‘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.’

Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government has extended Hungary’s Orbán-era ‘state of crisis due to mass migration’ until 31 December, rejecting NGO calls to let it expire. The move preserves the hard-line legal framework but complicates one possible route towards ending the country’s €1 million-per-day EU migration fine, while sparking outrage among progressive Tisza supporters.

‘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.’

Eleven of twelve jurors were reportedly prepared to acquit Lindsay Clancy despite her admitting that she strangled her three young children, with all nine women on the mostly white jury apparently voting for acquittal. Clancy’s supporters blamed District Attorney Timothy Cruz for the mistrial, interrupting his press conference and accusing him of being corrupt.

‘Law and Justice has always been a centre-right party, a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists…a pro-American group supporting the Republican Party…and situated within the spectrum of the “traditional” political divide. In recent years, movements have emerged in Polish politics that have challenged Law and Justice’s hegemony on the right.’

A Gambian-born Muslim immigrant and naturalized US citizen murdered two men outside a gay bar in Tucson in a targeted anti-LGBTQ hate crime, police say. One of the victims, Cameron Davis Capara, was linked to far-left Antifa circles through his activism and was a frequent attendee at pro-Palestinian and anti-ICE protests.

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

Prime Minister Péter Magyar says Hungary may be able to end the EU’s €1 million daily migration fine without dismantling its hard-line border policy, while demanding that Brussels return roughly €1 billion already lost in the dispute. Letting temporary emergency rules expire could stop the penalty, but the broader question is what system would replace the current one once compliance is restored.

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.

Hungary and several Central and Eastern European countries have signed the Prague Declaration aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and knowledge sharing in artificial intelligence. The participating countries highlighted public administration, AI safety and specialized applications as key areas for development.

‘On 27 August in Paris, at the annual conference of the French business federation (La REF 2026), the President of the European Commission delivered a somewhat surprising speech. What was surprising was the candour with which the Commission President addressed a problem affecting the EU economy that has long been the subject of heated and widespread debate.’

Tisza has refused to confirm opposition nominees to Hungary’s new Independent Public Media Committee, despite it being deliberately set up to root out bias towards the governing party from public media programming. The party has rejected candidates put forward by Fidesz, KDNP, and Our Homeland Movement, raising questions about the committee’s political independence.

Hungary has again blocked the opening of two further Ukrainian EU accession clusters, marking the third failed attempt to approve the necessary screening results. The veto is less about the substance of the files than about leverage over Kyiv on Transcarpathian Hungarian rights, while Péter Magyar and Volodymyr Zelenskyy still have not held their planned bilateral meeting.

A local woman has been arrested in Ceuta after an illegal Moroccan migrant was fatally stabbed inside a family home on Thursday morning following a dispute, according to local media. The killing comes as the enclave remains under severe strain after July’s mass invasion, with thousands still present and residents demanding stronger border controls and action from Madrid.

Nine people were injured after a man poured an unknown liquid onto an AfD information stand in Bad Kreuznach on Wednesday, with two taken to hospital. The attack comes amid escalating efforts by mainstream politicians to ban parts of the party, while official figures show AfD politicians suffer disproportionately high levels of political violence even as the party leads national polls with a huge margin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would close Goethe Institute offices in Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg after Germany decided to shut down the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin. Lavrov also accused Western governments of pursuing an anti-Russian campaign over the war in Ukraine.

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.

The Hungarian government has ordered a comprehensive review of the country’s waste management system amid a growing number of complaints over waste collection and the operation of the bottle return scheme, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands rallied across Spain on Ceuta Day demanding stronger border controls, expulsion of illegal migrants and Pedro Sánchez’s resignation, while solidarity protests also reached the European Parliament in Brussels. The demonstrations came as a police intelligence report described July’s mass invasion from Morocco as ‘planned’, deepening pressure on the government.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired senior SBU official Oleh Khramov on Wednesday after a shootout between security-service officers and GUR military intelligence personnel in Kyiv. The clash between two elite agencies exposed a serious breakdown in trust and command discipline as Ukraine’s war against Russia approaches its fifth year.

The emergency riverbed sill being built to protect the Paks Nuclear Power Plant has reportedly caused severe scour in the Danube, deepening the riverbed by 8–13 metres and undermining the structure itself. The problems raise questions over Péter Magyar’s crisis management and a restricted procurement process that awarded the contract to a single bidder at 30 per cent above the estimated price.

Hunter Biden said he was ‘48.6 per cent gay’ in an interview with progressive podcaster Luke Beasley, a gag that quickly spread through LGBTQ outlets. Joe Biden’s son had already stirred controversy in July by alleging a largely Republican ‘closeted gay mafia’ in Washington, naming Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Mike Johnson.

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.

Péter Magyar rose to power by promising accountability for the Orbán era, but that pledge is becoming a governing trap. Tisza must deliver results fast enough to satisfy voters without bending the rule of law, while the chaotic NVVH selection process is already showing that the process meant to deliver accountability could also create Tisza’s own opposition from among its supporters.

Hungary’s government has set a 2030 target for meeting the criteria needed to adopt the euro, while revising its 2026 budget to address a much larger-than-expected deficit. The amended plan projects a 7.5 per cent GDP deficit and the state’s debt-to-GDP ratio rising from 74.6 per cent to 77.5 per cent.

Hungary’s 4iG Group and US-based SpaceX have signed agreements to introduce Starlink Mobile and secure Sovereign Solutions satellite communications services, the companies said on Wednesday. The partnership will initially cover Hungary and the Western Balkans, combining commercial satellite-mobile connectivity with protected communications capabilities.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will meet in Leipzig on Wednesday to discuss a failed drone attack at the city’s airport that German authorities have attributed to Russia. EU leaders have vowed to strengthen support for Ukraine and prepare further sanctions against Moscow.

Centre for Budapest Transport’s former deputy CEO for mobility Ádám Bodor has been appointed to lead the company from 1 September. The appointment comes after the transport company operated under interim management following the departure of Katalin Walter in 2025.

Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old Bank of America vice president, was killed in a random and unprovoked stabbing in Times Square on Monday, according to the NYPD. Police said attacker Pamela Cisneros stabbed a 68-year-old man seconds earlier, then later advanced on officers with two knives before being shot dead.