Germany’s anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has reached a record 29 per cent in the latest INSA poll, placing the party just one point below the symbolic 30 per cent threshold while leading the governing CDU by seven points nationwide. The figures increasingly suggest that Germany may be approaching a political ‘20–30 moment’ similar to developments previously seen elsewhere in Europe, including France, Italy, and Hungary.

The European Commission, European Parliament, and senior EU officials have launched a synchronized LGBTQ rights campaign ahead of Pride Month, promoting the bloc’s new LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy 2026–2030 through nearly identical messaging across social media platforms. The highly visible campaign has sparked criticism from conservative circles, which accuse Brussels of increasingly pushing ideological activism.

‘For some Hungarians, America promised bread, freedom, and a new beginning; for others, it revealed exploitation, prejudice, and the unsettling realization that far from home, even identity itself could slowly dissolve.’

Bulgaria won its first-ever Eurovision on Saturday, 17 May, after singer Dara secured more than 500 combined jury and televote points with her song ‘Bangaranga’. The contest was overshadowed by wider political tensions surrounding Israel’s participation, with several pro-Palestinian EU member states withdrawing from the competition over the war in Gaza.

‘On his return journey from the Holy Land, [King Andrew II] engaged in a remarkable amount of diplomatic activity. He behaved as one would expect from the head of a European middle power: he held talks with the leaders of the states he passed through, formed alliances, and forged diplomatic ties…As a result, from 1213/14 onward, the overland route through Asia Minor reopened and became safe.’

‘Ferdinandy…did more than almost anyone else among Hungarian historians to experience and depict history not as a series of data or a mass of economic and social facts, but as a living, organic drama of fate.’

Former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán announced on Saturday that he will donate the severance payment due to him after leaving office to a Hungarian children’s home in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region, deepening an already heated political dispute with the new government of Péter Magyar over compensation for former officials.

‘The first 22 years of Hungary’s EU membership offer a twofold lesson. On the one hand, EU membership alone is no guarantee of catching up…On the other hand, Hungary’s situation is by no means hopeless…The success of Hungary’s EU membership over the next two decades will ultimately be decided not in Brussels, but in Budapest.’

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar on Friday symbolically dismantled the security cordon surrounding Viktor Orbán’s former government headquarters in Budapest’s Castle District and announced that the previously restricted Carmelite Monastery complex would open to the public through guided tours starting this weekend.

‘In a bathhouse, one can feel as though they are not in this world, but in some strange, liminal state. A space where the all-too-familiar rules of everyday life temporarily do not apply. The bathhouse is a place of retreat, of solitary contemplation, but also a place for togetherness, for carefree or very serious conversations.’

According to Eurostat’s numbers, 193 out of 100,000 people were incarcerated in Hungary in 2024, which was the highest rate in the EU. However, Hungary also has a lower crime rate than many Member States.

After 30 years, the West’s most ambitious nation-building project is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions.

As Keir Starmer faces a mounting rebellion inside the Labour Party, his government has launched an aggressive crackdown on foreign right-wing activists expected to attend Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally in London on 16 May, triggering accusations that the prime minister is using political censorship to divert attention from Labour’s domestic crisis and his own policy failures.

Poland officially registered its first legally recognized same-sex marriage on Thursday after Warsaw authorities transcribed the marriage certificate of two Polish men married in Germany, triggering celebration among progressives and sharp backlash from conservative politicians and right-wing commentators.

Budapest’s City Park is preparing for one of the biggest events in its history as tens of thousands of Arsenal supporters are expected to gather there during the 2026 UEFA Champions League final weekend.

A Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery highlights the growing pressure on Moscow’s energy infrastructure and the wider vulnerabilities of Europe’s remaining dependence on Russian crude. As attacks increasingly disrupt Russia’s refining network, countries such as Hungary face renewed questions over supply reliability, diversification, and energy resilience.

This year’s Gourmet Festival in Budapest will focus on the flavours of rural Hungary, featuring more than 20 countryside restaurants, Michelin-starred chefs and dozens of culinary programmes at Millenáris Park.

The new Hungarian government is still in campaign mode, but in addition to sweeping up popularity and embarrassing the outgoing cabinet, the law factory has also started. The guidelines of the Tisza political ideology, which have been mostly hidden until now, will be revealed in the legislation.

A new Republikon Institute poll shows support for the Tisza Party rising to 57 per cent while backing for Fidesz–KDNP has fallen to 23 per cent amid exceptionally high voter engagement following Hungary’s parliamentary election.

Despite the Iran crisis, soaring oil prices, and gasoline nearing record highs, the Dow has closed above 50,000 points again, for the first time since 11 February. Yet while Wall Street remains resilient, rising fuel costs may pose a growing political threat to President Trump.

Israel announced plans to sue The New York Times after the American newspaper published an opinion piece alleging widespread sexual abuse and rape against Palestinian prisoners by Israeli soldiers and prison guards. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the article as a ‘hideous and distorted lie’ and threatened severe legal action.

A British murder trial has revealed that 18-year-old Henry Nowak was allegedly handcuffed by police after being stabbed by a Sikh man wielding a ceremonial blade in Southampton. According to prosecutors, officers acted after the suspect accused the visibly bleeding teenager of racial abuse.

A dual Egyptian Hungarian citizen allegedly ran a human smuggling ring from his Budapest barber shop, prosecutors say, moving illegal migrants from Hungary’s Serbian border to the Slovakian border up north in 2023. Five accomplices were charged after authorities dismantled the operation.

‘The best long-term solution to this problem would be finding a way to bypass the Strait of Hormuz altogether, and we may have found a way to do just that.’

Police again clashed with anti-immigration protesters in the Dutch town of Loosdrecht after demonstrations against a newly opened migrant shelter escalated for the third consecutive week. While right-wing politicians and activists voiced support for the locals, intelligence services reportedly launched an investigation into alleged organized coordination behind the growing anti-migration protests.

An indie game, a great soundtrack, high review scores and a lot of criticism. Mixtape stirred up the gaming industry without attempting to do so.

The police interrogation footage has just been released in the case of Mia Bailey, a biological man identifying as a woman who killed both of his parents in June 2024 in Washington City, Utah. In the interrogation, he admits that he committed patricide and matricide because his mother tried to cancel his gender reassignment surgery.

Hungary’s residential property market continued to grow in April, though the pace of price increases slowed nationwide and Budapest recorded a slight monthly decline, according to ingatlan.com.

Authorities in Czechia are continuing their search for the thief who stole the skull of Saint Zdislava from one of the country’s most important pilgrimage sites shortly before mass on Tuesday evening. Police released security camera footage as outrage grows over the theft of the centuries-old Christian relic.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán summoned Russia’s ambassador to Budapest on Thursday after Moscow struck Transcarpathia in a large-scale attack, demanding an immediate ceasefire and an end to aggression against civilians. The region is home to a significant ethnic Hungarian population.