Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Oliynykova sparked controversy at the WTA 250 tournament in Cluj-Napoca after refusing to shake hands or pose for a joint photo with Hungary’s Anna Bodnár during their match. Oliynykova cited Bodnár’s earlier participation in a tournament held in Russia as the reason for rejecting the traditional gestures, drawing a comparison to taking part in a sporting event in Nazi Germany.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the EU–Mercosur trade agreement will enter into provisional application despite plans by opponents in the European Parliament to seek judicial review of the pact before the EU’s top court.

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal is not a legitimate body. To discuss the decision’s implications for Member States soveringnty, Marcin Romanowski, President of the Hungarian–Polish Institute of Freedom, Former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro of Poland, and Polish constitutional law expert Oskar Kida held a joint press conference in Budapest.

Hungary will initiate legal proceedings against the EU’s REPowerEU regulation, arguing that it unlawfully threatens access to affordable energy and circumvents EU decision-making rules, the minister for EU affairs said on Monday.

The European Commission has authorized HUN-REN research institutes to begin key administrative procedures, ensuring uninterrupted participation in EU research and innovation programmes following the network’s legal transformation.

As the 2026 World Cup approaches, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has signalled a shift on Russia’s exclusion from international football. Calling the ban ineffective and counterproductive, he argued that athletes should not be punished for political decisions—a stance Hungary has consistently defended since Russia’s suspension in 2022.

‘Truth be told, it is not in America’s national interest to start a war with Iran.’

Behind closed doors in Zagreb, the European People’s Party outlined a vision for Europe that would dilute national sovereignty and turn the EU into an increasingly militarized organization anchored to long-term commitments for Ukraine. With Viktor Orbán standing as the main obstacle to this agenda, it is hardly surprising that Brussels is now heavily invested in unseating him ahead of Hungary’s April election.

Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó condemned the detention of ethnic Hungarian politician Örs Orosz by Slovak police during a protest against the Beneš decrees in Bratislava, stressing that Hungary rejects the principle of collective guilt and will continue to raise the issue with the Slovak government.

With an executive decree by the Spanish government bypassing parliament, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s administration has granted residency and work permits to half a million migrants who had entered Spain illegally. Vox leader Santiago Abascal has accused the Prime Minister of wanting to ‘replace’ native Spanish people, and wanting to eventually nationalize the migrants for votes.

Hungary and the Hungary Helps Programme received an international award in Washington for their work supporting persecuted Christians and religious minorities, on the occasion of the International Religious Freedom Summit.

Hungarian officials have condemned the death of 46-year-old Zsolt Rebán, an ethnic Hungarian and EU citizen who collapsed after being forcibly conscripted by Ukrainian authorities despite a documented heart condition. His death has intensified Budapest’s criticism of Kyiv’s mobilization practices and further strained already tense Hungarian–Ukrainian relations.

‘ As the last three decades have shown, the EU’s migration and asylum policy is an abysmal and absolute failure.’

Researchers at the University of Szeged are examining how artificial intelligence could support judicial decision-making in criminal cases, aiming to make sentencing practices more transparent, consistent and fair.

71 per cent of Hungarians would not support the reintroduction of mandatory military service, according to a new survey by the Nézőpont Institute, which found broad opposition across all social groups.

Masked Antifa-linked extremists armed with improvized weapons clashed with Italian police in Turin, resulting in multiple injuries and arrests. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence and urged the courts to hold the perpetrators accountable. The events in Turin are yet another example of increasingly aggressive far-left political violence that many Western countries have to confront in order to maintain stability.

The European Union has ‘openly chosen war’, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after the latest EU Foreign Affairs Council, warning that Brussels is pushing massive new financial commitments to Ukraine. According to the minister, plans involving up to €1,500 billion would burden European taxpayers and divert funds from Europe’s own development.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the government will cover 30 per cent of households’ January energy costs after extreme cold weather, warning that ending the utility price cap would double or triple bills and threaten energy security.

Chinese carmaker BYD has launched trial production at its electric vehicle plant in Szeged, where nearly 1,000 workers have already been hired, Mayor László Botka said, adding that output and employment will rise gradually.

A convicted Islamist terrorist jailed for plotting attacks on Western targets is now seeking elected office in the UK—claiming he is doing so to ‘push back against the far right’. Shahid Butt, imprisoned in 1999 for his role in an Abu Hamza-linked terror cell, is standing for Birmingham City Council in May, raising serious questions about Britain’s democratic safeguards.

Nottingham Forest delivered Ferencváros their first defeat in the Europa League campaign, and it was a hefty one. The 4–0 score to the home side means that Fradi has finished 12th in the league, and will have to compete in the play-off round before the Round of 16.

According to the Center for Fundamental Rights, fully abandoning Russian gas would sharply increase Hungary’s utility costs and end reduced energy prices. LNG imports would be far more expensive, preferential pricing and bargaining power would be lost, and transit revenues would disappear, weakening Hungary’s energy and trade position, the analysis claims.

Liberal-progressive Renew Europe has leapt to the defence of Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony after Hungarian prosecutors charged him over organizing the banned 2025 Pride march. Framing the case as a political attack on ‘European values’, Renew leaders accused Budapest of authoritarianism—escalating tensions just weeks before Hungary’s parliamentary election.

Balázs Csercsa, who ran the religious affairs task force for the Tisza campaign, announced his departure from the party earlier this month. Then, he talked to Index in a tell-all interview in which he claimed that the leaks about the party’s austerity plans are authentic, Tisza is hiding their actual plans from the public, and described Péter Magyar’s leadership style as ‘autocratic’, among other bombshell revelations.

‘Budapest could not finance this without raising taxes and placing the burden of Ukraine’s “reconstruction” on the shoulders of Hungarian families. Financing Kyiv “will destroy the European Union,” commented on these plans Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.’

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has fiercely rejected a POLITICO Brussels report claiming he questioned Donald Trump’s mental health during last week’s EU summit, calling the story a fabrication built on anonymous leaks. Fico said he made no such remarks, accused the outlet of spreading deliberate lies, and warned of a broader effort to discredit leaders pursuing independent foreign policies.

BioTech USA has created 100 new jobs through a 9.5 billion forint investment programme, including a new robotized production plant in Szada, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday.

After weeks of viral growth on right-wing platforms, the Amelia meme has broken into Britain’s mainstream media—prompting panic rather than reflection. The Guardian and LBC now accuse the purple-haired character of fuelling racism, as AI-generated Amelia content spreads globally, spawns copycat characters, and even inspires a cryptocurrency token.

Hungarian prosecutors have filed charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony for organizing and leading the Budapest Pride march last summer despite a police ban, seeking the imposition of a fine, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office said.

Nurse Malinda Rose Cook at VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia has posted a series of videos on TikTok in which she calls for others to harm ICE agents in various ways. In one clip, she suggests other health professionals should inject immigration officers with saline or succinylcholine. According to a public statement by her hospital, she is now on ‘administrative leave’ while an investigation is ongoing.