The situation in the Middle East is becoming increasingly tense, with escalatory developments taking place one after the other. This week, Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a precision strike. In response, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered a direct attack on Israel.

The men’s sabre fencers secured the Hungarian delegation’s third medal in Paris on Wednesday. Last Saturday, Eszter Muhari won a bronze in épée, while Kristóf Milák won Hungary’s first silver medal in the 200-metre butterfly yesterday.

State Secretary Barna Pál Zsigmond has shared that despite the continuous political attacks from Brussels, Member States on an expert level have praised the programmes organized so far under the scope of the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council.

An FBI special agent has revealed that Thomas Matthew Crooks had been studying previous assassination attempts, including the one on US President John F. Kennedy and the recent one on Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, leading up to his effort to take the life of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month.

At the press conference held on-site, State Secretary for Architecture at the Ministry of Construction and Transport Regő Lánszki stated that in the past 35 years, no educational institution investment of this magnitude occurred in Hungary, making this project one of the largest and most significant state investments in Budapest.

Liberal POLITICO has once again attempted to discredit Hungary with fake news regarding a joint EU declaration on the Venezuelan elections. The Brussels-based outlet, citing anonymous sources, reported that Hungary vetoed the joint EU resolution. However, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry quickly rebutted the allegation.

The Hungarian economy grew by 1.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, remaining above the EU average. The countries of the eurozone are expected to continue weakening, especially the German economy, which is not a good sign for Hungary. Considering the data, there is a more urgent need than ever to boost the EU’s competitiveness, which is a key priority of the Hungarian EU Presidency.

President of the European People’s Party Manfred Weber is urging EU Member States to respond to the Hungarian worker visa changes with the strictest possible measures. Starting 8 July, Belarusian and Russian workers, along with nationals of six other countries, will be able to enter and work in Hungary under relaxed conditions. This move has infuriated the famously anti-Hungarian Weber, who claims it threatens the entire Schengen area. The European Commission has the power to suspend a state’s Schengen membership, although this has never happened before.

Thanks to the Mexican award, the Hungarian animation Shoes and Hooves has become eligible for submission in the Best Short Film category at the Oscars.

The adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s The Royal Game, starring Gergely Váradi and Károly Hajduk, was a great success at the 29th edition of the American festival showcasing independent short and feature films.

During the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics drag performers appeared to form a composition similar to the painting The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. The organizers have since claimed the resemblance was an oversight, and not intentional mockery. Meanwhile, just a few days later, Brazilian surfer Joao Chianca was threatened with disqualification if he did not remove an image of Jesus from his board.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated in a recent interview that a point has been reached where starting negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine can no longer be postponed. Stubb’s statement echoes the proposals of Viktor Orbán, which the Hungarian Prime Minister submitted to European Council President Charles Michel following his peace mission in early July.

The new anti-woke initiative will consist of two main pillars: an emergency response information chain alerting the members of the nefarious activity of progressive, woke actors anywhere in the world; and one focused on the organization of conferences and workshops for right-wing activists.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has nominated Olivér Várhelyi, the current Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, as the next Commissioner for Hungary in the new European Commission. Várhelyi’s task will not be easy, as he has experienced numerous conflicts with the European Parliament over the past five years. Additionally, pro-war factions will likely do everything in their power to derail the Hungarian candidate’s nomination process.

The number of foreign guests increased by 19 per cent, and the number of guest nights by 9.4 per cent compared to the same month of the previous year. Tourist accommodations welcomed 825,000 foreign guests, who spent 2.0 million guest nights in the country.

The munitions manufacturing facility at the Várpalota Defence Industrial Complex, operated in partnership with German Rheinmetall, will contribute to reducing Hungarian dependence on supply chains, Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated at the inauguration ceremony on Monday.

After Kyiv failed to restore the uninterrupted transit of Russian Lukoil’s oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that Bratislava might stop diesel supplies to Ukraine. Slovak deliveries account for a tenth of Ukraine’s diesel consumption.

Hungary declared its support for Georgia’s membership efforts comes shortly after the EU’s decision to halt the accession process following the adoption of the foreign agent law by the Tbilisi parliament.

The documentary presents the most successful ever Hungarian national water polo team that won three consecutive Olympic golds and whose most iconic figure, team captain and then coach Tibor Benedek, passed away at a tragically young age.

In a short Facebook video, Csaba Dömötör highlighted that the reacquired Budapest Airport will generate revenue for the Hungarian government, and it is the strategically important ‘gate to our country for millions of people’ as well.

The threat of escalation in the Middle East is growing following Saturday’s deadly strike by Hezbollah on an Israeli-controlled settlement in the Golan Heights. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has even gone so far as to threaten Israel with an invasion.

Banning phones is not the ideal step, but it is necessary. Ideally, children would receive their own devices later, learn when and how to use them, how to verify information found online, and spend their free time during their most formative years on activities that build and develop them, contributing positively to their personal growth and making them better people, Enikő Szakos, Educational Researcher at the MCC Learning Research Institute underscores.

In response to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech at the Tusványos festival, Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski of Poland has called on the Hungarian leadership to leave the EU and NATO if they believe these organizations treat them so badly. Meanwhile, US Ambassador David Pressman has also come out to criticize the same speech by PM Orbán.

Although the insect farming for feed purposes, which is still unique in Hungary, produces an annual amount of only 6,000 tonnes and therefore cannot yet replace soy, it is already so popular that buyers have pre-ordered the factory’s entire output for five years, the CEO said.

Under the new, more favourable conditions, the programme’s aim remains to increase the productivity and added value of domestic micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through support for technological and organizational renewal.

The fact that our measures have a good reputation internationally, and the Hungarian model serves as a model for several countries, is a reason for confidence. Many people are interested in Hungarian solutions, both inside and outside Europe, and even in the Far East.

‘The country, alongside Chile, is the most developed country of the region. While in Chile anti-establishment sentiments led to a left-wing experiment with the government of Gabriel Boric, Milei represents the opposite in this regard. It will be interesting to see which direction could serve as a model for the hemisphere: would it be a new Pink Tide or, as a result of the Argentine experiment, conservative-leaning supercharged libertarianism?’

‘In today’s culture, one has to explain how the modern existential paradigm does not hold the truth to sustain a prosperous life or society. With radical and individualistic generations being raised, nothing is more effective than to point out how existential nihilism does not bring happiness, meaning or prosperity. Cheap surface moralism should therefore be replaced by a transcendental framework of meaning and purpose.’

According to the new Rule of Law Report released by the European Commission on 24 July, Italy, Hungary, and Slovakia performed poorly regarding the continued decline in democratic standards threatening the effective prosecution of corruption, the independence of the judicial system, and the safety of journalists.

‘The Israeli case is evidence that cultural aspects, rather than “family policies”, are the crucial element in producing above-replacement birth rates among an educated and affluent population. It is therefore crucial, for those countries which regard such outcome as desirable, to invest efforts in fostering the cultural aspects of a familial outlook in their societies.’