‘Many accused the court’s ruling of depriving the electorate the chance of deciding who is fit to hold political office in France. Rather than disqualifying Le Pen from the presidential race, it could have been decided to merely fine the party for the misappropriated funds. The ban on running for office is widely seen as a disproportionate intervention into the political affairs of the country…’
Mr Palladino outlined the similar policies aimed at helping families by the Trump administration in the United States and the Orbán administration in Hungary. He also talked about ‘the American vibe shift’, by which he refers to how the current US administration is putting the cultural focus on families and childbearing again.
Hungary saw continued wage growth in January 2025, with the gross average salary rising to 668,100 forints, marking a 10.4 per cent increase from the previous year. Real wages have now been on an upward trend for 17 consecutive months, helping to improve purchasing power and boost economic confidence.
Hungary’s rising swimming stars shone at the NCAA finals in Washington. Hubert Kós stormed to three gold medals, including a world-record-breaking swim, and helped the University of Texas secure the NCAA team title. Zalán Sárkány retained his title in the 1650-yard freestyle, while Minna Ábrahám broke her school record in the women’s 200-yard event.
According to local media reports, President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik is currently in Moscow, where he is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Interpol issued a ‘red notice’ for Dodik after he left Bosnia and Herzegovina despite an active federal arrest warrant, having visited Serbia and Israel in the past week.
‘On average, women are having one less child today than they were having in 1990…A country’s population size is being sustained when its total fertility rate reaches 2.1, but more than half of the world’s countries are below this level…In parallel with depopulation, life expectancy is on the increase, resulting in a major transformation of the age structure of societies.’
‘The size and distribution of the economies of the US and the EU, with economies of USD 29 trillion and USD 19 trillion respectively, have an impact on everything, so it is worth bearing these facts in mind at all times, including when the EU and its member states are negotiating more and more disputes with the US.’
Budapest witnessed rare protests in recent days, as demonstrators rallied against what they describe as a ‘Pride-ban’—an amendment to the law on the right of assembly, which imposes stricter conditions on mass events that violate the child protection law. Among the speakers was the infamous German MEP Daniel Freund, who effectively admitted that Brussels has been working for years to oust Viktor Orbán’s government, with the current demonstrations being no exception.
‘Karla’s Choice: A John le Carré Novel by Nick Harkaway (Viking, 2024) has not yet been turned into a screen drama. But it is surely only a matter of time—and when that does happen, Budapest will at last be able to play itself. A strong Hungarian storyline and realistic local detail add extra layers of enjoyment to this accomplished spy thriller.’
According to the report by the Times of Malta, the Hungarian OTP Bank is the most likely bidder to acquire HSBC Malta, a subsidiary of the British multinational banking and financial services company HSBC. HSBC Malta currently has a market cap of around €550 million.