Hungary has emerged as a regional exception in Central and Eastern Europe, retaining access to Russian gas via TurkStream. While Austria and Slovakia face soaring transit tariffs due to under-utilized pipelines, Hungary’s network remains busy, with 2025 deliveries up 17 per cent and domestic consumption rising by 4.7 per cent.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary has shared a letter from US President Trump in which he compliments his leadership, wishes him luck in this year’s election, and—more importantly—hints at a potential presidential visit to Hungary in the near future.
Two cute polar bear cubs were caught on camera enjoying their first snow at the Sóstó Zoo in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. A brief clip of the two of them playing has received over 109,000 likes on X within a day.
As elections approach, voters increasingly link their security to political outcomes. The right strengthened its lead in December, as the Tisza Party failed to gain ground amid growing awareness of its leaked tax plans aligned with Brussels, which many see as a direct threat to household finances and national stability, a new report by the Center for Fundamental Rights claims.
Hungary has seen unusually heavy snowfall in recent days, but no settlements have been cut off and public utilities are operating normally nationwide, disaster management officials said. Hundreds of machines and emergency personnel remain deployed as freezing temperatures and further snowfall are forecast.
In an uncovered tweet, socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Director of the Office to Protect Tenants called private property and homeownership a ‘weapon of white supremacy’. In a resurfaced clip, she also claimed that the idea of homeownership is rooted in ‘deep racism and deep classism’.
‘The Hungarian government’s position remains unchanged…we will not build a refugee camp, we will not change the way we protect our borders, and we will not become an immigrant country. We will not accept Brussels telling us who we can live with,’ Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has declared. For his stance against mass migration, he was praised by famous British activist Tommy Robinson on X.
A new film about a young, ambitious woman suddenly becoming the governor of a state just to be pushed out by the evil scheme of her husband, Ella McCay, grossed just $4.5 million in the box office against a $35 million budget. This prompted Disney to cancel its international premiere in France due to a lack of interest.
Ferencváros striker Barnabás Varga, who has scored five goals in five games in Hungary’s FIFA World Cup qualification campaign and four goals in six games for his club in the UEFA Europa League this season, is set to sign with 13-time Greek champions and current league leaders AEK Athens. Media reports claim AEK will pay Ferencváros €4.5 million for his transfer.
In the early morning hours of 3 January, the special forces of the US Army captured President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, who is now transferred to the United States to face justice in his criminal case. But why did the Trump administration choose to take such a drastic measure?
Director General of the Center for Fundamental Rights Miklós Szánthó warned that Hungary’s Tisza Party is preparing austerity measures ‘Generation Z has only read about in history books,’ including tax hikes and privatization plans. He also argued that Europe is escalating the conflict in Ukraine while the rest of the world is seeking peace.
The old year has just passed, so, in an effort to reflect on all that happened in the eventful year of 2025, here are the stories that you, our readers, have found the most compelling based on the amount of traffic they received. We hope you enjoy our compilation, and Happy New Year to everyone!
All three major US stock indices—the Dow Jones, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ Composite—returned more this year, with President Trump back in office, than their respective average annual gains in the four years under President Joe Biden. The primary stock index Dow Jones is up 14.32 per cent year-to-date, with two more trading days left on the calendar.
In his first Christmas address, Pope Leo XIV expressed his hope that the parties in the Russo–Ukrainian war would ‘find the courage’ to start engaging in direct and sincere peace negotiations; and reminded all that while peace comes from the Lord, everyone should take on their own share of responsibility in creating it.
While shooting scenes for his new film, Alone at Dawn, in Budapest, Hungary, Oscar-nominated actor Adam Driver visited a concert at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his spare time. While this took place in November, the Academy did not share it until a few days ago.
Europe stands at a crossroads between a Brussels-led war path and Hungary’s logic of peace, the Center’s Miklós Szánthó wrote in a Facebook post. He warned that sanctions, debt, and prolonged conflict threaten Europe’s economy, arguing that only Viktor Orbán and Hungary’s pro-peace right can keep the country out of war.
The average US gallon of gas costs under $3, the Dow Jones is up 13.5 per cent YTD despite April’s 13 per cent drop amidst the tariff frenzy, and JD Vance seems set for the 2028 Republican nomination. Yet the government shut down for 43 days, letting Democrats win NJ and VA gubernatorial races: here are the second Trump admin’s biggest Ws and Ls for 2025!
About two weeks after political podcaster Tim Pool claimed shots were fired at his rural West Virginia residence, the local police still cannot confirm if the incident actually took place as described. Many questions linger about the incident, with multiple twists and turns in the updates.
At an online press conference, Samuel D Samson, Senior Advisor at the US State Department, expressed his gratitude to Hungary for the work it has done on issues such as family support, pursuing peace, and combating censorship. He later described Hungary as ‘a leader in Europe in defending civilizational values’.
‘The speaker pointed out that the city of Budapest, where the event was taking place, withstood the oppressions of the Mongols, the Ottomans, the Nazis, and the Soviets, yet it remained committed to its Western values. He then likened those oppressions to those coming from the EU, which, he believes, is working to suppress national identity and nationalist and conservative sentiments.’
Miklós Szánthó warned that Brussels’ plan to seize frozen Russian assets amounts to a ‘message of war’, and spoke out against the EU circumventing Hungary’s veto on the matter. He also shared that at an anti-war rally, PM Viktor Orbán said Europe faces three dangers: war, migration, and political interference from Brussels in national elections.
‘Imagine if the annulment of a national election result that took place in Romania in 2024 had happened in Hungary…It is not hard to imagine what kind of media coverage it would have gotten had the highest court in Hungary made such a decision…The Western media’s favourite terms, “authoritarian”, “totalitarian”, and “right-wing fascist” would have been used like machine gun fire.’
Hungary has already broken its 2024 tourism record, welcoming over 18.2 million guests by 2 December. With balanced domestic and international visitor numbers, Budapest and Lake Balaton remain top destinations, and strong holiday-season bookings point to another successful year ahead, Visit Hungary has shared.
With 21 out of the 40 Republican State Senators joining the ten Democrats, a new congressional map for the state of Indiana that would have presumably given two more seats to the GOP has been rejected by the Indiana General Assembly. This is a major setback for President Trump’s party, in a midterm election that is shaping up to be a lot closer than it was during his first term.
Ferencváros came back against the Scottish side Rangers, beating them 2–1 at home. With that victory, not only did they keep their unbeaten record in the Europa League campaign, but they also secured their spot in the knock-out stage of the competition next spring.
In an open letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia has called on the EU to abandon the dogmatic approach to climate policy and chase the net zero agenda for the sake of the struggling European industry, especially the automotive sector. The letter was co-signed by five other PMs, including Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Giorgia Meloni of Italy.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary has been included in POLITICO 28 again this year, the annual list of the most influential European figures by the political site. PM Orbán is ranked at #12, although his write-up is the most complimentary by the editors. US President Donald Trump has been ranked #1 on the list.
Responding to the Tisza Party’s leaked economic programme proposing tax hikes and austerity measures, the Center for Fundamental Rights and the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation launched the #FreeHungariansAgainstAusterity task force. At the kick-off event, experts stressed the sharp contrast between Fidesz’s economic policy and the opposition’s plans.
President Santiago Peña, a member of the conservative Colorado Party, became the first incumbent Paraguayan President to visit Hungary in 30 years. He has met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, President Tamás Sulyok, and House Speaker László Kövér of Hungary as well.
The first BYD production equipment has arrived in Szeged, Hungary, with trial manufacturing set for Q1 2026 and full production in Q2, the Chinese automotive industry news site CarNewsChina.com reported.