President Novák and President Zelenskyy engaged in a fruitful one-on-one in Kyiv, which may pave the way for more constructive bilateral relations.

In the latest episodes of the Reflections from Budapest podcast, Director of the Middle East Action Team at the Religious Freedom Institute Jeremy P. Barker explained that their work aims to promote religious freedom rights for everyone everywhere, recognising and hoping that includes even the smallest and most persecuted religious minorities, whether that’s Christians or Yazidis in the Middle East, or Uyghurs in China and others.

As video games have become an intrinsic part of culture today, it is worth exploring how Hungary and Hungarians are represented in what can be considered an entertainment industry product but also an influential art form.

Arguably, architecture in Budapest has always been used as a means of political and cultural expression. Thus, restoring the Castle District can be viewed as a way to reclaim Hungary’s lost heritage and reconnect with its historical identity.

The high attendance rates of the plays and the frequent standing ovations confirmed the State Opera House’s expectations that it is worthwhile to stage popular pieces from the operatic literature in classic performances with an air-conditioned auditorium in the summer. The July–August performances of the the first full summer season of the Opera were favoured by both tourists and locals from the capital city and the countryside.

The Ukrainian ombudsman informed Katalin Novák about the process of repatriating and rehabilitating children who were taken to Russia from the occupied territories. The Hungarian president reminded that Hungary is conducting its largest humanitarian action in history, with a particular focus on hosting Ukrainian children at various holiday resorts this summer.

The leading political pundit in the US, Tucker Carlson, visited our country again on 22 August 2023. The internationally influential commentator gave a speech at the widely successful MCC Feszt After event at Millenáris Park in Budapest. His speech—in accordance with the traditions of MCC Feszt in Esztergom—was preceded by panel discussions tackling the important issues of our day.

The Ministry of Economic Development said in a statement that the increased demand for government bonds has both directly and indirectly improved the government’s self-financing capability, reduced government interest expenditures, and managed to preserve the real value of citizens’ savings. Additionally, government measures have contributed to the fact that individuals are making more conscious decisions about their savings, turning towards higher-yielding assets in a high yield environment.

The Tranzit Festival in Tihany begins today. Beside Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, opposition politicians will also participate in the event. Márton Békés, chief editor of the organising Kommentár magazine, spoke with Mandiner about what to expect at the conservative intellectual gathering, the culture war, and more.

Despite the left-wing’s denunciation of Orbán as a despot because of his censorship, or for that matter that of Abdullah II, the one-sided free speech absolutism that is being promoted by the same left is nothing more than a capitulation to moral nihilism, a reason why Facebook has been removing Hungarian conservatives from its platform.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó highlighted the natural mutual understanding between Qatar and Hungary as countries with patriotic governments focused on asserting national interests.

At the Central European Olympiad in Informatics held in Germany István Ádám Molnár from the Földes Ferenc Secondary School in Miskolc and Bernát Tarján from the Veres Péter Secondary School in Budapest earned silver medals.

Czech toponyms that include the adjective ‘Hungarian’ allude to the historical, centuries-old relationship between Hungary and Czechia that has not always been perfect, but nonetheless close. This is a region where the fates of the two countries were intertwined for a long time—the Bohemian–Hungarian frontier.

After two years, the Hungarian Prime Minister once again sat down for an interview with former TV host Tucker Carlson.

From September onwards, the Rákóczi Association will operate 58 school buses in Transylvania, helping more than 720 ethnic Hungarian children reach school in 48 settlements. The operation of the buses will cost 231 million forints per academic year, which will be covered by the Hungarian state, thus school attendance will impose no financial burden on the families or schools.

Hungarian cinemagoers have been craving enjoyable historical films for a long time. Finally, Hadik arrived, which, although not faultless, is a great example of the genre well done.

Hungary’s complex Ukraine policy is influenced by its desire to protect ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Can Ukraine’s compliance with Hungarian demands lead to more support and cooperation, especially given Hungary’s historical experience with Russian aggression?

‘If I heard about a country that produces and develops military technology together with Germany and Israel, I would think twice before I would mess with it. And this is good news for all Hungarians,’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán underlined at the opening ceremony.

The Kossuth Foundation, the organiser of the 20 August event, joined the ‘Bread of Hungarians’ programme this year, through which wheat from various parts of the Carpathian Basin made their way to the American capital, symbolising the unity of Hungarians wherever they live.

Our nation marked the 1023rd anniversary of the foundation of its state. Celebratory events were held all across the country, from Esztergom to Debrecen, with the greatest festivities taking place in the capital city of Budapest. There, the holiday crowd was treated to an Air Show by the pilots of the Hungarian Air Force and Europe’s largest fireworks and lights show, among other things.

In her remarks before she presented the highest Hungarian state awards on the occasion of the 20 August national holiday, President of the Republic Katalin Novák stated: ‘We need role models with whom we speak the same language, with whom we share a common history, who are like us, yet more and better than us, whom we can look up to while recognising ourselves in them.’

Over this past weekend that saw the 20 August celebrations and the grand opening of the Budapest World Athletics Championships, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with the leaders of several countries, creating a one-off diplomacy summit in Hungary.

The spirit and dedication to God of Cardinal Duka were not broken when in prison as an underground clergyman—he kept conducting masses for his prison mates that he disguised as occasions of a chess club. A couple of years ago, in an interview with Mandiner, he said: ‘My personal experience is, as someone who also suffered imprisonment for the sake of justice, is that the question often arises: “who is really the prisoner?”. It was not clear whether it was us or those who were looking at us from the other side of the bars.’

It could be argued that modern tools and methods are part of what shapes the outcome of war, but not the decisive factors, as they have not brought about the drastic change in the pattern of war that many expected.

The energy cooperation between the two countries will gain a new dimension as gas supplies will soon also originate directly from Turkey, following the finalisation of an agreement between MVM and Botas for the purchase of 275 million cubic metres of gas next year.

Géza Szőcs, a Transylvanian Hungarian poet, writer, public intellectual and politician, who resisted the oppression of the Romanian communist dictatorship, was born exactly 70 years ago today.

National anniversaries, especially 15 March, were regularly celebrated in the Dohány Street synagogue. Mourning services were also held on the occasion of the passing of great Hungarian statesmen. In addition to the regular services, the synagogue also hosted a number of special events. On 20 December 1860, a ‘Jewish–Hungarian brotherhood’ ceremony was held, attended by statesmen, scholars, writers and artists, and for the first time, the Szózat was sung in a Jewish synagogue. On 8 April 1861, a memorial service was held for István Széchenyi, and in 1894 for Lajos Kossuth.

King Saint Stephen’s ‘Admonitions’, with more than half of its chapters addressing Christian faith and the church, transcends legal and religious realms, potentially safeguarding familial unity for generations.

‘The best interests of children are not served by turning education into this battleground over values and this instrumental way of solving problems in society. Because as you do that, what was traditionally understood as the purpose of education, gets crowded up. And it becomes less about inculcating or teaching young people about what the best that human beings have thought or written or done: the things that as a society we have deemed worthy of being passed down to the next generation. Instead, it becomes about all of different projects.’

As all the Danube bridges were destroyed by the retreating Germans, tram service could start again between the two sides of the city over Liberty Bridge only on 20 August 1946.