Hungarian wage growth slowed sharply in June, with average gross earnings rising by 7.1 per cent year-on-year—the weakest increase since 2021. Despite the slowdown, strong real wage growth and subdued inflation continue to support household consumption and economic growth.

European Council President António Costa will meet Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar in Budapest on 2 September as part of his tour of EU member states. The talks will focus on the bloc’s next long-term budget and other key EU priorities.

Canada’s taxpayer-funded CBC is facing backlash after an internal memo told journalists not to describe the 11 September attacks as ‘terrorist attacks’. The directive drew criticism from Canadian and US politicians and comes amid unusually tense relations between Washington and Ottawa, just weeks ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

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.

Parliament elected Anna Róza Unger president of Hungary’s new NVVH anti-corruption super-agency on Friday by 137 votes to seven, despite mounting criticism of her professional background and the chaotic selection process. The backlash intensified as Ákos Hadházy alleged the contest was largely ‘theatre’ and that Unger emerged from a compromise inside Tisza’s leadership.

Russian lawmakers have lashed out at Péter Magyar after Hungary formally described Russia as a threat to the country, Europe and the global order in new UN instructions. The rhetoric marks a sharp break with the Orbán era, while threats over cutting oil and gas deliveries expose how Budapest’s diplomatic realignment to the EU collides with its continuing dependence on Russian energy.

Hungarian technology and telecommunications group 4iG is establishing a new energy division and a dedicated holding company as it expands into critical infrastructure. The group is pursuing small modular nuclear reactors, wind farms and energy storage projects across Central Europe and the Western Balkans.

Ceuta’s unrest continued on Thursday as hundreds of residents blocked Red Cross food deliveries, pushed through police cordons and tore down migrant encampments, setting belongings on fire. Hours earlier, dozens of illegal migrants had attacked a vehicle carrying Spanish soldiers with stones, forcing the troops to flee on foot.

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.

Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić, convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, died in UN custody in The Hague on Thursday, aged 83. Central to his conviction was the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed, a crime whose legacy still deeply divides Bosnia and Serbia even today.

Parliament’s justice committee has chosen political scientist Anna Róza Unger as its nominee to lead the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, favouring the candidate with the strongest systemic accountability agenda despite her limited operational background. The decision sharpens questions over what role the super-agency is meant to play as parliament prepares for Friday’s secret ballot.

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.

Two Hungarian nationals have been confirmed missing following devastating flash floods in Nepal, Hungary’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry warned that additional Hungarian citizens could also be among those unaccounted for.

The Hungarian government has accepted several proposals from the mayors of five central Budapest districts aimed at improving public safety. The measures include permanent police presence at key locations and expanded powers for district authorities.

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.

‘What explains the failure of the world’s most powerful country to achieve its objectives with a much smaller, less powerful nation that has been devastated by economic sanctions and military interventions? Two factors: an impregnable body politic and a resolute economy.’

Ceuta residents moved on migrant encampments at Playa del Trampolín on Wednesday night after more than 2,000 people marched against Madrid’s handling of the crisis. Footage showed crowds tearing down makeshift shelters and forcing illegal migrants from parts of the beach, as riot police rushed in to prevent direct clashes and unrest from spreading to other districts.

A motorboat carrying 14 Algerian illegal migrants struck a 17-year-old girl swimming off Sardinia, leaving her critically injured before continuing towards shore and trying to evade police. A teenage witness said those aboard saw what had happened, stopped briefly and then fled, while authorities later detained all 14 men and arrested the suspected helmsman.

Hungary’s parliament will elect the first president of the powerful NVVH anti-corruption and asset-recovery office on Friday, choosing between Nicholas Sárvári, Miklós Ligeti and Anna Róza Unger. The process, initially meant to establish the office’s independence and credibility, has instead descended into controversy, largely due to the governing party’s communication failures.

Slovakia’s government has approved a bill that would prohibit people under 16 from creating user profiles on social media platforms. The proposed restriction could take effect next year if approved by parliament.

Ákos Hadházy has published emails he says expose a manipulated tender behind Hungary’s St Stephen’s Day celebrations, placing Tisza vice-president Márk Radnai in talks with the eventual winner weeks before procurement began. The case has sparked outrage among Tisza voters, with many calling it ‘Fidesz 2.0’ and warning that it undermines Péter Magyar’s regime-change narrative.

The fundraising campaign for Lindsay Clancy’s parents has reached over $1 million. Clancy is currently being tried for the murders of her three children in Massachusetts. GoFundMe, the site hosting the campaign, has banned the fundraisers for Kyle Rittenhouse and the Canadian truckers protesting pandemic restrictions in the past.

Ceuta saw its most violent day in weeks on Tuesday as illegal migrants clashed with riot police during a Red Cross food distribution, prompting officers to charge the crowd and use tear gas and rubber bullets. At the same time, hundreds of residents marched against further migrant accommodation and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Hungary’s government has withdrawn €84.6 million in EU funding from turkey processor Gallicoop, a company linked to Lőrinc Mészáros, after ruling that its ownership structure failed statutory transparency requirements. The decision mirrors the recent removal of €169.2 million from OPUS TITÁSZ, another Mészáros-linked business; both companies are challenging the decisions legally.

Budapest police checked more than 11,000 people and arrested 252 during the first month of an expanded public-security operation launched in mid-July. Police said the targeted checks would continue based on the experience of the first month.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a secret visit to Moscow on Tuesday, becoming the first American intelligence chief to travel there since William Burns warned the Kremlin against invading Ukraine in November 2021. With US intelligence now focused on possible Russian provocations against NATO’s eastern flank, the trip has revived speculation that Ratcliffe carried a similar warning.

The US Supreme Court has, in part, lifted the nationwide injunction a Circuit Court judge imposed on President Trump’s executive order requiring the Department of Homeland Security to create an eligible voters’ list for each state and the US Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to residents on that list.

Germany’s establishment celebrated Péter Magyar’s defeat of Viktor Orbán as a lesson in how to beat right-wing populism. Four months later, the comparison looks less comfortable: AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund is using a similar campaign strategy, combining a strong rural presence with social-media dominance, while the establishment repeats Fidesz’s grave strategic mistakes.

‘Abu Safieh’s supporters dispute the allegations, maintaining that he is a medical professional and that his detention is unjustified. But the distinction is crucial: the person being celebrated at the Budapest demonstration is…an individual whom Israel identifies as a senior Hamas figure and whose hospital…was used by the terrorist organization for military purposes.’