OECD reading performance has fallen to its lowest level since PISA began, while Hungary’s 452-point result is the country’s worst on record. The deeper problem may not be educational alone, but how long children can stay with demanding material, as digital stimulation and weaker family support reshape attention—leaving parents and a generation that knows both worlds with growing responsibility.

Hungary’s women’s basketball team is back among the World Cup’s final eight for the first time since 1986 after defeating Japan 84–63 in Berlin on Tuesday. Réka Lelik led the way with 23 points, but the next challenge could hardly be tougher: the United States, unbeaten in 33 World Cup games, though Italy has already shown that disciplined defence can make the champions uncomfortable.

Real Madrid fans held up cards displaying the coat of arms of Ceuta during the UCL game against Internazionale, to show solidarity with the autonomous Spanish enclave city that has been experiencing a major illegal migration crisis since late July.

Self-proclaimed ‘proud feminist’ Labour MP Stella Creasy has shared a video of herself attending the Muslim Milad Al Nabi march in London, United Kingdom. As her critics pointed out, the march she praised and promoted was gender-segregated.

Hungary’s Parliament elected six of the nine members of the newly established Independent Public Media Board on Tuesday and chose media researcher and media lawyer Judit Bayer as its chair.

This summer was Hungary’s driest on record and the second hottest since measurements began in 1901, according to HungaroMet. The national average temperature reached 23.43 degrees Celsius, while only 74.1 millimetres of rain fell nationwide.

The Trump administration is preparing a major childcare policy shift that would let some married couples receive federal subsidies when one parent stays home to care for their child. The proposal, backed by JD Vance and rooted in a broader pronatalist agenda, draws heavily on conservative ideas long associated with Hungary’s Orbán-era family policy model.

Transgender activist and bartender Rihanna Kelver is being charged with felony aggravated assault in Wyoming for pulling a gun on a man who allegedly used a slur against him and shoved him to the ground. The case has angered his fellow LGBTQ activists across the US, who claim that he is only being prosecuted because he is a transgender woman.

Budapest’s Green Panel Programme could help address climate challenges through greening measures and building renovations designed to provide passive cooling, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said. He highlighted the city’s urban heat island effect and the growing pressure on electricity demand during heatwaves.

‘The real question is whether Europe’s leaders can openly admit what is happening: that migration is being used as a weapon, that this is a form of aggression, and that responding to it does not mean giving up humanitarian values. Until leaders can say this clearly, borders will remain open to those who know how to exploit them.’

‘The “overvalued forint” is thus not an absolute economic category: the same exchange rate represents a competitive advantage for one company and a decline in profits for another…The question, therefore, is not who benefits from a strong forint, but which effect is stronger for the Hungarian economy as a whole: the inflationary gain or the loss of export profitability.’

The Erasmus+ programme is set to become available again to students at all Hungarian universities, Education and Children’s Affairs Minister Judit Lannert said.

Hungary has not yet decided whether to return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027, but organizers have offered a significant reduction in the participation fee and extended the application deadline to 7 December.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned the release of a 42-year-old Bangladeshi migrant who molested a 13-year-old girl in Turin. The suspect was freed after just 48 hours despite prosecutors seeking his detention, prompting widespread outrage across Italy and criticism from Meloni’s governing coalition.

Hungary will gain access to more detailed and frequent weather observations through the new MTG-I2 European meteorological satellite, which was successfully launched from French Guiana in late August. The satellite is expected to enter full operational service in 2027.

A Mexican national who lived in California illegally from 1983 to 2024 has received a $1.820 million fine from the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security for ignoring a deportation order he had received in 2009 for 15 years before leaving.

British comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen is returning as his iconic character from the 1990s and 2000s, Ali G, in a new mockumentary. However, despite the character’s immense popularity in past decades, Cohen is now constantly being attacked for being racist, doing blackface, and supporting Israel while promoting his new film on social media.

Contemporary German-language literature will take centre stage at the 31st Budapest Book Festival, with Germany, Austria and Switzerland serving as joint guests of honour. The four-day event will feature internationally acclaimed authors, emerging writers and children’s and young adult literature from 1–4 October.

Fifteen-year-old Hungarian student Laura Ivánka has become the first Hungarian ever awarded at the Stockholm Junior Water Prize final, earning the 2026 Diploma of Excellence for her DIVE&CLEAN seabed waste system. The honour crowns an extraordinary scientific record spanning marine research, engineering, robotics and international competitions before she has even finished secondary school.

‘We should strive once again to become that lush, green, watery realm that our Hungarian ancestors once knew.’

A man in his 40s suffered life-threatening injuries after falling onto the Danube embankment following a fight near a Budapest nightclub. Police are investigating the incident, while the venue says neither its staff nor security used pepper spray during the altercation.

Hungarian households are expected to spend an average of 107,539 forints on preparing for the new school year, with spending averaging 66,928 forints per child, according to a new PwC survey. Most families continue to prioritise traditional school supplies, while online shopping and AI tools are becoming increasingly common.

‘Economic warfare is nothing new but has accompanied human development from prehistoric times to the present day—people have often taken up arms to increase their prosperity and open the doors to trade. Clashes and aggression have coexisted with exchange since the dawn of time.’

‘Hungary commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Mohács against the Ottoman Empire today, 29 August 2026. The date is crucial to Hungarian history and identity. But what exactly happened there that makes it so important?’

President Trump has shared his ranking of US Presidents on his own social media platform, Truth Social. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he has ranked himself as the Greatest of All Time. However, who else did he rank high, and who did he rank as ‘Failures’ among the men who had served in his role before him?

UNICEF Hungary has urged reforms to address problems in Hungary’s child protection system, educational inequalities and children’s mental health. The organization presented its recommendations at a Geneva meeting ahead of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review of Hungary.

Ferencváros made it to the group stage or league phase of a European competition for the eighth season in a row, after beating out the Turkish club Trabzonspor featuring Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah with a shockingly lopsided, 5–0 aggregate score and back-to-back wins in the two legs of the UEFA Europa League qualifying play-off.

Participants in Hungary’s 2026 PET Cup collected a record 18.9 tonnes of waste from the floodplains of the Bodrog and Tisza rivers. Organizers said the haul highlights the continued accumulation of waste in hard-to-reach floodplain areas.

A federal judge in Texas has permanently blocked enforcement of Senate Bill 12, ruling that the law restricting sexually explicit performances in the presence of minors violates the First Amendment. Attorney General and Republican Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton has vowed to appeal the decision.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling gave tribute to the recently passed away country music star Dolly Parton—just to have a pro-trans activist turn it into an attack on her.