Elon Musk asked his 216 million followers on X if his new DOGE agency should ‘audit the IRS’, the US government agency tasked with collecting tax revenue from US residents. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority voted yes, and Musk seems to take ‘the voice of the people’ seriously, as he demonstrated with the unbanning of Donald Trump on his platform back in November 2022.

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has called for urgent reforms to ensure the survival and efficiency of the United Nations. During his visit to New York, he emphasized the need for decentralization, cost-cutting, and a focus on global challenges.

László Varju was convicted of trying to bribe an independent candidate into dropping out to boost his own electoral chances in 2018. He resigned from the Hungarian parliament after his conviction. However, he is also running to fill his own vacant seat in the by-election in March.

US Ambassador to Hungary hopeful Bryan Leib has vowed to hold accountable those who collaborated with David Pressman in his mission to discredit Hungary. ‘Mark my words—actions like this will have serious consequences for all who were involved in this,’ he wrote in a post on X.

‘Efficient cooperation in taking down international crime is essential to the cohesion of EU Member States. This incident illustrates how the free movement of capital, goods, labour and services can be abused for nefarious purposes—and the results expected of all national police forces in countering the criminals…’

Hungary’s chief security advisor György Bakondi has warned of a tenfold increase in migration pressure on the Serbia–Hungary border, with 1,841 illegal migrants apprehended this year compared to 191 in the same period last year. He highlighted the potential for a mass migration wave from conflict zones like Syria and Congo.

The 2025 Tour de Hongrie, Hungary’s premier cycling race, will begin at Budapest’s Szent Gellért Square and conclude at the Esztergom Basilica. With 885 kilometres of challenging routes, including the iconic Kékestető climb, this year’s edition features record Hungarian participation and promises thrilling competition.

At least eleven people were killed in a mass shooting at an adult education centre in Sweden, in what Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described as the worst shooting in the country’s history. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán extended his condolences to the Swedish people.

Hungary is strengthening its defence cooperation with Türkiye through the acquisition of 56 new Gidrán armoured combat vehicles. The agreement builds on an existing partnership with Turkish defence company Nurol Makina and aligns with Hungary’s broader military modernization efforts started in 2016.

According to Hungarian intelligence reports, Ukrainian secret services have launched an operation against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, involving disinformation and fake news reports from both Hungarian and foreign media outlets. The operation aims to discredit Orbán on the international stage.

After two consecutive quarters of contraction, Hungary’s gross domestic product grew by 0.5 per cent in the last quarter of 2024. Compared to the data from a year ago, the growth was 0.4 per cent, better than originally expected by analysts.

Hungary has established a new 150-member anti-narcotics unit to tackle drug trafficking and organized crime, with Parliamentary State Secretary Bence Rétvári declaring that ‘drug dealers belong in prison.’ The unit, part of the National Bureau of Investigation, aims to dismantle trafficking networks.

As Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pointed out, the ‘Trump tornado’ arrived in Brussels on Monday, turning everything upside down during the informal meeting of the European Council, which was also attended by NATO chief Mark Rutte.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has warned that the European Union faces tough months ahead following Donald Trump’s return to power, urging Brussels to prepare for a ‘Trump tornado’. In a Facebook post, Orbán criticized EU leaders for underestimating Trump’s impact, while emphasizing the need for a strong deal to preserve economic ties with the US.

Hungary and Türkiye expand defence cooperation by establishing a Defence Innovation Working Group, aiming to accelerate joint research and development projects, as well as educational and training programmes between the two countries.

‘I represent today the 6 million Holocaust victims who were murdered just because they were Jewish. I demand the world remember what happened only 80 years ago.’

A recent poll by Quinnipiac has found that only 31 per cent of Americans have a favourable view of the Democratic Party, while 56 per cent have an unfavourable view, giving the party an abysmal net favourability rating of negative 26 points. Quinnipiac is a polling firm that has been overestimating liberals in the past.

Viktor Orbán has invited Alice Weidel, co-chair of the German right-wing party Alternative für Deutschland, to Hungary—an invitation she accepted almost immediately. Despite their shared views on key issues, the Hungarian government has previously been cautious in its relations with AfD, fearing economic retaliation from the German mainstream.

The Hungarian government remains steadfast in resisting pressure from both Brussels and the domestic opposition on key issues such as energy security, migration, and pension policies, said Balázs Orbán, the prime minister’s political director. He criticized EU policies and highlighted Hungary’s commitment to national sovereignty.

Police Scotland has found the bodies of two women near the last known location of missing Hungarian twins Henrietta and Eliza Huszti in Aberdeen. The sisters were last seen on 7 January near the River Dee, with many unanswered questions surrounding their disappearance.

In an eventful game, Ferencváros ended up beating the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar 4–3, and thus made it out of the UEFA Europa League’s first-ever league phase, finishing 17th out of 36. They will face the Czech Viktoria Plzen in the first knock-out round.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed the country’s economic outlook, European Union conflicts, and global political shifts in a radio interview. He emphasized the importance of strengthening the middle class, argued in defence of government policies, and criticized Brussels for its economic approach.

Several Hungarian schools received bomb threats via email overnight, prompting authorities to heighten security and conduct evacuations. The Ministry of Interior urged school administrators to monitor their emails and report any threats immediately to law enforcement.

It will not be long before a Hungarian astronaut returns to space, following Bertalan Farkas’s journey in the early 1980s. The fourth mission of Axiom Space is expected to launch in spring 2025, with Tibor Kapu on board.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed his condolences to US President Donald Trump and the American people following the tragic collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter on Wednesday night in Washington, D.C. The disaster, which some are calling the deadliest commercial crash in US history, has left dozens feared dead.

CPAC Hungary 2025 will be taking place 29–30 May this year, Director General Miklós Szánthó for the Center for Fundamental Rights has announced at a press conference with American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp.

On Wednesday, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) finally broke through the firewall that German mainstream parties had imposed on them since the party’s foundation, securing a majority alongside the CDU on a motion for stricter migration rules. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán welcomed the development in a post on his X account.

‘Besides all the bad news, there are sometimes good ones, too, even from difficult regions like the Middle East. After a long time, a new president has been elected in Lebanon,’ Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó commented on the election of Michael Aoun.

Elon Musk reacted to reports that Hungarian opposition media outlets were outraged over Trump’s decision to halt US foreign assistance, cutting off substantial grants previously provided by USAID and the US Embassy in Budapest. Sharing Balázs Orbán’s post, the US billionaire pointed out that these outlets were never truly independent to begin with.

The Joint Action on REspiratory Diseases (JARED) initiative by the EU was launched in December 2024, with support from 14 Member States. The Korányi Institute of Pulmonology in Budakeszi, Hungary is the leading institution of the project. The initiative’s kick-off event was held in Budapest on 29 January 2025.