent capacity expansion investment in Bük is set to create 280 new job opportunities, marking yet another milestone in Hungary’s impressive year of record-breaking investments, exports, and employment, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó made the announcement at the project’s inauguration ceremony.

According to the Kieselbach Gallery’s statement, this artwork, which evokes the spirit of the Paris School, Cézanne’s blues, the antique sculptures of the Louvre, and Henri Matisse’s nude painting, is one of the most beautiful still lives in modern Hungarian painting.

Airlines are systematically cancelling or suspending their flights to Israel since the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas launched a comprehensive attack on the Jewish state on Saturday morning, resulting in hundreds of casualties. This resulted in significant drops in the companies’ share prices.

The Mariazell Basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary is one of Austria’s most popular tourist attractions and a national pilgrimage site. Its foundation dates back to the mid-12th century, yet the construction and re-foundation of the present church in the 1370s was due to a generous donation from King Louis the Great of Hungary.

The opening film of the festival is Kim Hee-jung’s 2023 work titled Where Would You Like to Go? which, like the director’s previous films, deals with a profound life event and, more specifically, the altered perception of reality resulting from it.

Minister Szijjártó expressed Hungary’s deep concern over the Israel terrorist attacks and their potential consequences, which could easily lead to one of the largest humanitarian disasters in history. He believes that this tragedy occurred at the worst possible time, as the process of normalizing the situation had just begun, and significant steps had been taken towards peace, which now could be jeopardized and rendered null.

Szili, who has participated in the commemoration event in previous years, recalled the inhumanity of the displacements and discussed the lasting consequences of the Beneš Decrees, the necessity of retaining ethnic-based politics, as well as the current state of national minorities and their possibilities for improvement in connection with the upcoming European Parliament elections next year.

‘According to recent polls, neither United Right nor Civic Platform will be able to form a government on its own…Donald Tusk’s situation seems easier in that he may have a realistic chance of including both the aforementioned Lewica and the Third Way alliance in the future governing coalition. This does not mean, however, that it would be easy for him to govern with these parties, and indeed such multi-party coalitions—let us not forget that the KO is itself an alliance—are often not very stable and long-lived.’

‘The first thing we can wish for Israel in the current situation is that it should regain control over the entire territory of the state of Israel and establish the security guarantees needed to prevent similar bestial attacks from happening in the future,’ Gulyás said.

Inflation fell for the eighth month in a row after peaking at 25.7 per cent in January. Food prices rose by 15.2 per cent in September, after a 19.5 per cent increase in the previous month.

After meeting Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva, Switzerland, Minister Szijjártó stated that they have been working together for a long time, as he previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for his country, Ethiopia, thus their relationship dates back to that time. ‘I have always valued his work; he was able to keep the WHO as a politically neutral, professional organization, which was crucial in overcoming the coronavirus,’ Minister Szijjártó stated about the health official.

‘All things being equal, the roots to the actual deadly conflict are profound, as already mentioned. Yet it does not help the cause of peace to keep doing business with Iran, just as the United States has done under the Obama administration and is still doing under the present one.’

The international celebrity last visited Hungary in 2010 when she directed her first film, In the Land of Blood and Honey. After 13 years, she is returning to Budapest to shoot a film about the world-renowned opera singer Maria Callas.

The first documented piece of Hungarian music dates back to the 11th century, thus recorded melodies have been an important part of Hungarians’ lives for a thousand years.

From Cat Catcher to The Witness and Son of Saul, the list of the ten best Hungarian films offered by The Budapester is a subjective, but very convincing one.

The Budapest World Championships set a new standard for everyone, and the numbers released by Nielsen support this statement. Based on data measured on-site by the company, it was revealed that spectators were ‘extremely satisfied to an extraordinary, unprecedented extent’ with the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Hungary.

We are familiar with the phenomenon of Westerners embracing Eastern fighting traditions such as Wushu, Aikido, Japanese fencing, Filipino martial arts, and more. These people seek some rich traditions to connect to, and oftentimes romanticize them as being spiritually superior to the Western martial arts. Whereas there is nothing wrong with getting acquainted with other cultures, there’s no necessity to travel half of the globe in search of intricate, deep, and time-tested martial traditions spanning centuries.

Recently, the Danube Institute co-hosted an event with Helena History Press where Danish author Jaap Scholten talked about his personal experiences while travelling throughout Ukraine in the first six months of the war.