In a major boost to US–Hungarian ties, American Airlines will relaunch its daily direct flight between Budapest and Philadelphia in May 2026. With over 3,000 weekly seats and onward connections across North America, the route’s return signals renewed interest in deepening transatlantic tourism, commerce, and cultural exchange.
The European Union’s top court has issued a ruling that could halt deportations of illegal migrants to most non-European countries, prompting outrage in Budapest. Chief Security Advisor György Bakondi called the judgment ‘pro-migration’, warning it places virtually all repatriations in legal limbo. Prime Minister Orbán’s government says it will resist such judicial activism.
The Hungarian government has launched the Invented in Hungary grant programme to support local R&D projects. While foreign investment remains key to economic growth, experts warn it can sideline domestic firms. The new scheme aims to ensure innovation funding benefits the national economy more directly.
As the deadline for sweeping sanctions on Russian oil buyers looms, President Trump is preparing to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face. The summit is widely viewed as a final diplomatic window to prevent further escalation and avert a global economic shock. For Trump, the meeting may also serve as a moment of redemption—an opportunity to rewrite the legacy of the ill-fated Helsinki Summit in 2018.
Hungary’s AI commissioner László Palkovics says artificial intelligence is unlikely to become self-aware under its current structure and stresses that Hungary has all the key components needed to develop sector-specific AI systems powered by local data.
Writer Michael O’Shea has recently visited the Serbian–Hungarian border near Bácsalmás, Hungary, and wrote a piece about his experience for The American Conservative. One of the migrants he encountered there told him he was coming for ‘blonde women and money from the wall’.
Budapest hotels reached over 86 per cent occupancy during the 40th Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, hosting nearly 100,000 guests, mostly from abroad, as Formula 1 boosted tourism and accommodation demand across the capital and nearby towns.
Budapest moviegoers will have one last chance to see all eight Harry Potter films on the big screen in restored 4K before they are pulled from cinemas due to the upcoming TV remake, with screenings running from 7 August to 1 October.
The European Commission’s failure to appeal the Court’s ruling in the Pfizergate case highlights ongoing transparency issues in the EU. Missing texts between von der Leyen and Pfizer’s CEO raise questions about accountability in vaccine negotiations—questions the Commission’s vague explanations have yet to answer.
The Texas state legislature was due to have a vote on the redrawing of the state’s congressional districts. However, 57 out of the 62 Democrats in the State House fled, denying quorum to the session—they are now facing potential fines and even expulsion.
Germany’s CDU has distanced itself from MP Saskia Ludwig after she briefly greeted AfD co-chair Alice Weidel at MCC Feszt in Hungary. The party reaffirmed its strict ban on cooperating with the right-wing AfD, saying Ludwig’s actions were unauthorized and incompatible with CDU policy.
Ukrainian authorities have refused to investigate the death of József Sebestyén, a Hungarian man beaten by conscription officers, prompting outrage from Budapest. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó says the decision reveals Ukraine’s forced conscription as a state-organized practice incompatible with EU values.
‘Over a decade, between 2014 and 2024, the EU has welcomed more than 8 million asylum seekers. So it’s a bit as if the EU has admitted a new Member State that would be entirely made up of asylum seekers.’
The 31st Sziget Festival kicks off with higher ticket sales than last year, more Hungarian visitors, and headliners like Charli XCX, Shawn Mendes, and Post Malone. Organizers promise a refreshed layout and hundreds of performances from around the world.
‘The failure of African states to properly address their racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, and economic differences provided a fertile ground for rebel groups, like al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, al-Mulathameen Brigade, and now the Allied Democratic Forces to prosper.’
Students from Bodrogkeresztúr’s Eötvös József Primary School claimed first place in their category at the prestigious 2024/2025 FIRST LEGO League world final in Hong Kong, surpassing more than 6,000 teams from around the globe.
A new study by Hungary’s National Media and Infocommunications Authority shows that Hungarian youth rarely give their smartphones a break, with daily usage patterns tied to gender, age, location, and mental wellbeing, revealing sharp contrasts between younger and older users’ habits.
‘The mass man is incapable of making authentic, personal decisions in situations of crisis or autonomy. For this reason, he requires a leader—someone who can think, decide, and act on his behalf. This leader makes the mass man aware of his power through numerical superiority and conformity, shaping modern mass states.’
Veszprém, Hungary and the Bakony–Balaton Region have been named the Sports Region of Europe 2026 by ACES Europe. Known for its handball legacy and outdoor activities around Lake Balaton, the region was recognized for promoting healthy lifestyles and community sports, building on its 2023 title as European Capital of Culture.
Despite a Bosnian court upholding his conviction and political ban, Milorad Dodik received strong backing from Hungarian leaders during a visit to Budapest on Tuesday. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called for respect for Republika Srpska’s voters and condemned what he described as a ‘legal witch-hunt’ against Dodik.
‘[Human rights NGOs] are advocates of censorship. Really, there was a takeover by the Soros Foundation of much of civil society to make them more censorial. We also know that the Soros institutions work directly with the intelligence and security agencies,’ Mr Shellenberger has told our site about his other area of expertise, free speech advocacy.
Poland’s new president Karol Nawrocki will be inaugurated on 6 August, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ability to govern. With Nawrocki poised to wield the veto, hopes for sweeping liberal reforms are fading—and early election speculation is growing.
The Hungarian government is providing HUF 100,000 in school support to over 227,000 students from Hungarian communities beyond the borders—the highest number ever recorded. The initiative, under the Hungarian in the Homeland programme, reflects renewed commitment to national identity and Hungarian-language education.
Hungary’s Agriculture Ministry has announced the establishment of the Forestry Climate Adaptation Forum, tasked with developing a national forestry climate adaptation strategy and an action plan for the Great Hungarian Plain to counter the impacts of climate change.
The Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library is marking the 75th anniversary of Budapest’s second unification with a virtual exhibition, showcasing documents, maps, and photos that tell the story of the districts annexed to the capital in 1950.
Budapest’s Art+ Cinema will host a week-long Akira Kurosawa retrospective from 14–20 August, showcasing some of the legendary Japanese director’s most acclaimed films, from Ran and Seven Samurai to Dreams and Dersu Uzala.
What role has Tusványos played in strengthening Hungarian–Romanian dialogue? Can Szeklerland be granted autonomy? Is Hungary’s Ukraine policy justified? We spoke with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament at the Tusványos Festival—which he helped found—in the heart of Transylvania.
A panel on post-liberalism at MCC Feszt 2025 featuring Patrick Deneen, Gladden Pappin, and Chad Pecknold has drawn sharp criticism from liberal thinkers on X, who condemned the speakers’ praise for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his model of illiberal democracy.
To mark the 142nd anniversary of Mihály Babits’s birth, the National Széchényi Library has made his early manuscripts available online, offering scholars and readers access to rare documents from one of Hungary’s greatest literary figures.
‘Borders must be protected, peace must be established, and the US and Hungary are strong allies in this,’ Director General for the Budapest-based conservative think tank Center for Fundamental Rights Miklós Szánthó has also told the audience in his speech at the annual Young Republicans National Convention (YRNC) in Nashville, Tennessee.